IMG Credit: WWE

Hell In A Cell 2019
Date: October 6, 2019
Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin, Jerry Lawler

So what happens if WWE holds a show but forgets to put it together? Until late Friday night, this was a three match card, though they added four more on Sunday afternoon so the show wouldn’t be an hour and fifteen minutes long. The big question tonight is can the Fiend take the Universal Title from Seth Rollins so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Lacey Evans vs. Natalya

So yes, of all things they could add, they picked THIS for the warmup match. Lacey wristlocks her to start so Natalya uses something pretty close to Owen Hart’s spinning escape to take Lacey down instead. A hammerlock keeps Natalya down as Lawler goes into his HILARIOUS material about Lacey’s time in Afghanistan. Lacey takes her down for some choking but has to fight out of a Sharpshooter attempt.

Natalya gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Lacey’s slingshot elbow getting two and the chinlock going on. Some shots to the face let Lacey start stomping on the knee but the Sharpshooter attempt is kicked away. Back in and Lacey takes her down again but misses the double jump moonsault. Natalya gets the Sharpshooter and Lacey taps at 9:17.

Rating: D. Sure why not. This feud has been one of those nightmares that just won’t end with a fight that no one cares about and matches that aren’t any good either. I don’t know why we needed to see, what was this, the fourth match between the two, but it felt like a warmed over leftover match on a house show.

Post match Natalya punches Lacey out for some revenge.

The opening video talks about how evil the Cell is and how it changes lives, even though it has barely done that in years. The big matches get their usual attention as well.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is defending inside the (RED) Cell. Sasha jumps her before the bell though, meaning the Cell isn’t even on the ground yet. That means a beating on the floor as the Cell completely lowers so Sasha goes inside as Becky pulls herself up outside. Becky rams the door into her face before taking it inside for the opening bell. Hang on again though as Becky grabs the chain and hits Sasha with it before raking her face across the Cell.

With Banks down, Becky chains the Cell shut, only to have Banks send her face first into the wall. They bust out a table, a ladder and a chair as it’s already time to tease the December rematch. Banks gets sent face first into a chair back inside but manages to dropkick it into Becky’s face for two. The Bexploder sends Banks outside and a baseball slide sends her into the wall. It works so well that Becky does it twice more but Sasha Meteoras her into the ladder for the big knockdown.

With the shots to the head no longer being enough, Banks puts the arm out of the Cell and slams the door onto it for two back inside. The arm gets sent into the chair and Banks unloads with forearms to the face. Another Meteora puts Becky through the chair for two more and Becky is looking shaken. A quick rollup gets Becky out of trouble and she kicks the chair into Banks’ ribs.

Becky dropkicks her into the Cell again and the Bexploder into the Cell makes it even worse. Back in and a bulldog onto the bottom of an open chair gives Lynch two and she can’t believe the kickout. A missile dropkick sends the chair into Banks’ face for another two and it’s time to bail to the floor. It’s time to get creative with Becky wedging some kendo sticks in the Cell wall and putting a chair on top, with Sasha going on top of that. Becky dropkicks her into the corner to complete the cool yet long to set up crash.

Back in and Becky gets two off the top rope legdrop but it takes too long to set up the table. That means a Backstabber to Becky and the top rope Meteora through the table gives Banks two. The Bank Statement with the kendo stick sends Becky crawling underneath the ropes. Becky gets the stick away and beats the heck out of Banks with it, only to whipped into a chair hanging in the Cell wall. Banks throws in about a dozen chairs and uses one on Becky’s arm. It takes her too long to go up though and a super Bexploder onto the chairs sets up the Disarm-Her for the tap at 21:26.

Rating: B. I liked the spots and they felt like they were hurting each other enough, though I’m scratching my head at Lynch retaining. This almost has to mean the return of Rousey right? If not, who in the world is supposed to take the title from Lynch? She has cleaned out the entire division (or at least all of the realistic challengers), so it’s either Rousey or the long awaited Horsewomen four way right? Or we could just do the same thing because the Cell is no longer a blowoff match.

We recap Erick Rowan/Luke Harper vs. Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns. Rowan was revealed to be an evil genius who wants to destroy Reigns. He doesn’t like Bryan for thinking they were mental equals and Harper is here for the extra muscle.

Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan/Luke Harper

Tornado Tag so it’s a brawl to start with Reigns and Rowan heading out to the floor, meaning Bryan hits the suicide dive. There’s a Superman Punch to Rowan as Harper is favoring the knee. Ever the nice guy, Bryan starts kicking at the knee, leaving Reigns to Samoan drop Rowan for two inside. Harper’s knee is fine enough to block the spear with a superkick for two.

Bryan comes back in but gets double teamed, as does Reigns in the same corner. A steps shot to the face keeps Roman in trouble on the floor, meaning Bryan gets beaten down again. Reigns pulls Harper to the floor though and Bryan rolls Rowan up for two. That leaves Rowan to yell at Bryan for embarrassing him but Bryan gets the LeBell Lock.

Harper makes a save of his own, allowing Rowan to Jackhammer Bryan for two more. Reigns and Rowan head to the floor, with Roman having to dive back in for a save after Harper’s Michinoku Driver. Another drop to the floor leaves Bryan to kick away at Harper’s arm and then chest in the corner, followed by a dropkick to the knee. Harper is back up to knock Bryan to the floor, setting up the suicide dive to Reigns.

It’s time to load up the announcers’ table so the German announcers jump over the barricade. Instead though, Reigns gets knocked down so Rowan can slam Harper onto him. To mix it up a bit, Rowan starts ripping up the barricade and then moves back to the table. Bryan escapes a double powerbomb by hurricanranaing Harper off the table, leaving Reigns to spear Rowan off said table.

Reigns is holding his knee though, leaving Bryan to hit the running dropkicks on Harper in the corner. The super hurricanrana is countered into a superbomb for two on Bryan and they’re both down. Harper is back up with a suplex but Bryan slips out, allowing Reigns to come back in for the Superman Punch. The running knee into the spear finishes Harper at 16:46.

Rating: B. Back to back good matches to start the show with these guys beating the heck out of each other throughout. This felt like they were hitting the brakes on Harper and Rowan, though I’m not sure if they’ll hit them as hard on Rowan as they do on Harper. At least they had a good match though and that’s something that helps a lot.

Post match Bryan pulls himself up and wants a hug. That’s exactly what he gets too and the fans are rather pleased.

Seth Rollins is ready for the challenge from the Fiend and promises to retain the title.

Randy Orton vs. Ali

Bonus match and Orton points at the Cell during his entrance. Orton works on the armbar to start before taking it outside for a drop onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Orton stomps away back inside before sending Ali hard into the post, leaving a NASTY bruise on the ribs. Something close to an abdominal stretch stays on the ribs back inside, followed by the required chinlock. That’s broken up and they head outside with Ali hitting a dropkick and diving over the announcers’ table onto Orton.

Ali’s rolling X Factor and Orton’s powerslam get two each but Ali is right back with a spinwheel kick. The tornado DDT sets up a missed 450 and Orton hits the handing DDT. The RKO is countered with a handstand into a crucifix for two as Orton is surprised. Another rolling X Factor is loaded up but Orton catches him with the RKO for the pin at 12:13.

Rating: C+. Yeah I don’t think anyone really expected Ali to win here and that’s the problem for him most of the time, just like so many others. It’s pretty clear that WWE isn’t interested in giving him any serious kind of push and that makes his matches a bit harder to watch. He’s trying hard, but it doesn’t seem to be getting him any higher up the card. At least he’s appearing on the show though, which is more than he’s been doing.

Tomorrow night: Lacey Evans vs. Natalya, Last Woman Standing. I’d love to know their rejected ideas.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Kabuki Warriors

The Warriors are challenging with Asuka hitting a sliding knee to Cross’ face for two. It’s off to Bliss for the running slap in the corner and Cross comes back in for a jawbreaker. Sane comes in and beats up Bliss a bit before handing it back to Asuka for a choke. Bliss blocks what looked to be an ankle lock attempt but gets knocked right back into the corner. Sane pokes Cross in the eye to knock her off the apron but it means the referee doesn’t count off the sliding lariat in the corner.

Bliss escapes another ankle lock and brings Cross in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Sane has to break up a quick cover. The Insane Elbow hits raised knees so it’s back to Asuka for the kicks to Cross’ face. Cross blocks a big kick, so Asuka busts out the green mist of all things to blind her rather well. The big kick finishes Cross for the pin and the titles at 10:27.

Rating: D. I was fighting to stay awake during this one as the match just was not interesting no matter what they were doing. Going full on evil Japanese monster with Asuka is kind of interesting, though it’s about a year too late. It could have been worse, but it did a very bad job of keeping me interested and that’s not a good sign with about two hours left.

Here’s a video on Smackdown.

OC vs. Viking Raiders/???

The Raiders need a mystery partner so here’s Braun Strowman to complete their team. Anderson headlocks Ivar to start so Ivar quickly reverses into the Whoopee Cushion out of the corner. Gallows comes in to hammer on Ivar, who goes up top to dive over Gallows and roll over for the tag to Erik. House is cleaned with Gallows being sent to the floor but Styles tags himself in to get in a few shots to the head.

The Pele connects for two but Erik fights out of the corner, only to walk into the spinebuster from Anderson. A backdrop is finally enough to bring Strowman in for the destruction, including the running shoulders on the floor. Back in and Strowman’s shoulder goes into the post, allowing AJ to chop his block. Erik breaks up the Calf Crushes and Ivar clotheslines Gallows. The running powerslam is broken up with another chop block and it’s a triple teaming on Braun for the DQ at 8:15.

Rating: D+. Total TV match, complete with a TV main event because we need to protect Anderson and Gallows from the Strowman and the Raiders. This was a watchable match that didn’t belong on pay per view, which has been the case with more than one match on this show. Strowman isn’t likely to be bothered by the loss as he’s doing something with Tyson Fury soon, but for now, this wasn’t much to see.

Post match the beatdown keeps going until the Vikings send Gallows and Anderson to the floor. Double suicide dives connect and Strowman is back up with a knockout right hand to drop Styles. Anderson and Gallows pick Styles up and have to tell him what day it is after that right hand.

The Street Profits do their thing. Tamina pops in and pins Carmella for the 24/7 Title. Tyler Breeze comes up and gets knocked out, leaving R-Truth and Carmella to split up to look for Tamina. More on this, meaning Carmella or R-Truth will get the title back, later.

We recap Baron Corbin vs. Chad Gable, which started with Corbin beating him for the King of the Ring, so Gable broke his throne.

Chad Gable vs. King Corbin

Hold on though as Corbin has to make some short jokes. Corbin even dubs him Shorty Gable. That’s too far for Gable, who goes straight at him with crossfaces to the jaw and a quickly broken sleeper. Corbin sends him shoulder first into the post and chest first into the buckle for two. The chinlock is broken up so Corbin clotheslines the heck out of him for two more. Gable fights up and gets in a missile dropkick, followed by another kick to the head.

Corbin is down on his knees so Graves can praises Gable for finally being taller than someone. Gable shouts a lot and forearms away, followed by a German suplex for two. The rolling Liger kick in the corner is countered into a powerbomb to give Corbin two more but Gable is right back with a cross armbreaker over the ropes. Gable walks into Deep Six for another near fall but End of Days is countered into a running flip neckbreaker.

The moonsault gets two and sets up the ankle lock but Corbin makes the rope. They head outside with Corbin hitting a chokeslam onto the apron before going to grab the scepter. That’s taken away and Gable rolls him up for the pin at 12:18. Ring announcer: “Here is your winner: SHORTY GABLE”!

Rating: C. I like this company. I really and truly do. I’ve watched it for over thirty years and I care about WWE more than any other wrestling company. Then they do nonsense like this, all for the sake of Vince thinks it’s HILARIOUS to call a guy short over and over again. You get a talented guy, who can talk, has charisma and is an Olympic wrestler. What do you do with him? Name him Shorty, soon to be changed to Shorty G. I love WWE, but they don’t make this easy.

We look at Charlotte making Bayley tap on Smackdown.

We do the international announcers’ row and Tamina runs in to use Funaki as a human shield. She throws him at R-Truth to cut him off but walks into Carmella’s superkick….so Truth can get the pin and the title back, at Carmella’s insistence.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending and misses some early chops, allowing Charlotte to show her how it’s done. A crossbody misses and Charlotte goes for the Figure Eight, sending Bayley rolling outside. Bayley pokes her in the eye but Charlotte chops away again. This time Bayley gets smart by taking out the leg and sending her outside for a crash. Charlotte’s leg gets sent into the LED ring skirt and then gets wrapped around the rope/post.

The half crab goes on but Charlotte slips out, meaning it’s time for Bayley to try the Figure Eight. That isn’t going to work either as Charlotte wraps the leg around the post for a change. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two and the knee is fine enough for the moonsault to hit Bayley’s raised knees. A rollup with feet on the ropes gives Bayley two but the referee catches her. The big boot into the Figure Eight gives Charlotte the tenth title at 10:12.

Rating: C-. You had to know this was coming sooner rather than later as it had been more than a month since Charlotte held a title so WWE had the bad itch again. Charlotte winning is fine enough as I’m numb to it after this many times, but hopefully this moves us closer to a Horsewoman four way as it’s not like they have many more interesting/fresh ways to go.

For your eye roll line of the match, Cole: “We may have to start considering Charlotte as one of the all time best.” Bayley sits on the floor and asks why it’s always her.

In the back, Gable accepts the Shorty moniker because all he cares about is winning. Corbin called him a loser but tonight, Gable was the bigger man. Corbin jumps him from behind because this feud must continue.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. the Fiend. Bray Wyatt has come back and become a monster under his new persona, earning himself the shot here. Rollins is terrified of the Fiend but is ready to fight and survive, as he always does.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend

Inside the Cell with the Fiend challenging. The creepy entrance with the human head lantern are back too. We get the old Kane red lights as Fiend goes right after him to start. Seth hammers away and gets knocked to the floor for his efforts. Back in and Fiend knocks him down again as they head outside for the second time. A whip sends Rollins into the Cell wall as the slow beating continues.

Fiend goes looking for plunder but Seth gets in a shot with the steps for a breather. A table is sent in but Seth scores with a pair of suicide dives and a whip into the steps. Another suicide dive is countered into Sister Abigail into the Cell and the table is set up inside. Some kicks put Fiend on the table and the frog splash puts Wyatt down again. Seth hits the Stomp and Fiend is right back up with another Sister Abigail for two.

With Seth down on the floor, Fiend busts out the big mallet. Seth knocks him away and hits another Stomp onto the mallet but Fiend is back on his feet inside. A springboard knee to the face and a superkick won’t put Fiend down so it’s a third Stomp into a fourth Stomp. The fans are openly booing Seth as he hits a fifth Stomp but Fiend is still getting up. The Pedigree sets up a sixth Stomp….for one. Stomps #7, #8, #9 and #10 all connect but he’s still getting up.

We get #11 to put Fiend down for a bit but Seth gets a chair instead of covering. A huge chair shot to the head only gets one so let’s bring in a ladder. The chair is placed on the Fiend’s head and crushed with the ladder for two. Fiend stays down as Seth finds a toolbox. The chair and ladder are put on Fiend’s head and Seth crushes it over and over with the toolbox, which he then puts on top of the pile. That’s not enough for a cover as the booing is getting even louder now. Seth pulls out the sledgehammer but the referee won’t let him use it. Seth stops but then crushes Fiend with it…..

AND

THAT

IS

A DQ!!!!!

INSIDE THE CELL!!!

AT 17:22!!!

Rating: F. They killed the Cell. I’d think that’s enough for a failure, wouldn’t you?

The Cell is raised and medics come out but Fiend pops up and puts on the Claw. Sister Abigail connects on the floor as we get a RESTART THE MATCH chant. Another Sister Abigail on the exposed concrete knocks Rollins cold and it’s the Claw again. The lights go out and laughter ends the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Once this show ended, I actually sat at my computer for a bit and just stared. I’ve spent a lot of time watching this company and I’ll defend almost anything they do. Tonight, I felt like they wasted my time and laughed at me for watching their show. It was bad enough that WWE showed how much they cared by announcing over half of the card on the day of the event, but then we get to the two main points.

Then we got to what might have been the most annoyed I’ve gotten at WWE in years: Shorty Gable. That nickname, which seems to be sticking around, is a fine example of WWE ignoring every bit of talent that a wrestler has and going with a stupid joke name designed to do nothing more than amuse their writing staff, or probably Vince himself. There are probably a dozen interesting ways to push Gable (he should have been Angle’s son, he’s a wrestling machine, he’s ticked off at the short jokes and hurts people, you could have made him King of the Ring and the list goes on.

But no. Instead, we get him being called Shorty like he’s in some 1930s gangster movie, because that’s the kind of amusement that we need around here. It’s a one note gimmick that is going to allow Graves to make as many short jokes as he can think of and then Gable will be forgotten because he’s the guy who has a stupid name designed to make people laugh. That’s the kind of thing you expect out of Vince Russo and we’re getting it here in 2019.

Then there’s the…..man this hurts to even say again. My all time favorite wrestler is Mick Foley, who is best known for the insanity he went through in the Cell. That’s what they always bring up every time one of these matches takes place (at the same time of course, because that’s what the match has become: a spot on the calendar instead of the be all end all gimmick match) and now…..it’s a match where you can have a DQ.

WWE decided that they had booked themselves into a corner and instead of coming up with a smart finish or anything good, they decided to just cut through the rules and go against the entire concept of a match that has been a big deal around here for over twenty years. It’s stupid, it’s shortsighted, it’s lazy, it’s kicking the fans between the legs and telling them to keep paying their money next year when they probably run this show again with the same premise.

This was WWE laughing at its fans and saying “yeah whatever, we know you’re going to keep coming back.” The Cell is built around the idea that anything goes and it is the ultimate battle ground. Well now it’s any given match because you can go too far and the match can be stopped. The one thing about the Cell that is supposed to make it special is now gone, because WWE, with its army of writers and creative people, couldn’t think of something else.

I can’t call the show a failure because the first two matches were really good, but then it became a mix of house show rematches, literally turning a wrestler into a joke and then pulling the plug on the company’s top violent match that this show was named for. WWE took your money/time and laughed at you for watching their show tonight, and I’m sure tomorrow everything will be fine because that’s how WWE works. This bothered me, as it’s one of the first times in a long time that I felt like I did something stupid by watching a show. That shouldn’t happen, but it did tonight.

Results

Becky Lynch b. Sasha Banks – Disarm-Her

Roman Reigns/Daniel Bryan b. Luke Harper/Erick Rowan – Spear to Rowan

Randy Orton b. Ali – RKO

Kabuki Warriors b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross – Kick to Cross’ head

Braun Strowman/Viking Raiders b. OC via DQ when the OC triple teamed Strowman

Chad Gable b. Baron Corbin – Rollup

Charlotte b. Bayley – Figure Eight

The Fiend b. Seth Rollins via DQ when WWE lost its mind

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

No this isn’t incomplete. This is the big finale to the busiest and most important weeks in wrestling history. After all the time that has been spent on the major television premieres and everything else that is going on this week, it is time for a regular pay per view. I don’t know how many people in WWE remember this because, as of pretty late Saturday night, there are a total of four matches announced for this thing. There are enough stories going on to set up a few more, but for some reason that just has not happened yet. It’s as good as I can get here so bear with a pretty short preview. Let’s get to it.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Charlotte

This was added after this week’s SmackDown, where Charlotte made Bayley tap in a tag match on the first match on the new network. That’s how you treat champions in WWE, so I can’t say I’m surprised that this happened. The first match took place last month at Clash of Champions where Bayley cheated to retain, meaning you should know what is coming this time around.

I’m going with a new champion here as Charlotte is the kind of person that WWE would love to push on FOX for a variety of reasons. If nothing else, just couple it with the fact that she’s Ric Flair’s daughter and I think they’ll be fine. Bayley has held the title for a few months now and there isn’t much else for her to do at the moment, though it’s hard to say what is going to happen after next week’s Draft.

Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan/Luke Harper

This one is just more confusing than anything else. I know how we got here but at the same time I have no idea where we are supposed to go from here. It seems that we need a big reveal/swerve as the real mastermind as I just can’t imagine Rowan being the big bad in the whole thing. He’s gotten a lot out of it, but Rowan and Harper are such perfect fits as monster lackeys that it doesn’t fit to imagine them as the boss.

Since I think we’re having the mastermind revealed eventually, I’ll take Rowan and Harper to win here, as it wouldn’t make sense to cut them down so soon. Maybe it’s Bryan himself as the mastermind, but I just do not think Rowan and Harper lose here. I mean, it didn’t make a ton of sense to have Rowan lose on Friday but that didn’t stop WWE either. Rowan and Harper win here, though it’s not the end of the story just yet.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Sasha Banks

Here we have your annual “hey their fighting can’t be contained and it happens to be September so we better have a Cell match” match. These two got in a wild fight last month at Clash of Champions until Lynch got disqualified so it’s time to put them in the Cell to settle things. This has been a good enough feud, though it seems that at least Lynch is destined for SmackDown.

I’ll say we have a new champion here as Lynch has held the title for a long time now and doesn’t need to do much more with it. Just let her go over to SmackDown after fighting her heart out here. You could find a way to get Bayley to cheat to help switch the title as it’s not like there isn’t interference in half of the Cell matches. The match should be a good fight, though nothing that hasn’t been done before. Banks wins though.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins(c) vs. The Fiend

At least we have one match where I really don’t know what to pick. This is one of those matches where you could see it going either way, but you can almost bet on the fact that they are going to do something stupid at some point. The Fiend is the new unstoppable monster and putting him in a match like this would seem to be the place where he should be guaranteed to win.

I’ll go with what should be the obvious answer and say that the Fiend gets the title, which should be the case. However, knowing WWE, would something completely stupid surprise you? There has been a no contest inside the Cell so they could manage to find a way to do something else again. Rollins has not done very well as champion so putting the title on the Fiend would at least be something fresh. Just go with what makes sense for once, please.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not even sure what to say about this. It comes at the end of a week with more material than anyone knew what to do with and that didn’t leave much time for this show. There will probably be some form of interference to set up future feuds as well as a Raw Tag Team Title match being added (and probably a midcard title match or two) to flesh out the card, but I’m really not sure about having possibly more than half of the card being added on the day of the show. Yeah there were special circumstances for this one, but come on man.

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

Smackdown
Date: October 4, 2019
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

Well here we go. It’s time for the biggest opportunity WWE has had in a generation, if not ever, as they debut their weekly television series on a major broadcast network. They aren’t scaling back on anything either, with every major name you could ask for and a slate of huge matches to boot. Tonight is all going to be about the presentation and that could go various ways. Let’s get to it.

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

Vince and Stephanie McMahon come through the rather cool looking new set (it looked like a tunnel of parentheses for lack of a better term) and welcome us to the show.

Opening sequence, which looks awesome as it makes the wrestlers look larger than life.

Here’s Becky Lynch to open things up. She talks about changing the game and how she wants to beat someone up right now. Cue King Corbin of all people to say Becky is no longer the man. A threat is made and here’s the Rock to interrupt. After some soaking in of the cheers, Rock calls Corbin a crackhead looking Burger King knockoff. That sets up FINALLY, but Corbin tells them both to know their roles and shut their mouths. Rock: “Beck do you mind if I take this one?”

It turns into a discussion of Corbin’s testicles until Corbin says he is the real king of Los Angeles. Rock: “Is that what you think?” Corbin: “Well yeah I…” Becky: “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!” They determine that Corbin is a super tough dude, which Rock turns into an STD chant. More insults are exchanged and the beatdown is on. Rock and Becky pose a good bit. This went on WAY longer than it should have and some of the jokes/insults just were not good whatsoever.

Lita, Trish Stratus and Maria Menunos are in the front row.

Becky Lynch/Charlotte vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Banks sends Charlotte hard into the corner to start so Charlotte chops right back. Charlotte gets knocked off the apron though and we take an early break. Back with Becky coming in off the hot tag to kick Bayley in the corner. The Bexploder into the middle rope legdrop gets two and it’s back to Charlotte for Natural Selection for two more.

Banks makes the save and it’s the big showdown with Becky as they slug it out. That’s broken up by Bayley and everything breaks down in a double brawl. A missile dropkick puts Banks down and Charlotte moonsaults onto both of them. Back in and the Figure Eight makes Bayley tap at 8:18.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t as good as their previous match but they didn’t have the time to make it that big. What mattered here was getting Becky on the big stage in a match this important before the showdown with Sasha on Sunday. It was energetic while it lasted and no one botched anything horrible so….well done?

FOX Sports reporter Erin Andrews interviews the New Day, including asking Kofi Kingston about challenging for the WWE Championship (the title that she is literally one foot away from as it hangs over Kofi’s shoulder). Kofi talks about climbing mountains, but Xavier and Big E. aren’t going to be there because Kofi has requested to do it himself.

World boxing champion Tyson Fury is here.

So are Mick Foley and Kurt Angle.

Seth Rollins comes out for his match but it’s Firefly Fun House time. Bray Wyatt shouts a welcome to the Fun House and introduces his friends. Ramblin Rabbit is in a Seth Rollins shirt and has a Rollins beard painted on. He wants to be just like Seth when he grows up so DO NOT GET IN THE CELL WITH THE FIEND. Bray interrupts and starts speaking in an accent, because setting up his own Cell match between Ramblin Rabbit and Mercy the Buzzard. Biting ensues and stuffing flies as Rabbit’s head comes off. Bray says history will repeat itself. See you in h***!

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title. We come back from a break to see Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Rock’s mom in the crowd as the bell rings. That was a rather quick cameo and Nakamura takes the attention off of them even more as he tries an early cross armbreaker. That’s broken up and Rollins kicks him down….and there go the lights for a no contest at we’ll say 1:30. Rollins runs to the stage and there’s the Fiend for the Claw, because no one in this company knows how to look over their shoulder. The Fiend throws him off the stage.

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

Ladder match and loser leaves WWE. Owens cuts him off in the aisle and sends him face first into a ladder to start. The ladder is bridged between the ring and the barricade but Shane is fine enough to cut off an early climb attempt. Owens throws the ladder at him but it goes flying over the top, allowing Owens to hit a clothesline. The ladder is dropkicked into Owens’ face and Shane loads up the announcers’ table. That means the top rope elbow actually connects and we take a break.

Back with Owens frog splashing Shane through the bridged ladder as they missed quite a transition during the commercial. The crowd seems to be muted for a second for what may have been a HOLY S*** chant. Owens climbs the ladder but Shane chairs him down and hits Coast to Coast into the ladder. Shane goes up but Owens powerbombs him onto another bridged ladder. That’s enough to pull down the briefcase and get rid of Shane at 11:58.

Rating: C. That’s one of the weakest ladder matches that I can remember in a long time as it was just one spot after another with almost no selling and no emotion to the whole thing. They didn’t do a good job of making me want to see Shane gone and it felt like a story where we missed most of what led up to it. The spots were good but there was no building to them, especially with just a commercial between the elbow and the frog splash. I’m assuming it was Shane’s limitations, but this was rather lifeless and led to an obvious ending which didn’t have any emotional impact.

Post match Owens gets to tell Shane that he is fired.

We get a montage of Smackdown highlights over the years.

Paul Heyman shows us a clip of Brock Lesnar destroying Rey Mysterio and Mysterio’s son Dominick. Heyman says Mysterio was in Lesnar’s way, just like Kofi Kingston is tonight. Here’s a spoiler: tonight, Lesnar is WWE Champion again.

Braun Strowman/Heavy Machinery/Miz vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler/AJ Styles/Randy Orton

Ziggler hits a quick Zig Zag on Miz to start but takes too long posing, allowing Miz to grab the DDT. It’s off to Strowman to clean house but the RKO hits Miz. Otis runs Orton over but walks into the Phenomenal Forearm. Tucker Cactus Clotheslines AJ to the floor and it’s time for Strowman’s shoulder block train. Strowman stops to pose with Tyson Fury, but Ziggler jumps on Braun, meaning it’s time to get knocked into Fury. Back in and the powerslam ends Ziggler at 3:10.

Rating: D. What the heck was that??? It was like a drive by eight man tag with a celebrity angle in the middle. It came, it went, it might as well have been an in-ring interview gone awry. At least there was a thing with Fury, though I can’t imagine that actually gets to go anywhere for a long time. This felt very random, but at least it came and went quickly while getting some people on the show.

Post match Fury jumps the barricade but security holds him back from Strowman.

In honor of the new movie Gemini Man, we get a look at some WWE youth vs. experience matches (such as Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. HHH and young Mark Henry vs. old Mark Henry).

We look at Fury jumping the barricade again.

Earlier today, R-Truth and Carmella were in the back with a DJ named Marshmello winning the 24/7 Title from Carmella. She would win it back later in the night.

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan

Lumberjack match with Daniel Bryan on commentary. It’s a fight to start with Roman being sent outside, only to get tossed back in. Rowan gets the same treatment, though Rowan beats them up to stay on the floor. Roman goes out after him and it’s back inside for a big boot from Rowan as we take a break. Back with Roman fighting out of Rowan’s fist vice around the head.

The Superman Punch connects and everyone is down but here’s Luke Harper. Bryan gets up as Harper beats up the lumberjacks but Bryan is on him as the big brawl breaks out. Roman hits the big dive over the top to drop everyone, leaving Rowan to throw Ali at Roman to take him down. Back in and Rowan hits a crossbody for two but the Iron Claw is broken up. Reigns Superman Punches Rowan but Harper comes in to drop Reigns. Bryan knees Harper and the spear finishes Rowan at 8:54.

Rating: C+. It was an entertaining brawl and I want to see the tag match on Sunday, though I have almost no idea where the story is going after that match. Bryan seems to be a face again and unless there is a heck of a twist coming, I’m not sure how many more directions they can take with the whole thing.

We look at the Rock and Becky beating up Corbin.

Smackdown World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston

Kofi is defending. The F5 makes Brock champion in six seconds.

Post match here are Rey Mysterio and CAIN VELASQUEZ as Brock looks like he’s seen a ghost. Cain takes him down with a double leg and the scared Brock bails in a hurry. Brock teases coming back to the ring but backs off and walks away as we’re off the air at 9:58.

Overall Rating: D+. And really, that’s being pretty generous. This show felt like a mess as everything was being crammed together to try and get everything they could in. The opening segment was the longest part of the night and it went on way longer than it needed to. The show should settle down a bit next week and the big angle at the end worked really well, but egads this show was crammed full of stuff and a lot of it really didn’t work. It wasn’t a terrible show but this needed a third hour or to be spread over two weeks. Hopefully next week is better because they stumbled coming out of the gate.

Results

Becky Lynch/Charlotte b. Bayley/Sasha Banks – Figure Eight to Bayley

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura went to a no contest when the Fiend interfered

Kevin Owens b. Shane McMahon – Owens pulled down the briefcase

Braun Strowman/Heavy Machinery/Miz b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler/AJ Styles/Randy Orton – Powerslam to Ziggler

Roman Reigns b. Erick Rowan – Spear

Brock Lesnar b. Kofi Kingston – F5

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 30, 2019
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizon
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin, Jerry Lawler

It’s time to start the biggest week in a very long time with the season premiere of Monday Night Raw. This show is completely stacked with the Universal Title on the line, Brock Lesnar making an appearance, the Tag Team Titles on the line and probably a lot more. We’re going to be in for a big night so let’s get to it.

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

The music over the Then Now Forever music is different.

Opening sequence. I don’t remember the last time I saw one of these for Raw.

Pyro is back as well.

We open with a shot of the announcers and the new set, which looks like it curves up from the stage to the screen. It’s uh….big.

Here’s Rey Mysterio for a chat. He dedicates tonight’s title match to his son Dominick, in the front row. Before that can go anywhere though, here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to interrupt. Heyman takes the mic but Rey takes it right back, earning himself a pair of F5’s. Brock isn’t done as he pulls Dominick over the barricade and drives him into the post.

Dominick gets a German suplex and Rey takes another F5 as Heyman looks terrified. Brock throws them both again, plus Fit Finlay (what a fight that would have been back in the day) and one more beating to Rey and Dominick each. Heyman is begging Brock to stop and even Brock looks like he knows he made a mistake.

During the break, Dominick was taken to the hospital as Rey cried a lot.

Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

Hang on though as here’s Becky Lynch to join commentary. Bliss gets knocked to the floor to start and it’s already time for the trash talk from the ring. Becky gets on the table and yells back as we go split screen for a Gears of War ad. Back in a hurry with Becky still standing and taping her fists. An ambulance siren goes off in the arena, which I would assume would be Dominick’s ambulance leaving. Bliss slaps away but a DDT is broken up, leaving Banks to beg off. She calls for Bayley (not here) and the distraction lets her kick Bliss in the leg and grab a rollup for the pin at 4:25.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here other than a nice hope of having the stories bleed between segments for a change. The ambulance leaving gives me some hope, as there is no logical reason to have everything come to a halt because another match starts up. The ending was a little odd as it seemed to focus more on the Tag Team Title stuff than the Raw Women’s Title on Sunday.

Post match Becky comes in for the fight but Banks bails into the crowd, where a fan has the most bugged out eyes.

The Rock is confirmed for Smackdown.

We look back at last week’s Firefly Fun House and Bray Wyatt attacking Braun Strowman, plus scaring Seth Rollins.

Rollins is disgusted by what Brock did, but he’s also not sure what to expect from the Fiend on Sunday. He isn’t going away quietly though and he’ll survive and prevail. As for tonight, Rey may not be able to get his title shot but there is one waiting on him when he gets back. The fans were promised a title match tonight though and that’s what they’re getting. Someone needs to stand up.

Tag Team Titles: Heavy Machinery vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Roode and Ziggler are defending. Tucker runs Ziggler over to start and even busts out a dropkick for two. It’s off to Otis, with Tucker lifting Ziggler up for a suplex and handing him off to Otis in the air. The champs are in trouble as we take a break. Back with Ziggler neckbreakering Tucker for two and putting on the chinlock.

The comeback doesn’t last long as Roode grabs the spinebuster and hands it back to Ziggler. Tucker catapults Ziggler into the post though and the hot tag brings in Otis for some jiggling. The Caterpillar looks to set up the Compactor but Ziggler makes the save with the Zig Zag. Otis gets sent into the post and it’s the Glorious DDT to Tucker to retain the titles at 11:10.

Rating: C-. Roode and Ziggler are the most run of the mill heel champions and I have a bad feeling that they are going to be champions for a long time. The tag division is deep enough to give them some good challengers but this is what we’re stuck with due to reasons of Ziggler.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz offering condolences to Rey and his family. He can’t imagine what it would be like to have something like that happen to his child. As for tonight, he has two legends for his guests. That would be Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) and Ric Flair, with Ric not seemingly happy with Hogan. Ric complains about hearing Real American for thirty years. Hogan: “WOO!” Miz: “We’ve been hearing those even longer!”

Flair goes on a rant about how Hogan may be the biggest legend but no one can hold a candle to him in this ring. They’re ready to fight with Flair slapping his shoulders and Hogan doing the point…so Flair backs down. Hogan talks about how they’re not spring chickens anymore, but they want to have one more page on their resumes. Miz knows how they can do that, with Flair wanting just one payday like Hogan’s in his career. They have an idea though, which will take place at Crown Jewel: Team Hogan vs. Team Flair in a ten man tag match with the legends as the coaches.

Hogan brings out his captain in the form of Seth Rollins, but Flair has his own captain in Randy Orton. Randy wants Seth’s undivided attention so can he please crawl out of Hogan’s a** for a second. Randy to Flair: “Can I get a WOO?” They’ll be picking their teams together over the next few weeks but for now, let’s have a captain’s match. Flair was all over the place here and seemed a bit out of it, or at least rambling with some off the cuff comments.

Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton

I think this is non-title….and here’s King Corbin to interrupt. The bell never rings as Corbin and Orton double team Seth, including a scepter shot. Rusev of all people saves and I smell a tag match. Actually we don’t as Rusev clears the ring and we seem to have a second member for each team.

We see Dominick leaving in the ambulance earlier and Rey goes with him. There WILL be a Universal Title match tonight.

Rusev is asked about Lana but won’t talk about his problems at home. As for tonight, he helped Rollins so Rollins can help him. He wants the title shot tonight.

AOP talks about bringing for the violence and pain.

Viking Raiders vs. OC

It’s a brawl to start with Ivar getting taken into the OC corner for the beating from Gallows. A kick to the face and an elbow get two and a rake to Ivar’s face makes it even worse. Ivar fights up and shoves Gallows away for the tag to Erik so house can be cleaned. Back with a belly to back neckbreaker dropping Erick and the chinlock going on.

That’s broken up in short order and it’s back to Ivar for the big comeback. The German suplex/springboard clothesline gets two on Anderson with Gallows making a fast save. Everything breaks down as Lawler talks about Gallows being ugly. Ivar’s suicide dive takes out Anderson and it’s a powerbomb into a frog splash from Ivar for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C. Perfectly nice hard hitting match here as the Raiders continue their roll. There is no reason to keep them away from the titles much longer and I think WWE is starting to get the idea. They have now beaten the OC twice in a row so the title scene almost has to be coming up soon enough.

Charly Caruso updates us about Rey and Dominick, who won’t be back tonight. A lot of people are calling what Brock did criminal, but here’s Cesaro to say he’s just upset that he didn’t get to beat up Dominick. Ricochet comes in to call him out for his actions and a match is made.

Cesaro vs. Ricochet

Ricochet starts fast but his headscissors is countered without much effort. A crossbody is as well but Ricochet slips out of a powerslam and monkey flips Cesaro over the top. The big flip dive connects but Cesaro uppercuts him down back inside. The Neuralizer is blocked and Cesaro goes shoulder first into the post. A springboard flip hurricanrana is enough to give Ricochet the pin at 2:24.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. All of Bray’s friends are scared of something with Ramblin Rabbit actually being scared to death. Bray comes in and throws Rabbit away as everyone else talks about being scared of what happens when Seth fights the Fiend in the Cell. Even Bray is a little scared because the Cell is like a world without chocolate. Seth is going to be trapped in there with HIM, but don’t worry because HE will always protect the Fun House. He will come back no matter what, but Rollins might not be so fortunate. Bray is going to try and find Him so he can be nice to Rollins. Maniacal laughter ensues.

US Title: AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander

AJ is defending and goes right after him to start. A knee to the face puts AJ on the floor but he breaks up a suicide dive with a forearm to the face. Cedric avoids a charge to send AJ shoulder first into the post but a TKO over the top rope puts Alexander on the floor again. That means the slingshot forearm and we take a break. Back with Cedric getting two off of the springboard Downward Spiral.

A spinning elbow to the head looks to set up the Lumbar Check but AJ reverses into the reverse DDT for two more. Cedric nails the Michinoku Driver for another near fall but the Neuralizer is countered into a German suplex. A faceplant gives AJ his own two so Cedric is right back with another Lumbar Check attempt. This time it’s countered into the Styles Clash to retain the title at 9:45.

Rating: C-. They were botchier than usual here with some of the stuff not looking that crisp. I’m not sure what is next for either of them now, but Alexander would seem more likely to be in trouble. You can throw anyone at AJ because of the title, but what exactly is there for Cedric to do at the moment?

The Street Profits hype up their Tag Team Title shot on this week’s NXT, where they are coming for their belts. They talk about the Cell a bit with Ford freaking out over a mention of the Fiend’s name. See, if you mention his name three times, he appears. An old janitor told Ford about it, though Dawkins is more confused about Ford talking to a janitor.

Pay per view rundown….with no new matches announced. We’re less than six days away. A fourth match isn’t that much to ask for.

Natalya vs. Lacey Evans

Round three. Natalya slams her down to start and hits the basement dropkick but Lacey kicks the leg out. A head first swing into the steps has Natalya rocked and a swinging neckbreaker plants her again. The moonsault is broken up though as Natalya pulls her down by the leg and slaps away. The Sharpshooter doesn’t work for Natalya as Lacey kicks away and pokes her in the eye, setting up a rollup with tights for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: D+. And they’re done now. There wasn’t a need for a second of these matches and there is no need for a fourth. Lacey didn’t even win with the Sharpshooter to make things personal so I’m not sure what the point was in extending the feud. It’s good for Lacey to get a win, but it’s not like this was anything good in the first place.

Post match Lacey lays her out with the Woman’s Right.

John Cena is raising money for a veteran’s charity and until Veteran’s Day, he will match all donations up to $1 million.

We look at Lesnar destroying Rey and Dominick earlier.

Heyman says what Lesnar did was reckless and he apologizes to the Mysterio family. It’s really Vince McMahon’s fault though because he scheduled Brock for this show. There are a lot of wannabe tough guys in every sport and no one can do a thing about what Brock did tonight or what he’ll do on Friday. If you want to see history, watch on Friday when Lesnar becomes the new WWE Champion.

Maria Kanellis says Rusev isn’t the father of her baby because she has enough going on. She leaves and Sasha Banks comes in to say she can’t wait to make Becky suffer. Banks is one of two women to be in the Cell and no Man is winning her match.

A white limo arrives.

Raw World Title: Rusev vs. Seth Rollins

Rusev is challenging and gets a jobber entrance as Orton and Corbin are watching from the stage. Rollins tries to start fast but has to bail from the Accolade. The fall away slam starts working on the back as we take a break (with the Fiend appearing to say Let Me In). Back with Rollins fighting out of the bearhug and sending Rusev to the floor for the suicide dives. Rusev rolls through a high crossbody but Rollins rolls through his roll through for two.

Rusev kicks him in the head and gets two off a swinging release Rock Bottom. Rollins is back up with the Falcon Arrow for two but the Stomp misses. The springboard knee hits part of a superkick…..and here’s Bobby Lashley. He waves someone out though and here is…..Lana, as Rusev is crushed. Kissing ensues with Lana almost crawling on top of Lashley as Rusev just glares. There go the lights and the Fiend Mandible Claws Rollins in a no contest at 11:30.

Rating: D+. This was just a backdrop for the double angles and I’d rather they do that here than wasting what could have been a big match with Mysterio. Rusev not losing is a great sign and he has a feud set up instantly. I’m curious about the story behind the whole thing so at least they have something going on already.

Laughter ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It was a VERY story heavy show this week, which is what it should have been. That’s a good sign as, again, the wrestling isn’t the point of a show like this. They did enough stuff to make me want to see where a lot of it is going, though Sunday is sacrificed for another night. I’m sure they’ll announce some matches during the week, but it’s not like this Sunday feels like anything important in the slightest. Tonight was good overall though and I want to see where things are going.

Results

Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss – Rollup

Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler b. Heavy Machinery – Glorious DDT to Tucker

Viking Raiders b. OC – Frog splash to Gallows

Ricochet b. Cesaro – Springboard flip hurricanrana

AJ Styles b. Cedric Alexander – Styles Clash

Lacey Evans b. Natalya – Rollup with a handful of tights

Seth Rollins vs. Rusev went to a no contest when the Fiend interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 16, 2019
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the night after Clash of Champions and thankfully that show is out of the way. Last night offered a grand total of nothing important as it was just a show that had to be done before we could get on to the Cell next month. The Fiend is already haunting Seth Rollins and the Universal Championship so expect the big push to begin tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the middle section of seats and looking directly at the Titantron. The lower area of the hard camera side and all of the upper deck on the hard camera side were tarped off but the rest of the arena was mostly full.

Here’s Seth Rollins to get things going. There is a lot to unpack last night because he and Braun Strowman lost the Raw Tag Team Titles. It doesn’t matter whose fault it was though because the two of them faced off for the Universal Title later that night. Strowman is large and strong and last night he gave Rollins a heck of a fight. Four Stomps and a Pedigree later though, Rollins is still Universal Champion.

Then things got even worse because the Fiend knocked him out but ran away before Seth could do anything about it. Don’t worry though because Seth is getting his shot at the Fiend inside the Cell. Seth: “Yowie wowie indeed.” That sounds like summoning Bray though and it’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray says Seth is his future best friend but he has to cut off the pesky Ramblin Rabbit from telling us the truth. Anyway, Seth has done some bad things and the Fiend never forgets. Maybe he’ll even have something else to say to Seth tonight. Bray goes silent for a bit before laughing and saying he’ll see him in h***.

The graphics for what is coming later tonight are now upside down. Cole and Graves start talking but Renee asks if they have been upside down the entire time, bringing the whole thing to a grinding halt. I’d assume that was a Bray thing as the song is still playing, but either way it was quite the noticeable deal.

Braun Strowman says whoever is in the ring is going to get these hands.

Here are Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, followed by the Revival, for a Tag Team Champion Summit. Roode brags about how awesome they are but here is Strowman to run them over to a pretty big reaction, though he misses Dawson and Roode runs before Strowman can hit him. So we have four new champions who are being run over by a well known choker so the choker can be rebuilt again to set up future choking. There was no one else who could have gotten beaten up here? Or this couldn’t have happened later?

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross brag about their win last night and are ready for Sasha Banks and Bayley tonight. It was interesting how Banks talked about how the titles didn’t matter after she lost them and Bayley is just pathetic. Words to toast to.

OC vs. Cedric Alexander/Viking Raiders

Cedric slugs away at AJ to start and kicks him in the face but the Michinoku Driver is escaped. Styles falls into the wrong corner though and it’s Erik coming in to scream in AJ’s face. Anderson comes in as well, so Erik slams Ivar onto him for two as it’s one sided so far. It’s off to Gallows instead so Erik hits him in the face, only to miss the running knees in the corner.

Erik gets sent to the floor and into the barricade, setting up a big boot to send us to a break. Back with Erik fighting out of a chinlock and handing it right back to Ivar to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s a Neuralizer to Anderson but AJ tags himself in and hits the Phenomenal Forearm to finish Cedric at 8:25.

Rating: C-. That has to be it for Cedric going after Styles right? He’s lost twice in a row with one of them being a clean pin in a title match. I was thinking they might go somewhere with him but it seems that the legs have already been cut off. That’s quite the shame as Cedric has been great lately, but it’s not surprising to see a push cut off so soon.

Post match the beatdown is still on but Ivar hits a big flip dive to the floor to take a bunch of people down. Back in and Cedric crotches AJ on top and hammers away, only to have his super hurricanrana countered into a super Styles Clash to really hammer in the point.

R-Truth and Carmella were at the Women’s College Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville earlier today with R-Truth being confused by the big basketball on the roof. Cue Mayor Glenn Jacobs (named as such here) with Truth trying to figure out how tall the University of Tennessee women’s basketball players are. Truth thinks the Mayor is Magic Johnson or Larry Bird, but gets an offer of a tour of historic Knoxville. Now Truth thinks he’s talking to the President as Carmella just looks confused. I could go for more of this.

King of the Ring Finals: Baron Corbin vs. Chad Gable

We get the Big Match Intros and a quick mention of Don Muraco being the first king, which isn’t something referenced very often. Gable goes for the ankle to start but gets elbowed in the head for his efforts. A dropkick works a bit better for Gable as Corbin is knocked outside but he’s fine enough to backdrop a charging Gable into the timekeeper’s area.

Back from a break with Gable diving back in to beat the count (which he did two more times during the break). Corbin elbows him in the face a few times and we hit the required chinlock. That’s broken up so Corbin slides under the ropes for the big clothesline instead. A big boot drops Gable again as he can’t do much with the size and power. We hit the chinlock again as the announcers make every reference they can to various kings and royal courts to really hammer the point home.

Gable fights out and gets the ankle so Corbin hits him in the head to escape. Corbin’s charge hits the post (becoming WAY too popular of a spot) and the fans are getting into Gable here. The missile dropkick sets up some rolling Liger kicks in the corner but Corbin is right back with a pop up World’s Strongest Slam to put them both down. They head outside with Corbin sending him into the barricade over and over but a charge hits steps.

Gable wraps the leg around the post a few times and hammers away back inside. The leg is fine enough to hit a heck of a Deep Six for two, only to have Gable grab the rolling Chaos Theory for the same. End of Days is escaped and Gable gets the ankle lock again. The grapevine goes on but Corbin makes it over to the ropes and you can hear the energy getting sucked out of the arena. Gable goes back to the ankle but Corbin makes the rope and spins him into End of Days for the win at 19:42.

Rating: B. It’s amazing how much easier it is to put up with Corbin when he’s not appearing in ten segments a show. Corbin winning is far from shocking and maybe the King thing can go somewhere for him, though he is still walking a thin line. Just don’t overpush him like WWE always wants to do and he could be downright tolerable.

Corbin poses in front of the throne and limps off.

And now, a gender reveal party for Maria Kanellis’ unborn child, with various wrestlers holding up Team Boy and Team Girl signs. So it’s a boy, and the father happens to be Ricochet. Mike freaks out as Ricochet says it’s a lie and that he wouldn’t….ok not that he wouldn’t…..and Mike slaps him in the face. He’ll wait for Ricochet in the ring. Titus O’Neil tells Ricochet to go handle this and the Street Profits suggest a baby on a pole match. Dawkins: “How about a Maria on a pole match?” Ford: “Maria on the pole is how they got in this mess in the first place.”

Mike Kanellis vs. Ricochet

Kanellis is in street clothes and Ricochet doesn’t want to do this. Ricochet begs off and says this isn’t happening so Mike hits him in the face. Some weak stomping has Ricochet in trouble but he comes back with a shot of his own. A kick to the head in the corner sets up a springboard clothesline and the Recoil finishes Kanellis at 1:06.

We get another Firefly Fun House, with Bray adding names to his Wall Of Friendship, which includes painted over faces of Kurt Angle, Finn Balor, Mick Foley and others. He’s off to find a new friend.

Post break Mike is sitting on the apron as Maria comes out to yell at him some more. Obviously Ricochet isn’t the father but she’ll introduce him to the real father right now.

Mike Kanellis vs. Rusev

Nice to see Rusev again, mainly because of the chiseled physique and incredible mustache. Mike begs off and says he’s had a bad day and he’s just ok with all of this. Congratulations to the two of them, but Rusev isn’t letting him leave and beats the heck out of him before the bell. As Graves calls Mike a beta cuck, a jumping superkick and the Accolade end Mike at 34 seconds. Lana being salty over Rusev apparently cheating on her should be interesting.

R-Truth and Kane go to Neyland Stadium, home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team (BIG pop for that). Truth thinks the team is made up of volunteer Santas but we get a nice speech about all the people who make the city work. Actually a new officer has been sworn in is here, though Truth thinks he’s Robocop. Actually hang on though, as he wasn’t quite sworn in as a police officer. Instead, he’s a referee, so Truth tries to run and crashes into the goal post, meaning we have a new champion. Remember when Kane took the WWF Title from Steve Austin in 1998? Now he’s doing this.

Rey Mysterio vs. Cesaro

Before the match, Cesaro says that if Rey’s son Dominick doesn’t leave WWE, he’ll beat Dominick up like he’s about to beat up Rey. The fight is on in the aisle before the bell, followed by a bell and the uppercut from Cesaro. There’s an elbow for two as Cesaro is in red street shoes and what appears to be a lack of socks. A powerbomb out of the corner is broken up with a hurricanrana into the post but the suicide dive is countered with Cesaro’s uppercut. Rey is fine enough to hit a 619 to the back and we take a break.

Back with Cesaro grabbing a chinlock, followed by a slingshot hilo for two. The chinlock goes on again but Rey fights up with a crucifix bomb for the breather. A tornado DDT gives Rey two so Cesaro pulls him down into the Crossface. With that not working, the Radicalz treatment continues with Three Amigos. That’s fine with Rey, who hits a 619 and the Code Red for the pin at 11:48.

Rating: B-. This is where Cesaro shines, though unfortunately it is so often in defeat. At some point he needs to win something to keep his stock up a bit, though WWE doesn’t seem to agree. Mysterio’s retirement tour is worth seeing of course, as he is a true legend and can do whatever he wants on the way out. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with Dominick, but Mysterio has earned the right to do something special like that.

We get a short form Firefly Fun House with Bray adding Seth’s picture to the wall and not saying anything.

The Draft is coming on October 11/14.

Video on the AOP, who talk about how they came to WWE so they could fight. Instead they’ve been sat on the sidelines because no one is willing to fight them. Now, you might be wondering how this is significantly different than Aleister Black sitting in a room, asking for someone to fight him. The answer: there are two of them here.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

Non-title and Cole is so disgusted with Sasha that he doesn’t even do the catchphrase anymore. Bayley and Bliss start things off with Bayley taking over to start, only to get hit in the face instead. Bliss gets up a boot in the corner and a sunset flip gets two. A flip dive off the apron takes both villains down but Bliss may have hurt her knee. Cross comes in and gets double Banks’ double knees in the corner.

More knees are blocked with a shot to the face but Bayley pulls Bliss off the apron. The knee is banged up again and here are some trainers to check on her. To be fair, it has been at least a month since Bliss had a knee injury. We take a break and come back with Bliss gone and Cross fighting out of a chinlock. Nikki shrugs off some double teaming in the corner and hammers away, including tying Banks in the ring skirt. Back in and Cross hits a tornado DDT on Bayley, setting up the hanging Purge for two as Banks makes the save. The Bank Statement makes Nikki tap at 12:14.

Rating: C+. This worked well in a way to make Cross look good, which is something that needed to happen. Bayley and Banks not losing is the right call as well, as both of them are still getting themselves established in their new roles. Good effort from everyone here and some smart booking to get them out of a sticky situation.

Post match the beatdown is still on until Becky Lynch comes out with a chair for the save. Banks and Bayley get their own chairs so it’s Charlotte making the save to take care of Bayley. The beatdown on Banks sends the villains leaving.

Post break, Banks wants a rematch with Becky at Hell in a Cell.

The limo arrives at the arena with R-Truth on top. That means a rollup to give him the title back, because that joke is still going. They come to a truce because they both work hard 24/7 to do their jobs.

Becky doesn’t just want to face Banks at Hell in a Cell, because it should be IN the Cell.

Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke

Well at least it isn’t Natalya again. Lacey isn’t wasting time and kicks her into the corner but gets driven into the corner. Dana hammers away and gets one off a suplex so Lacey sweeps the leg to take her down. A nasty slingshot dropkick to the face rocks Dana and it’s time for the armbar. Dana fights up for the comeback but walks into the Woman’s Right. She’s out cold but Lacey slaps on the Sharpshooter for the win at 3:12.

Rating: D. Dana was trying and looked good at times, but GOOD GRIEF why is Lacey vs. Natalya continuing? They’ve already split some matches and now we need to have them play mind games? The ending made me roll my eyes because I never need to see the two of them fight again and now we’re likely heading to some big showdown that no one but the two of them care about.

Seth Rollins vs. Robert Roode

Non-title and Dolph Ziggler is here with Roode. Feeling out process to start with Roode armdragging him into an armbar. That lasts as long as any average armbar and Roode hits him in the ribs to take over. Roode knocks him off the barricade so Ziggler can get in a cheap shot and we take a break.

Back with Roode still on the ribs before sending Seth outside. This time Ziggler’s interference is cut off with a superkick and the comeback is on. The springboard knee misses but so does Roode’s spinebuster. That means Rollins can hit a Falcon Arrow for two, followed by the Buckle Bomb. The Stomp looks to finish but Ziggler comes in for the DQ at 10:25.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here as Ziggler just won’t go away and kept popping in here, despite not being the most intriguing presence in the world. I can appreciate not having a new champion lose though, even if it’s to the World Champion. Just don’t let Ziggler and Roode (or at least Ziggler) around Rollins much longer and things should be fine.

Post break the OC comes in for the 5-1 beatdown but Kane (in full gear and mask) of all people makes the save to a huge pop. Chokeslams abound as I try to imagine masked Kane without hair. There is something amusing about the costume coming complete with a huge wig….and there go the lights. The Fiend is here and it’s a Mandible Claw to Kane. Fiend crawls over to Rollins and a minute long Firefly Fun House logo, with the colors changing, the graphic going upside down and the voice sounding rather evil, ends the show. Good ending, with the mind games and evil continuing.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t sure about this one as it had a lot of things going on, though very few of them felt all that important. Rollins vs. Fiend should be interesting, but you can tell the attention is shifting more towards Smackdown as Raw is starting to feel a lot smaller. That should be the way things go once they get to FOX, but I would hope for some extra attention on Raw in the way of storylines, as a lot of the things on this show felt like they were just thrown out there to fill in the three hours. Not a terrible show, but it wasn’t exactly a show to get invested in.

Results

OC b. Cedric Alexander/Viking Raiders – Phenomenal Forearm to Alexander

Baron Corbin b. Chad Gable – End of Days

Ricochet b. Mike Kanellis – Recoil

Rusev b. Mike Kanellis – Accolade

Rey Mysterio b. Cesaro – Code Red

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross – Bank Statement to Cross

Lacey Evans b. Dana Brooke – Sharpshooter

Seth Rollins b. Robert Roode via DQ when Dolph Ziggler interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Clash Of Champions 2019
Date: September 15, 2019
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

Even though titles are an everyday part of wrestling, we have here a full show all about them, because most shows need to have a theme these days. There are a lot of matches crammed onto this show, though thankfully they have moved King of the Ring to Raw tomorrow to save some space. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck opposite the hard cameras.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak vs. Lince Dorado vs. Humberto Carrillo

Gulak is defending. Every match is getting Big Match Intros and they’re lowering the lights during the introductions, which is a really cool visual that I hope becomes the norm. Also, cool shot from Gulak just sitting on the ropes and holding up the title because it’s all that matters. Gulak wastes no time in dropkicking Carrillo into the corner at the bell but both challengers go after him at the same time.

Carrillo’s half of a double dropkick misses but he makes up for it with a springboard armdrag to take Gulak down (that always looks great). Dorado sends both of them to the floor for a springboard crossbody, followed by a hurricanrana off the barricade to the champ. Gulak takes Dorado down though and goes back inside, where Carrillo’s flips offer some frustration. The armbar goes on, which just does not seem like a good idea in a triple threat.

Dorado comes back in with a crossbody on Carrillo for two with Gulak not being able to get there in time anyway. A gutbuster cuts Dorado down though and it’s something like a full nelson/abdominal stretch hybrid to stay on the ribs. Carrillo is back in with a dropkick and a COME ON, which is rarely a good sign for someone trying to fire up the crowd. Another dropkick puts Gulak on the floor again, where he catches Dorado in an electric chair. That’s fine with Carrillo, who dives onto both of them for a nasty crash.

Back in and the missile dropkick gives Carrillo two more with Gulak making a proper save this time around. Carrillo goes up for a moonsault but Gulak raises boots, which Carrillo catches and reverses into a modified Sharpshooter. That’s broken up as well so it’s the exchange of rollups gets a bunch of two counts.

Everyone is down again until Carrillo heads up top, with Gulak launching Dorado for a dropkick. Gulak is knocked outside, leaving Dorado to miss a shooting star press. Carrillo hits a Disaster kick into the Aztec Press, only to have Gulak come in and suplex Dorado for the pin (only after the referee tells Dorado that his shoulders are up, causing Dorado to drop down) to retain at 10:06.

Rating: C+. Exactly what you should be going for with this match in this spot as the fans are more fired up than they were before. Gulak retaining wasn’t exactly shocking but he is going to be the best choice if 205 Live moves to NXT as it is rumored to be (and should be doing). Carrillo could be something big in the future, but he isn’t ready yet. Dorado could have been almost any third person out there, which isn’t a terrible thing.

Kickoff Show: United States Title: Cedric Alexander vs. AJ Styles

Alexander is the hometown boy (and wearing the colors of the Charlotte Hornets) and challenging, meaning he gets quite the strong reaction, even though AJ was born in North Carolina as well. You can see what this means to Cedric and that’s not the kind of thing you can fake. AJ sends the Good Brothers to the back and is willing to go it alone. The bell rings and AJ charges straight at him, earning himself a Michinoku Driver for an early two.

The big running flip dive takes AJ down again and a Neuralizer gets two more. AJ breaks up a springboard though and takes him to the apron for a suplex. The Styles Clash on the floor knocks Cedric cold but AJ pulls him up at two for some reason. The Calf Crusher doesn’t stay on long so Cedric goes to the apron again, this time for a spinning elbow to AJ’s face. Cedric gets in the springboard Downward Spiral but AJ grabs a reverse DDT. With Cedric rocked, it’s the Phenomenal Forearm into the Styles Clash to retain the title at 4:55.

Rating: B-. They packed in a lot here and while I’m not sure I get the idea of having Cedric lose in his hometown in what should have been a layup, I can understand not letting him pin AJ for a title. Cedric had the crowd going here and that likely would have been the case in any city. Good match though, and a pairing I could go for more of in a longer form.

Post match AJ beats on Cedric some more, with Gallows and Anderson coming in to help. No one makes the save. I was expecting the Viking Raiders here but it was just a long beatdown instead.

The opening video looks at all of the titles and the people who hold them, which is exactly what it should be. Then it switches to Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan, which isn’t quite what I think of when I think of a show about champions. We switch into the usual opening hype video, as tends to be the case.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler and Roode are challenging after winning the largest Tag Team Turmoil match in Raw history. So it’s on top of a list of…..probably five matches? That’s the second biggest/first time in history deal during the entrances as we heard about Rollins being the first person to defend the Tag Team and Universal Title in history. The title isn’t even forty months old yet and six people have been champion. Can we cool it with historic firsts for it for….I don’t know, until it has a history that matters?

Strowman stares at a scared Roode to start and a big shove sends Roode down. Ziggler comes in for the tried and false jump on the monster’s back sleeper with Strowman breaking it up and kicking him in the face. Now it’s off to Rollins, who has to fight off both villains at once. The running DDT plants Rollins on the floor though and the challengers take over back inside. Ziggler goes with the sleeper again, albeit from a standing position this time due to a lack of monster from Rollins.

The Fameasser gives Ziggler two more but Roode charges into a boot in the corner. Rollins grabs the Blockbuster but Ziggler is back in to prevent any hot tagging. Just to make sure he gets it in, Ziggler jumps on Rollins for another sleeper (he REALLY likes that move). That’s broken up again so Ziggler tries another running DDT, which is reversed into the Falcon Arrow. The hot tag brings in Strowman to clean house, including the running shoulders on the floor.

One big one knocks Roode into the barricade, with Cole saying he almost went into the FANS. That’ll be a fine, which Cole can count as Ziggler slips out of the powerslam. A rake to the eyes causes Strowman to go shoulder first into the post but he’s fine enough to break up the Glorious DDT. Rollins springboards back in with the springboard knee and a Sling Blade to Roode.

Ziggler gets knocked over the barricade and Roode uses the breather to come back with a spinebuster for two of his own. Strowman comes back in but knocks Roode into Rollins, allowing Ziggler to low bridge the monster to the floor. The Glorious DDT plants Rollins to give Roode the pin and the titles at 9:36.

Rating: C. The match was your standard Raw main event and that’s acceptable enough to open a pay per view. Strowman and Rollins were never going to be long for the titles so it’s not like this is some big shock. That being said, the fact that the World Champion has to get pinned in an opening match is another problem entirely, but that’s where they had to go to get out of this story, which absolutely needed an historic first double title defense.

Post match Strowman looks annoyed and Rollins looks up at the screen to see the replay of the loss.

In the back, Strowman says he didn’t get pinned and tonight he’s winning the Universal Title. Rollins might just get his hands.

Becky Lynch says she and Rollins will still be champions at the end of the night. In regards to meeting her match in Sasha Banks, it is Sasha who has questions to answer. Tonight we need to find out if Banks has what it takes to be great. Becky has accomplished more in WWE than any woman ever and she lists off a bunch of her accomplishments. Now Banks is complaining about Becky getting her spot, but Becky earned everything she has. Tonight, Banks finds out what happens when the Man comes around. Becky was bringing the fire here.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match. Bayley had been scheduled to defend against Charlotte but Sasha Banks turning heel prompted a double turn, meaning we get heel Bayley for the first time. I’m not sure what this is going to mean, but it could go a lot of ways.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Charlotte

Charlotte, of course the hometown girl, is challenging. The announcers talk about how awesome it is that Charlotte is going for her tenth title in just over four years because losing titles means nothing in this company. Charlotte boots her down at the bell for two in basically the same opening as Cedric vs. AJ. Some chops connect and it’s already time to go after Bayley’s knee.

Bayley rolls outside again and gets sent into various barricades as this is one sided so far. The fans are behind Charlotte as she drives Bayley into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A knee to Bayley’s knee has her in more trouble but the Figure Four is countered into a small package. Charlotte boots her into the corner and stomps away until the referee pulls her off. That’s enough of a distraction for Bayley to unhook the buckle pad and send Charlotte head first into the steel to retain at 3:45.

Rating: D-. Well that’s a thing that happened. I’m glad Charlotte didn’t get the title again but having the champion getting squashed might not be the best idea in the world. That being said, I do like the idea of Bayley cheating to retain the title like this and it does offer something new for her, which is what she has been needing for a long time now. Felt like a TV angle more than anything else, but at least Charlotte isn’t champion so soon.

Bayley grabs her title and SPRINTS out of the arena as Charlotte has to smile a bit.

We look back at Shane McMahon firing Kevin Owens for Owens doing his job which wasn’t his job.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Revival

New Day is defending but they’re banged up after some recent Revival attacks. Woods, with his injured knee, starts with Dash, who is smart enough to go after the bad leg. The good knee hits Dash in the head and Big E. runs Dawson over on the floor for a bonus. Big E. comes in legally to Rock Bottom Wilder out of the corner for two as it’s almost all champs so far. The Warrior Splash is broken up though and Wilder hits a clothesline to knock Big E. off the apron for a big crash.

Back in and the double teaming begins, which is where the Revival tends to shine. The belly to back legdrop gives Dawson two as Graves is all over Saxton again, which is making me long for the FOX move so these two can be away from each other for good. Dawson’s chinlock with a bodyscissors keeps Big E. down but you can’t fight thighs like his forever. The belly to belly plants Wilder and the hot tag brings in Woods to pick up the pace. Woods hits the bottom rope springboard DDT for two as the knee gives out again.

Big E.’s spear through the ropes misses so Wilder tries his own suicide dive, which is pulled out of the air. That’s fine with Dawson, who heads outside for the Shatter Machine. Woods is left to get double teamed, which includes a wise chop block. Another Shatter Machine hits Woods and it’s a reverse Figure Four to make Woods scream. With that out of the way, Woods finally taps away the titles at 10:03.

Rating: C+. Pretty formula based match here but it was a good example of Revival being a better team than most. They knew what they needed to do here and used their better teamwork to get rid of the big monster and then take out the injured man. This made a lot of sense and was well executed, which is what the Revival tends to do. Not a great match, but one that made perfect sense.

Post match Revival grabs the mic and says the titles have been revived. Later tonight, Randy Orton is taking the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston. What a weird place for a promo.

Alexa Bliss (back to the Harley Quinn look) and Nikki Cross are ready to retain the Women’s Tag Team Titles. The boom mic comes down….because R-Truth and Carmella are running the production. R-Truth: “I’m sorry other Carmella!” Truth praises Bliss’ voice, which she uses to speak into the microphone that R-TRUTH IS ON THE SET SO COME GET THE 24/7 TITLE! The chase is on.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Fire & Desire

Fire & Desire is challenging and Graves is having his usual Bliss vs. Mandy issues. Mandy slams Cross to start and cartwheels over her, only to be clotheslined right back down. Cross does a weird dance, which Renee declares as the sexiest thing she has seen on WWE TV in years. I’d say Cross is good looking but egads with the hyperbole already.

It’s off to Sonya as Cole is trying to compliment Nikki like she just achieved her lifelong dream and the dream of everyone else who has been told she can’t do it. She’s a pretty, professional athlete who danced (or something close to it), in a wrestling ring for five seconds. Stop acting like she’s Marilyn Monroe winning a Nobel Prize for physics. Graves and Renee make Twitter jokes as Bliss suplexes Sonya for two.

Mandy comes in and Graves is quickly silent, which is just disturbing on a variety of levels. A slap to the face puts Mandy down so she shouts about being gorgeous, which at least cuts off Renee vs. Graves. Hang on though as here are R-Truth and the Mob, with Bliss rolling Truth up for two, which sends them running off again. We settle down to Sonya kicking Bliss in the ribs for two more and hitting the short form chinlock. Bliss gets double stomped in the corner and it’s off to a bodyscissors to keep her down.

That means a LEXI chant (or at least something close to it) so Mandy talks more trash, setting up a double knockdown. That’s enough for the hot tag to Cross, who suplexes and crossbodies Sonya for her own two. Everything breaks down and Sonya pulls Bliss off the top by the hair. A High/Low gets two with Cross having to dive in for the save, earning herself some nice applause. The hanging Purge to Bliss retains the titles at 8:06.

Rating: D. This was like some weird combination of a pretty lame match with comic relief thrown in for a bonus. The commentary made it even worse with everyone running their mouths the whole time and barely paying attention on the match because it wasn’t as important as their petty squabbling. That happens way too often these days and it gets really annoying, even in a low level match like this.

Kickoff Show recap.

Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz

Miz is challenging after calling out Nakamura for a title shot a few weeks ago. Hold on though as Nakamura’s injured mouthpiece Sami Zayn has something to say. Zayn rants about the level of disrespect around here, including from the Undertaker, who chokeslammed him on Smackdown. We even see a clip of it during Nakamura’s entrance. Just in case that isn’t enough, Zayn has a live mic during the match, which can be either awesome or a nightmare.

They trade arm control to start (with Sami describing Miz’s armdrag as “a decent armdrag at best.”) until Nakamura misses the big kick to the face. Sami’s mic is cut and Phillips is elated. An exchange of COME ON’S lets Nakamura get in the strikes, including the knee to the face as Miz hangs over the apron. Back in and Nakamura kicks away, only to have his leg kicked out from underneath him in a smart move. I mean, it’s not a move that tends to work but it’s smart.

Miz’s own kicks in the corner set up some running clotheslines and the ax handle gets two. The Figure Four is countered into a cross armbreaker but Miz stacks him up to escape. Miz’s big kick is countered into a rollup for two and the spinning kick to the head rocks Miz again. The sliding German suplex makes it even worse but we’re nowhere near enough teased finishers for Kinshasa to connect.

Instead Miz sidesteps it and slaps on the Figure Four until a rope is grabbed. Sami offers a grab of the leg though and it’s a running knee to the back of Miz’s head for two. Kinshasa is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale for a close two but Sami distracts the referee. This time the distraction lets Nakamura hit a kick to the head, followed by Kinshasa to retain at 9:34.

Rating: C-. I bought Miz has having a chance coming in but once the match started, it was rather clear that it wasn’t going to be happening here. Sami is making for a good help to Nakamura and I could go for having them together for a good while. Not a terrible match but it wasn’t exactly must see stuff.

Smackdown is coming to FOX and the Draft is coming on October 11/14.

We recap Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. Banks came back for the first time in four months since Wrestlemania and she isn’t happy with all of the BECKY cheers. She beat up Natalya and Becky made the save, earning herself a beating. Becky called out Sasha for never being the star she thought she should be, but more importantly she wanted a fight, which got us here.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Becky is defending and slaps the trash talk out of Sasha’s mouth. It’s too early for either submission so Banks rolls to the floor in a wise move. For no logical reason whatsoever, Banks poses with her back to the ring, earning herself a baseball slide to the back. Becky’s middle rope legdrop is broken up though and Banks gets in the heelish kicks, setting up more gloating. The Meteora gets two on the champ as Cole suggests that the Four Horsewomen moniker might be an homage to the Four Horsemen.

What looked to be a middle rope Meteora is dropkicked out of the air and they’re both down. Becky is up first with the Bexploder and the fans are getting back into things, which has been lacking for a lot of this show. Another one sets up the middle rope legdrop but Becky’s superplex is broken up and the middle rope Meteora gets a quick two. The kickout draws screams but the Bank Statement is blocked.

The Disarm-Her isn’t though and Banks has to go to the ropes for the break. A running dropkick against the ropes has Banks in more trouble and a missile dropkick gives Becky two. Banks is right back with a pair of Backstabbers into the Bank Statement so Becky rolls into the ropes for the break. Both of them have bad shoulders now though so Banks grabs a chair to make things a little easier. She gets smart though by sliding the chair in for a distraction, meaning she can hit Becky in the ribs with another chair for the near fall (makes sense as Banks is a known Eddie Guerrero fan).

Sasha grabs the chair again but the referee takes it away, allowing Becky to pick it up. A pretty weak chair shot hits the referee and the fight heads into the crowd. Becky hammers away and grabs the Disarm-Her in a handrail, which would make no difference on the hold but looked cool.

They fight through the concourse (where Becky pours mustard on her) and down into another part of the arena with both of them getting knocked down the steps. Back at ringside, Banks drives her back first into the barricade as we’re told that Becky was disqualified for hitting the referee. This isn’t announced in the arena, but we’ll say the match is over at about 15:00.

Rating: B-. Out of everything on the show so far (and likely throughout the rest of the show), this was WAY better in person than it came across here, as there was good action but not the most fire. Banks winning the title was a strong possibility and she probably gets it in the end, but the ending brawl was the annual “here’s a feud that suddenly belongs in the Cell” because it’s September/October and that’s what we need to do.

Post match Becky beats her up even worse, including the Disarm-Her in a chair. The DQ is announced and Becky doesn’t seem to mind as she leaves.

We recap Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton. Kofi snapped at Summerslam and beat Orton up with a kendo stick for glaring at his family, so Orton has declared Kingston stupid. Orton is inside his head and wants to prove that he can beat Kofi one on one. If he had to beat Kofi up to get here, so be it. New Day has been beaten down and Kofi isn’t happy with his family and close friends being attacked. They had a pretty awesome segment on Smackdown where Kofi recreated his famous Boom Drop in Madison Square Garden, which would suggest that he is in trouble tonight.

Smackdown World Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton

Orton is challenging. Feeling out process to start with Orton taking him down by the arm and stopping to smile. A headlock takes Kofi down again so he’s back up with the double leapfrog into a jumping back elbow. Kofi hits a forearm in the corner and Orton bails to the ramp, only to have Kofi strike Orton’s pose to bring him back in. I can always go for some mind games.

Back in and Kofi chops away in the corner but a poke to the eye cuts that off in a hurry. A throat snap across the top sets up a shoulder to send Kofi into the barricade, with Orton following instead of standing around. You can’t let Orton get that close to a table so he drops Kofi back first onto the announcers’ table twice in a row for a pair of twos back inside.

With frustration setting in, Orton sends him shoulder first into the post and strikes the real version of his pose. They head outside again with Kofi going face first into the steps, which just seems to trigger the comeback. Kofi hits a dropkick and the jumping clothesline, followed by the Boom Drop to put Orton in trouble for a change.

Trouble in Paradise is countered into the backbreaker though and Kofi is cut off again. The hanging DDT is countered with a backdrop to the floor and Kofi’s no hands dive puts Orton down. Back in and Orton hits his perfect dropkick for two but Kofi’s SOS is good for the same. Kofi gets crotched on top and the snap powerslam gives us the next near fall.

The hanging DDT knocks another item off of Orton’s to do list and the RKO connects, with Kofi right next to the ropes. Since RKOing a groggy Kofi is out of the question, Orton loads up the Punt. We’re not seeing that one though and Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise to retain at 20:48.

Rating: B-. This was more long than good, though it did have some moments. They could have gone either way here so the match wasn’t the most predictable. Kingston has pretty much plateaued as champion though and that means he needs a new challenger. Since Orton has been defeated, an Orton destroyer might be possible and I think you know where that is going.

The Street Profits preview the King of the Ring finals, including Ford singing the Circle of Life from Lion King. This includes Ford confusing Rafiki with Rikishi, but here’s King Booker to interrupt. Booker talks about the King of the Ring and Dawkins wants to be knighted. See, it sounds good in the club to call yourself the Dark Knight. Booker tells them to get their minds right but comes back for a catchphrase.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan, which thankfully is not main eventing the show as was rumored. Reigns was attacked several times by a mystery assailant, eventually revealed to be Rowan. Daniel Bryan was involved for a time as well but now it seems to just be about these two, at least at the moment.

Erick Rowan vs. Roman Reigns

No DQ. They go straight to the fight here, as they should, with the brawl going to the floor, including Reigns being sent face first into the announcers’ table. Rowan drives himself into the steps, so he picks the steps up and hits Reigns instead. They hit each other with various things before making it back to ringside, with Reigns nailing the apron dropkick. Reigns stops to load up the announcers’ table though and gets run over again in a big crash.

They go back inside with Rowan running him over and kicking him in the face as this has been rather physical so far. Reigns clotheslines him to the floor but Rowan lands on his feet and beats Reigns up some more. The steps are brought in but it takes a little extra time so Reigns muscles him up for a Samoan drop. A shot with the steps and the Superman Punch give Reigns two in his best shot yet.

They head outside again with Rowan waking up in a hurry to powerbomb him through the table for two back inside. It’s back into the crowd as they seem to be repeating stuff for the sake of filling in time, which is never a good idea. They mix it up a bit by going to the tech area for a claw slam through a table to knock Reigns out again, allowing Rowan to put him on the stage.

Rowan grabs the camera again but Reigns pulls out….what looked like a spiked club to hit him in the ribs. The camera hits Rowan and so does a Superman Punch but the spear is cut off by the returning Luke Harper, who gets quite the reaction as soon as people realize who he is. The discus lariat sets up Rowan’s Iron Claw for the pin at 17:24.

Rating: C+. There were good and bad parts to this one and the good just outweighs the bad. First of all, they were very smart to make this a fight instead of a match because not only does it make more sense, but it made for a better showing. Harper was a great surprise too and a pretty welcome return. The problem though is the length, as this could have been cut in half to make things better. Rowan looked like an unstoppable monster though so well done for making something new.

Seth Rollins says the loss earlier wasn’t on him. He slayed a beast at Summerslam so tonight, let’s add a monster to the collection.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is challenging and runs Rollins over at the bell because that’s the theme of the night. An early running powerslam attempt is escaped and Rollins starts in on the knee. Three straight superkicks into the frog splash don’t even get one and Rollins is stunned (fair enough). Strowman throws him down again and says Seth is tougher than this.

Rollins avoids a charge and hits back to back springboard knees to the head. A third is countered with a shot to the chest though and the champ is down on the floor. Strowman runs him over once but a second attempt is countered with a drop toehold to send Strowman over the announcers’ table. A suicide dive connects and Rollins puts him on the announcers’ table, but Strowman runs the steps to shove him off the top.

Rollins can’t superplex him so Strowman shoves the champ off the top, setting up a heck of a top rope splash for two. Strowman banged up his knee on the crash though so Rollins grabs a sleeper. With Strowman down, the Stomp connects for two. Then the Stomp connects for two and then the Stomp connects for two, then a Pedigree sets up a fourth Stomp to retain the title at 10:54.

Rating: B-. I know it’s not the biggest surprise as Strowman manages to come up short again, but they didn’t exactly hide that this was just a pit stop on the way to the real match with the Fiend next month. Strowman’s big man offense worked well as usual, but there wasn’t exactly much doubt about the ending. What we got was entertaining though, with that splash looking great. It’s good, but it’s nothing memorable, much like the show as a whole.

Post match Rollins poses on the stage but the lights go out and we’ve got a Fiend. Sister Abigail onto the stage sets up the Mandible Claw and various gyrations to leave Rollins laying and end the show with an evil laugh.

Overall Rating: C. This was a tricky one to grade as it’s certainly not a terrible show, but it’s one of the least interesting or memorable ones that I can remember. Above all else, watching it a second time made it feel really long. It felt like I watched this thing for the better part of a month and it wasn’t that great in the first place.

Nothing on here is going to stick with me beyond maybe a day or two more, which isn’t a good sign when I’ve watched it twice in less than five days. It felt like nothing happened here, with only the Tag Team Titles changing hands. That hasn’t meant anything in years so I need more than that to make for a good show. It’s watchable once at best, but don’t expect to see anything that hasn’t been done better before.

Results

Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode b. Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman – Glorious DDT to Rollins

Bayley b. Charlotte – Ram into an exposed turnbuckle

Revival b. New Day – Reverse Figure Four to Woods

Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss b. Fire & Desire – Hanging Purge to Rose

Shinsuke Nakamura b. The Miz – Kinshasa

Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch via DQ when Lynch hit the referee with a chair

Kofi Kingston b. Randy Orton – Rollup

Erick Rowan b. Roman Reigns – Iron Claw

Seth Rollins b. Braun Strowman – Stomp

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

It’s time for one of those shows that shouldn’t be all that novel of a concept yet it apparently only matters one night a year. Titles are usually what matter most in wrestling and they are defended on every single show, but in this case we have a show dedicated to them. That doesn’t mean the show will be bad (as it shouldn’t be) but the show isn’t exactly a novel concept. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross(c) vs. Fire & Desire

I know this hasn’t been announced for the Kickoff Show yet but it’s tailor made for the show. Bliss and Cross are suddenly real friends and faces, which means they aren’t likely to hold the titles for very long. What interests me more than anything else here is how the titles have gone from complete afterthoughts to something that actually matter in the span of a few weeks, all because they’ve been treated like something people want. Funny how that works no?

I’ll go with new champions here as Bliss and Cross are fresh faces and therefore must be crushed immediately. WWE has been wanting to push the heck out of Rose forever now and Deville shouldn’t be that far behind her. Giving them the titles lets some more teams chase them, possibly while even getting some more people back on the show (like Asuka, as her rehabilitation needs to begin). New champs here, though it’s far from a guarantee.

Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak(c) vs. Gran Metalik vs. Humberto Carrillo

This is another match that hasn’t been announced for the Kickoff Show but you can all but guarantee it’s going to be there. Just for the sake of tradition if nothing else. Metalik was added to this match a few weeks ago when people realized that the idea of Carrillo vs. Gulak on their own wasn’t the most thrilling thing in the world. Then again, does it really matter at this point?

We’ll say Gulak retains here as it seems like the perfect kind of match to have the challengers get in the way and then likely blow it in the end with Gulak stealing the pin. Odds are the title is moving to NXT in the near future (where it should have been in the first place) and they might as well put Gulak in there so Kushida or Isaiah Scott can take the title from him.

SmackDown Tag Team Titles: New Day(c) vs. Revival

This is the forgotten match on the card as New Day has been laid out by Revival and Randy Orton so many times now. In theory that should mean new champions as New Day is not only banged up, but they also don’t have any reason to keep the titles. The team has done everything they can do now so they might as well just change the titles and get it over with.

So yeah Revival wins here, as there is just no reason for the New Day to hold onto the titles any longer. There’s a case to be made for giving them their revenge but Revival has been held back so many times that they need a win where they can keep the titles for a long, healthy reign. New Day is far past the point where they need the belts so just give them to the Revival already.

US Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Cedric Alexander

Now this one interests me as there are a lot of factors to consider. First of all, it is clear that Alexander is one of Paul Heyman’s pet projects. They want to push the heck out of him, which seems to be a very similar story to what they did with Ricochet. Now Ricochet got the title, but I’m not sure if that is what they are going to do here with Alexander. Couple that with Alexander being the hometown boy and it isn’t clear how this is going to go.

I’ll go with Alexander winning the title in a fluke for a feel good moment. At some point you have to pull the trigger on someone and see what you have with them. It seems that they did that with Ricochet and then he lost the title just a few weeks later. Maybe Alexander does the same thing, but he needs a reign to establish himself more than Ricochet did. Either way, Styles doesn’t need the title at the moment so he can drop it without a problem.

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan

This is the only non-title match on the card but it’s also one of the most personal. Rowan was recently revealed as the attacker who had been going after Reigns, which makes him a lot more interesting than he has been in years. Rowan seems to be the only villain at the moment, but Daniel Bryan being added to the story would make a lot of sense in the near or far future.

That being said, I think you have the match end with something other than a clean finish. If Reigns wins, the story is over in a hurry as he beats Rowan the first time out. Therefore, I’ll go with Rowan, as there is little benefit to having him lose, unless they want to blow the thing up already. There is no reason to go there, so Rowan wins with the biggest singles moment of his career.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Charlotte

Oh I’m worried about this one. Bayley is getting better as champion and has held the thing for a nice reign now, but you can never count out WWE’s ability to give Charlotte the title, again in her hometown. What better way to make everyone happy than to give her the title again because she hasn’t held one in over five months now (which might be a record for her).

I’ll go with Bayley retaining here, though I have no reason to believe she holds onto the title much longer. WWE is annoyingly obsessed with having Charlotte as the dominant champion and it would be quite like them to cut the newly heel Bayley off at the knees less than two weeks after her turn. Let Bayley keep it a little while longer and maybe build up someone fresh for a change instead of going with the same women and matches over and over again.

Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs. The Miz

This is one of those matches that looks one sided on paper but at the same time, you could also look at the bigger picture and see something complete different. There is no reason to have Nakamura lose here as he and Sami Zayn are starting to get somewhere and Nakamura needs to reestablish himself as a player with something like a long Intercontinental Title reign.

At the same time though, I’ll take Miz for the sake of tying Chris Jericho, then have them trade the title again so Miz can make it to ten and then go the other three weeks he needs to set the record for most combined days as champion. I know it sounds ridiculous, but would you put it beyond WWE to do something this petty? It’s not what I would do, but WWE has done something like this before for the sake of something that silly.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman(c) vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Now this one might be the easiest pick all night long. Rollins and Strowman are meeting later in the night for Rollins’ Universal Title, so why in the world would they be trying to work hard to defend these titles? I know the idea of any title means something but it doesn’t make much sense for Strowman to break his neck to retain these titles. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him turn on Rollins, as he should in one sense.

So yeah this one is the obvious title change as the titles should go to Roode and Ziggler. Why in the world would you go with anything else here? I know they’re just another pair of heels thrown together with nothing else to do but in this case, they’re going after some champions who are the face version of the same thing. New champs, hopefully with the Viking Raiders crushing them for the titles like, the next night.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Sasha Banks

Again, this one depends on what you’re looking at for the future. Lynch is the biggest star the women’s division has at the moment and is one of the marquee stars of the company. Banks on the other hand can be a heck of a heel champion if she FINALLY gets to retain the thing for more than a few weeks. She’s been awesome in her return, but I’d be skeptical about handing her a title just a few weeks after she took so much time off.

I think WWE goes with a new champ though, as Lynch going to SmackDown Live wouldn’t shock me, meaning she needs to lose the title sooner rather than later. Let Banks get her title win here (possibly with Bayley helping) and go from there. Lynch is going to be a star no matter what and she doesn’t have anyone else to feud with on Monday Night Raw anyway.

SmackDown World Title: Kofi Kingston(c) vs. Randy Orton

Egads man I don’t know. What you can all but guarantee is that Kingston isn’t champion when the first SmackDown Live on FOX ends, but the question is who does he lose it to? Is it here vs. Orton or LESNAR SMASH on SmackDown Live? Kingston has already had a FAR longer reign than I would have expected so the title change does make sense.

And I think that’s what we’ll be getting. Orton hasn’t been World Champion in a very long time now and having him win it here wouldn’t be the biggest stretch. Go with what makes sense here and put the title on Orton. If WWE absolutely has to, and something tells me that they much, they can go with Lesnar soon enough, because it’s been….well just over a month since he was champion at this point, which is more than long enough.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins(c) vs. Braun Strowman

I’m rarely a fan of a lame duck title match but that is what we have here. Bray Wyatt is going to be getting the title match next month inside the Cell and that is the big money match at the moment. That leaves the question of who should get to face him, which is kind of a debatable point here with two viable options.

While they’ve both viable, WWE just isn’t going to put the title on Strowman. If they were going to do it, they would have done it by now and since they should have pulled the trigger over a year ago, it would seem to be the time to do it again. That’s why I’m going with Rollins: it makes sense to put the title on Strowman, so WWE won’t do it here.

Overall Thoughts

This show is uh, heavy. There is a lot to digest on a single card and that could become a big problem in a hurry. The show offers no room to breathe and I’m worried about what that is going to mean for the show. I’m sure there are going to be several title changes, but how many of them are going to matter with SmackDown Live on FOX looming as much as it is? It looks good enough on paper, but it seems like a show that could be rather exhausting in execution.

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

Main Event
Date: September 12, 2019
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Dio Maddin

We’re in a special place this week and I’m not sure what that is going to mean for this show. Raw was rather great and Smackdown was terrible so I’m not sure what to expect. You know it’s going to include Dana Brooke and Sarah Logan though, because they have become the soul of Main Event. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dana Brooke/Sarah Logan vs. IIconics

I….sure why not. The IIconics say it makes sense to have them here in the world’s most iconic arena. Billie rolls over Logan to start and strikes the pose as we take a very early break. Back with Peyton coming in for the bulldog onto Billie’s knee but Sarah kicks her away. A missed elbow allows for the diving tag to Dana as everything breaks down. The handspring elbow hits Logan though and it’s the knee to Dana’s head for the pin at 5:58. Not enough shown to rate but they’re trying to make a story out of Logan and Brooke so….yeah I don’t believe it either.

Video on Bayley turning heel last week and joining Sasha Banks.

From Raw.

Bayley/Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte/Becky Lynch

Charlotte and Becky are ticked about having to team with each other so they charge to the floor to start the fight in a hurry. Charlotte gets sent into the barricade and it’s Becky getting double teamed before the bell. Charlotte clears the ring with a chair and we take a break before the match starts. Back with the bell ringing (thank you) with Banks bailing instead of having to face Becky. That’s fine with Becky, who sends Bayley into the barricade and hands it off to Charlotte to keep up the beating.

Charlotte fights out of the corner in a hurry and hands it back to Becky for a jumping kick to the face. Banks comes back in and grabs a suplex for two on Becky. They don’t waste time on the hot tag though as Charlotte comes in and kicks Bayley off the apron. The neckbreaker gets two on Banks and the Figure Eight goes on. Becky tries the Disarm-Her on Bayley, who sends Becky into Charlotte for the save. The Meteora off the apron hits Charlotte and we take a break.

Back with Charlotte getting knocked into the corner but getting up a knee to stop a charging Bayley. The hot tag (the sequel) brings in Becky to clean house with the Bexploder to Sasha. Bayley can’t get the Bayley to Belly so Sasha hits the Backstabber instead. Charlotte big boots Sasha and Becky adds a double missile dropkick. The moonsault actually hits Bayley (though Charlotte almost landed in a pushup) but Banks breaks up the cover at two.

Becky gets the Disarm-Her on Banks on the floor with Bayley making the save. That means a baseball slide from Charlotte….but there is no one there so it was just an over enthusiastic dive to the floor. Bayley suplexes Becky into the barricade and German suplexes Charlotte on the floor before taking it back inside. The top rope elbow hits raised knees and Natural Selection pins Bayley at 17:27.

Rating: B. This was an energetic match and the crowd was hot for it throughout. You could tell they were fired up to have the Horsewomen in the same match and we had a good one here. It’s a tag match so the champ getting pinned isn’t the worst thing, though I’m hoping it means Bayley retains on Sunday as there is no need to put the title on Charlotte again just yet.

From Raw again.

We’re not wasting time this week as here’s Austin to open the show for some beer consuming. Before Austin gets to the point, we take a trip down memory lane and hear about some of his great moments in MSG, including Survivor Series vs. Bret Hart, the first Stunner to Vince and Summerslam vs. Undertaker, complete with Austin being knocked silly. With that out of the way, it’s time to get down to the contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins.

Strowman comes out first and stares Austin down, drawing a heck of an AUSTIN chant. Strowman offers a handshake but Austin introduces Rollins instead, with some extra bass in his voice. Rollins wants to sign but first has to talk about how awesome it is to be in the Garden with Austin. See, Strowman thinks there is something going on here and Austin might have it in for him. Rollins isn’t sure if that’s the case or not but gets in on the WHATs for a bonus.

Austin says we need to sign the contract so Rollins says he’ll win on Sunday and then signs. Strowman says he respects Austin but a rattlesnake is still a rattlesnake. He won’t turn his back on Rollins because he loves being Tag Team Champions. He’ll love being Universal Champion more though and promises to give Rollins these hands. Strowman signs….and here’s the OC to interrupt.

Styles mocks a bunch of Austin catchphrases and threatens Steve a bit, with Styles not exactly buying it. AJ rips on New York a bit so Austin tells him to put some bass in his voice. The OC gets in the ring with AJ asking how Strowman got a title match so easily and calls Austin old. Austin moves the table and it’s Strowman and Rollins fighting the OC as Austin looks on. AJ dodges the Stomp and sends Rollins outside, only to turn into the Stunner to blow the roof off the place.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Rowan for a chat. What the people don’t understand is that no one controls him, but here’s Reigns to interrupt. The fight is on in a hurry with Reigns knocking him into the crowd. Rowan fights back though and grabs a fan, who he powerbombs over the barricade onto waiting security. They fight over the barricade and back to ringside, where Rowan swings a camera at Reigns to knock him down again before leaving. Good brawl, though I’m not exactly buying Rowan as a major threat to Reigns.

And now….an exclusive Main Event SEGMENT. Charly Caruso brings out former New York Knick Enes Kanter, who is NOT popular around here. Before he can say anything though, here’s R-Truth and I think you know where this is going. They hug and Truth puts Kanter over….so Kanter clotheslines him to win the 24/7 Title. Kanter opens his jacket to reveal a Boston Celtics jersey but gets rolled up to give Truth the title back. The mob chases Truth off.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Kofi Kingston, who is very happy to be in the Garden. It was ten years ago in this very building where he crushed Randy Orton through a table and was ready to become one of the biggest stars in WWE. We see a clip of the Boom Drop through the table in 2009 but here’s Orton in the crowd to call Kofi stupid. We hear about Orton’s accomplishments in the last ten years but none of that matters. All that matters is Orton winning the title on Sunday when he proves that Kofi is something he isn’t.

That’s what Kofi has done for years now, from the Jamaican accent to the dreadlocks to that Power of Positivity bull****. Kofi goes into the crowd after him but Orton is waiting on him with a chair. Kofi gets it away though and fights back, meaning it’s time to set up a table. Orton knocks him down though and puts Kofi onto the table. The chair is grabbed but Kofi kicks away from the table, which breaks anyway. Another table is loaded up and Kofi hits another Boom Drop before posing on the barricade. Cool moment, though I’m not sure what happens Sunday.

And from Raw.

Cedric Alexander/Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins/Viking Raiders vs. OC/Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Rollins and Ziggler start things off because we can never see these two fight enough. A hiptoss into an armbar has Ziggler in trouble and Erik slams Ivar onto him. Everything breaks down for a wild fight and Strowman chokeslams the heck out of Ziggler. We take an early break and come back with Cedric in trouble in the corner. Cedric gets in a faceplant but AJ takes him down by the bad arm and brings Gallows in. The New York fans, getting AJ, the OC and more in the main event, respond with the Wave.

Roode comes back in to work on an armbar and slams the arm into the mat for two. Cedric fights up and knocks Roode down, allowing the hot tag off to Rollins. House is cleaned, including the springboard knee to Anderson for two. The parade of strikes to the face begins with Rollins superkicking Styles to the floor to clear the ring. It’s off to Strowman for the running shoulders around the ring. The running powerslam gets two on Anderson with Roode and Ziggler shoving Seth into the cover for the save.

Strowman isn’t happy with Rollins and we take a break. Back with Anderson spinebustering Rollins for two but Rollins grabs a Blockbuster for a breather. The buckle bomb to Ziggler allows the tag to Strowman and house is cleaned again. Strowman goes shoulder first into the post (it’s a tradition) and Erik comes in to beat people up and shout a lot. Ivar goes up top and hits the big flip dive onto the pile. That leaves Cedric to Lumbar Check Styles for the pin at 19:35.

Rating: C+. The ending makes sense and is a lot more acceptable than having the champ get pinned in a singles match. It was the big spectacle match to end the show with everyone in there at once so it’s hard to complain about what they went with for a main event. Sometimes it’s better to go with the big match instead of some singles match that we’ve seen before and that’s what they did here.

Post match here’s Austin again and a lot of beer is consumed to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Now that’s more like it. This show flew by, with a short and meaningless match and an actually unique segment for a change. I don’t get why they have to have two matches instead of doing something like this instead. Why not throw a segment with some brawling or comedy out there? You have so many feuds going on so why not have someone do a short segment and mix it up a bit? They can clearly do it so why not more often? Anyway, good show this week, at least somewhat because it was fresh for a change, complete lack of King of the Ring aside.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 2, 2019
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

The King of the Ring continues as we find out the final names on the Raw side. This time around it’s Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin vs. Cedric Alexander, meaning you should be able to guess where both matches are going. Other than that we’ll likely get some more build to Clash of Champions. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins to open things up with a contract signing. Rollins knows they can work together to beat Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler but his intentions are to walk out of Clash as a double champ. Strowman says he’ll win but Rollins brings up slaying the beast to win the Universal Title, which is something Strowman doesn’t know about. At Clash, he’ll slay the monster.

Seth signs but here’s the OC to interrupt before Strowman can do the same. AJ explains the double title concept and asks who he’s going to face. He’ll just walk around showing off his title because that’s how you get a title shot around here. AJ wants to know why the Good Brothers aren’t getting their title shot and threatens to slap Cole’s teeth down his throat. Once inside, he rips up the contract that Strowman hadn’t signed, so the table is turned over and the fight is on.

Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins vs. OC

Non-title and joined in progress with Rollins kicking at Anderson before it’s off to Gallows for the power. Strowman comes in and kicks Gallows down without much trouble so it’s back to Anderson for an armbar on Rollins. Seth gets sent outside and into the barricade for a knockdown as we take a break.

Back with Rollins hitting an enziguri on Gallows and bringing Strowman in for the house cleaning. The running powerslam is broken up and everything breaks down, with AJ getting on the apron for a distraction. That’s broken up and Rolling grabs a rollup to finish Anderson at 11:43.

Rating: C-. Just a match here with the break in the middle breaking up the momentum. That being said, I’m much happier with the champs winning instead of having them lose so soon into their title reign. I know they’re not going to be long term champions or anything, but there is no need to have them lose here. For once WWE gets that and doesn’t have the champs lose, which is nice for a change.

Post match Strowman does the run around the ring shoulders but hits Rollins by mistake. Cue Roode and Ziggler to help with the beatdown as all five lay out Strowman and Rollins.

Post break the OC lays out Cedric Alexander before he can give an interview. Cedric seems to have a bad arm injury.

Dolph Ziggler/Bobby Roode vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

Ziggler starts fast on Hawkins with Ryder getting knocked off the apron. Roode drops Hawkins ribs first across the top rope but an elbow to the face lets Ryder come in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and it’s a superkick into the Glorious DDT to finish Hawkins at 4:01.

Rating: D. Just a squash for Roode and Ziggler, which is a fine way to do things. It’s nice to give them a chance to establish themselves a bit more as they have only teamed together once so far. It’s not like beating Hawkins and Ryder means much either way but it’s better than having a team go from debuting to the title match with nothing in between.

Natalya vs. Lacey Evans

Natalya jumps Lacey from behind during the entrances and takes her down to start. They head outside early on and a whip into the barricade has Natalya in trouble for a change. Back in and Lacey calls her a nasty before throwing on the chinlock. The double jump moonsault misses so Natalya hits a discus lariat for two. Lacey grabs a tissue and throws it at Natalya though, setting up the Woman’s Right for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: D. I get that Natalya was angry and emotional, but the cat ears took something away from the emotion they were going for. This felt like a way to get Evans back on track, which she certainly needs, though a win over Natalya isn’t meaning as much as it has before. Evans is a good heel, though she needs someone to feud against.

Here’s Becky Lynch to respond to Sasha Banks. Becky wants to know where Sasha is after she heard a bunch of reasons Sasha left after Wrestlemania last week. She remembers Sasha being a star in NXT while Becky was off to the side. Then Sasha and Charlotte came up to the main roster while Becky was trying to get TV time. Sasha even got bouquets of flowers after her matches. Then Sasha left after Wrestlemania and Bayley has done just fine without Sasha, which has to sting her a bit.

Sasha should be the center of attention, just like Becky is now. If Sasha wants to do this right now, come out here right now you little blue haired freak. Cue Sasha, who laughs off the idea of wanting to be Becky. Sasha: “Haha I wish Nia Jax broke my face so people cared about me!” Becky offers to fight right now but Banks laughs it off because she isn’t fighting for the people. She’ll do it for the paycheck at Clash of Champions. Becky accepts and Sasha promises to make the man the Boss’ b****. Banks is much better as a heel and already the best challenger Becky has had since she won the title.

The Street Profits aren’t sure what to think about that so they send it to commercial.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Cedric Alexander vs. Baron Corbin

Cedric’s arm is injured coming in and Corbin promises to win. Corbin starts fast with the slide under the ropes for the heavy clothesline but Cedric scores with a dropkick. The Neuralizer sends Corbin outside and a springboard clothesline gets two back inside. Corbin has had it with this and sends him arm first into the post twice in a row as we take a break. Back with driving elbows into the shoulder and cranking on the chinlock. Alexander fights up and hits a corner dropkick but the springboard Downward Spiral is countered into Deep Six for two.

Cedric gets back up and sends him shoulder first into the post four times in a row, followed by some hard kicks in the corner. The running flip dive to the floor hits Corbin again and a missile dropkick gets two (not bad as it barely connected). The Michinoku Driver is good for the same but another springboard is broken up. Corbin gets serious and finishes with End of Days at 14:30.

Rating: B-. Easily one of the better Corbin matches to date, though I have little faith in him to keep this up. At the same time though, it’s the problem of everything that he’s done over the last few months being a bit harder than that to shake off. Having him come back and win three or four matches doesn’t make up for the horrible last nine months, but I have a feeling WWE will see it differently.

Corbin sits on the throne again.

Long video on the attacks on Roman Reigns.

We look back at the opening segment.

Bayley has no comments on Sasha Banks. Yeah they’ve talked about what is happening lately and their conversations are personal. Banks left but Bayley stayed and took the opportunities. Tonight she is teaming with Becky so ask her a question about that. She isn’t worried about Becky overshadowing her tonight because she’s the Smackdown Women’s Champion.

Viking Raiders vs. ???/???

Before the match, the jobbers say they came all the way from Pittsburgh and are going to make the Raiders look like some Balti-morons. German suplex/springboard clothesline, crossbody against the barricade to another, Razor’s Edge toss sends one into the other and the Viking Experience is good for the pin at 1:24.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet

The winner faces Corbin next week. Before the match, Joe promises to make this his kingdom. Ricochet on the other hand talks about always redefining what is possible. Ricochet goes for the arm to start so Joe kicks away at the knee to take him down. The comeback out of the corner lets Ricochet get in some shots of his own but a sunset flip doesn’t work.

A low bridge to the floor does though and Ricochet’s moonsault off the barricade drops Joe again. Back in and Joe goes after the knee again by slamming it off the mat and putting on the half crab. Ricochet grabs a rope and is fine enough for two off a Lionsault (that’s a fast healing knee). Joe doesn’t like the lack of selling so he takes it outside for a suplex into the barricade.

We hit the neck crank before a toss across the ring has Ricochet in trouble. Back from the break with Ricochet fighting out of another chinlock and hitting the springboard clothesline. The running shooting star press gets two and Joe is sent outside for the Space Flying Tiger Drop. Back in and Ricochet goes up, meaning it’s the Koquina Clutch from Joe. Ricochet drops back for the big crash though….and it’s a double pin at 16:00.

Rating: C. The knee being fine after the break was a bit much but I’m more worried about where this is going. This sounds like a way to get Corbin to the finals while not having Ricochet lose and other than him, I don’t see anyone stopping Corbin in the whole thing. It’s going to be a long Clash if that’s where we’re going and I have a feeling it is.

The referee goes outside to get a headset and seems to call another referee for a ruling. That ruling….will come later so Ricochet beats up Joe a bit more.

Strowman isn’t happy that Steve Austin is back to moderate the next contract signing next week. Rollins laughs off the idea that he and Austin are in this against Strowman, so Strowman threatens to give Austin these hands.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray saying that what the Fiend did to Finn Balor was super duper rude. He apologizes to Balor on behalf of everyone here but it’s Demon Vince popping in to say Bray shouldn’t have challenged the Universal Champion at Hell in a Cell. It’s almost time to be fired but Bray pulls out the money he has been making and feeds it to Vince.

That’s enough for Vince, leaving Bray to say Seth and Braun aren’t a great team but they stole something from him before. We see Bray’s team, which is all of his puppet friends. They help him cope with pain but the Fiend helps him inflict it. Bray: “See you in h***. Let me in. BYE!”

The official decision: a triple threat match next week with Corbin involved.

Rey Mysterio talks about Dominick convincing him not to retire. They had a father and son talk about what it means for Dominick to grow up in the WWE family. It’s a parent’s responsibility to push their children to pursue their dreams but Dominick is pushing him to pursue him. Rey isn’t done because he has more to accomplish.

The Miz vs. Cesaro

The running uppercut gives Cesaro two at the bell and another uppercut gets the same. Miz comes back with some YES Kicks, only to get uppercutted down again. To mix things up a bit, Cesaro uppercuts him off the top and busts out the apron superplex. We hit the armbar for a bit until Miz fights up with kicks in the corner. Swiss Death cuts Miz off for two more but his grab of the rope gets him caught. Miz slugs away but gets uppercutted again, only to come back with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D. As much as Cesaro showed over in the UK, it was nothing but uppercuts here and that got a bit annoying. Can you blame him though? He has a rather good match over at NXT and comes here to put over Miz before another run at the Intercontinental Title in five minutes. I know someone had to take the loss, but can we find ANYONE other than Cesaro? The fans have long since caught on that he isn’t going to get a big win so the returns are going to diminish in a hurry.

Bayley/Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

Non-title. It’s a brawl to start with Bliss and Cross being knocked down on the floor…and here’s Sasha early on. Back with Bayley in trouble as Cross and Bliss take turns throwing clotheslines and splashes in the corner. Cross cuts off a diving tag attempt, drawing in Becky for the double stomping in the corner.

The Stunner over the ropes but Bliss cuts off the tag this time around. That’s not enough to cut the tag off three times though as it’s Becky comes in to clean house with MMA style strikes. A middle rope legdrop gives Becky two and she unloads on Bliss in the corner, only to have Banks come in for the DQ at 10:53.

Rating: D+. This was tag team formula stuff until the ending and I can give them a few extra points for not having a champion get pinned (they’ve been doing a bit better about that as of late). Banks vs. Lynch could be an interesting match and certainly feels bigger so the ending works well in that area.

Post match Banks grabs a chair but Bayley takes it away….and turns on Becky with chair shots of her own. The beating continues to end the show. Now that’s interesting as Bayley is more likely to retain over Charlotte while also throwing in a curve ball to Becky vs. Banks. Smart booking choice there, and it’s not like face Bayley was working anyway.

Overall Rating: C-. What an odd show with mostly bad wrestling, good creative and….Baron Corbin with the match of the night? Huh? Anyway, it’s nice to see the champions getting a focus for a change, though it’s kind of annoying that it takes the calendar to make them feel extra special. It’s quite the mixture of good and bad overall but there were a few too many instances of wondering when something was going to end to tilt it down just a bit. That being said, I’ll take them getting rid of the especially annoying stuff and replacing it with slightly uninteresting stuff so they’re moving in the right direction to an extent.

Results

Seth Rollins/Braun Strowman b. OC – Rollup to Anderson

Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode b. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder – Glorious DDT to Hawkins

Lacey Evans b. Natalya – Woman’s Right

Baron Corbin b. Cedric Alexander – End of Days

Viking Experience b. ???/??? – Viking Experience

Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet went to a double pin

The Miz b. Cesaro – Skull Crushing Finale

Bayley/Becky Lynch b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross via DQ when Sasha Banks interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 12, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

We’re done with Summerslam and the big story coming out of last night is Seth Rollins regaining the Universal Tile from Brock Lesnar. That opens the door for Lesnar to get the title back as it’s been long enough since he’s held it already. Other than that, almost everything seems to be open as we head towards Clash of the Champions in about five weeks. Why does that length of time make me smile so much? Let’s get to it.

Here are Sunday’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Rollins to get things going. He can’t believe he’s here because Lesnar is everything that he is touted to be. Lesnar is a freaking beast so we get a BEAST SLAYER chant, which sounded a lot like a HEATH SLATER chant at first. Last week he went somewhere he hasn’t gone before….and here’s the OC to interrupt. AJ says they wanted to be the first to congratulate Rollins, but he also wants to challenge Seth. That’s a yes, because Rollins doesn’t respect Styles anymore. They’re on for tonight. They shake hands and the Good Brothers tease a beatdown but smile instead.

The Street Profits like the sound of the champion vs. champion match but Dawkins is a little tired after last night’s after party. Sami Zayn comes in to say enjoy it while you can because this place will suck the soul out of you. It happens to everyone, including Rollins and Becky Lynch. Look at where they started and where they are now.

Dawkins asks if that happens to someone like Samoa Joe. Sami says of course it does and laughs about Joe’s reaction to Roman Reigns’ attack last week. Joe, who happens to be right behind Sami, sets up a match between the two of them. Maybe Sami can show that he’s more than Kevin Owens’ water boy.

The King of the Ring Tournament is back next week. I could go for that.

Long video on Roman Reigns being attacked.

Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe

Sami jumps him to start and gets choked out in 45 seconds.

Post match Joe says he forgives Roman Reigns after what happened last week but he does not forgive the fans who accused him of being behind the attacks.

The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

Not so fast as Ziggler comes out in street clothes and holding his ribs. Ziggler calls this part of his master plan, because he got speared so many times yesterday that he isn’t medically cleared. Then he jumps Miz and seems fine as we take a break. We’re joined in progress with Miz taking a knee to the ribs but slugging away with left hands. More left hands in the corner set up the YES Kicks and the running dropkick connects. Ziggler scores with the Zig Zag for a close two but Miz goes for the leg and gets the Figure Four for the tap at 3:49.

Rating: D+. It involved Ziggler in pain so I can smile at this in peace. On top of that the near fall was pretty good so at least there was some usefulness to this one. The problem is that it’s been done so many times and almost anything involving Ziggler feels like a bad idea at this point. Or for the last few years that is.

Post match Miz leaves but Ziggler says Miz isn’t even the best wrestler in his family. There’s enough trash talk to bring Miz back for the Skull Crushing Finale to shut Ziggler up.

Becky Lynch says she respects Natalya but she’s here to deal with anyone who didn’t respect her. Your smart play is to get her before she gets you. Game on.

Here’s Elias for a performance but he says he’s not going to wait around to be interrupted this week. Just get out here, whoever you are this week. No one comes out so he gives them a second chance but no one comes out again. Elias starts playing and it’s Ricochet coming out, with Elias’ annoyed face being pretty funny. Ricochet says there’s a very good reason why Elias keeps getting interrupted: he sucks. Elias wants a referee out here right now.

Elias vs. Ricochet

Ricochet starts fast with the headscissors but Elias hits a crazy high backdrop for two. A headlock goes on for a bit but Ricochet kicks him out of the corner. Ricochet nails a dropkick and we get a little bit of a messy run of the ropes, leaving Ricochet to hit an enziguri. Elias rolls outside so Ricochet tries a running flip dive…with Elias stepping to the side so Ricochet crashes to the floor with nothing to break his fall. It’s time to grab the guitar but Ricochet gets in a kick to the head. A top rope sunset flip pins Elias at 3:27, though his shoulder was COMPLETELY off the mat, with commentary immediately calling it out.

Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

2/3 falls. Rey starts fast and tries the 619 but gets rolled up with Zelina Vega holding the feet for the pin at 24 seconds. Rey goes up to start the second fall and snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor. That’s good for two back inside but Andrade starts stomping away in the corner.

The running knees miss though and Rey hits a slingshot Canadian Destroyer, with Andrade going down a bit too fast and landing with a thud. The 619 misses off a Zelina distraction and Andrade grabs a small package for two more. Now the 619 can connect but a frog splash hits knees. The hammerlock DDT gives Andrade the win in two straight falls at 6:32.

Rating: C+. They had to cram a lot into a short match but that’s as big of a win as Andrade can get. You have to wonder how much longer Mysterio is going to be in the ring so having him put someone over this hard is the best use for him. Mysterio is a legend at this point and isn’t going to lose that status no matter what happens to him. Andrade looked like a star here and that’s what they were shooting for.

We get a Skype interview with Steve Austin, who was impressed by Rollins’ performance last night. Rollins had a great match but what impressed Austin was Rollins saying that he was giving everything he had and showing who he was. Austin told him to stick with it because you’re going to have good days and bad days. Oh and watch Austin’s new show tonight after Raw.

Mysterio is upset over his loss and seems ready to announce his retirement but just says “my family”.

The Street Profits are worried about Mysterio. Well Ford is at least as Dawkins is almost asleep. A mention of Nikki Cross makes him smile and Ford asks him who he has in the Women’s Tag Team Title match. Dawkins is too busy chugging water to answer.

Drew McIntyre says his issues with Cedric Alexander end tonight. It ends in Toronto, but not with a big feel good moment. Instead, it’s going to be a boot to his skull. Like, he’s kicking Cedric so hard that it’s going through the skin and muscle.

Drew McIntyre vs. Cedric Alexander

Both are going to be in the King of the Ring, which will have eight Raw names and eight Smackdown names. Cedric starts fast and kicks Drew outside for the big flip dive. Back in and Drew hits the running Razor’s Edge buckle bomb, setting up a chinlock. Drew throws him over his head and grabs another chinlock, only to have Cedric come back up with the Neuralizer. A running DDT gets two on McIntyre and Cedric sits him on top.

That’s not a good idea as Drew hits a super swinging sitout Rock Bottom for two of his own and they head outside. Cedric hits a Lumbar Check on the floor for nine so it’s a suicide dive, only to have Drew suplex him again. Back in and Cedric falls down before Drew can try the Claymore so it’s a small package to give Cedric two. A super Spanish Fly gets the same and they need a breather. Another Lumbar Check is blocked and Drew hits the Claymore, with Cedric flipping over backwards, for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: B. This might not have been the highest quality match in the world but it was one cool spot after another with Cedric coming close to winning more than once. They’ve turned Cedric into a star on this show as of late, which makes all the more frustrating when he sat round doing nothing for so long.

AJ promises to win.

Robert Roode vs. No Way Jose

Roode takes him into the corner to start but charges into a boot. The spinebuster plants Jose and the Glorious DDT is good for the pin at 1:22. Just a squash.

Paul Heyman doesn’t think much of Rollins winning last night and Lesnar gets NO rematch. This doesn’t sit well with Heyman, who storms into Lesnar’s locker room.

Revival vs. Lucha House Party

Dawson takes over on Dorado to start and makes him mock the LUCHA chant. Hold on though as here are R-Truth and Carmella to run away from Drake Maverick as the match is thrown out at about 1:05.

Post match the Revival hits a Hart Attack on Truth to win the title as co-champions. Kalisto springboards in with a missile dropkick but Wilder makes the save at two. Carmella puts Truth on top for the pin and the title before the pair vamooses again. In the back, Truth and Carmella get into a clearing with Truth declaring himself the 72 time champion. That’s more times than Ric Flair and John Cena combined! Elias comes up from behind them with a guitar shot to the back for the pin and the title.

We look at the Reigns attacks again. That was a heck of a car crash. The other car hit Roman’s so hard that Roman’s was fine when they came back from a break.

Here’s Natalya with her arm in a sling for a chat. She was in a fight last night but she wouldn’t change a thing she did or said to Becky and they’ll meet again. Last night after the show, she had a dream where her dad said he was proud of her. Her dad passed away one year ago….and here’s Sasha Banks for the first time since Wrestlemania.

She hugs Natalya and turns on her in nearly record time. The bad arm is sent into the corner and then the steps so here’s Becky for the save. Banks knocks her down with a right hand and gets in some chair shots to leave Becky laying. Graves rips Sasha apart for being selfish as the beating continues. Well Becky has been needing a top opponent so this is a good way to go.

Viking Raiders vs. Carter Mason/Sebastian Suave

Total destruction with the usual, capped off by the Viking Experience to Suave (Graves: “Thank goodness for socialized healthcare.”) for the pin at 1:35.

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are ready to defend their titles tonight because they’re fighting champions.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Kabuki Warriors

The Warriors are challenging though there’s no Paige due to her needing neck surgery. Sane slaps Bliss to start and it’s a quick bulldog to take her down. Everything breaks down and the champs get knocked down on the floor as we take an early break. Back with Sane fighting out of Cross’ chinlock and getting over to Asuka for the hot tag. The hard strikes begin and there’s a release German suplex to Cross. A blind tag brings in Bliss for the DDT and a near fall on Asuka but it’s back to Sane without much effort.

An Alabama Slam looks to set up the Insane Elbow but Cross rolls to the floor. You don’t do that to Sane, who takes her down with a high crossbody. Now the Insane Elbow can connect for two with Bliss making the save. Asuka’s kick to Bliss hits post instead and Bliss does the always smart thing of dragging Cross to the corner, only to have Sane make a save. The distraction lets Cross hit the Purge to set up Twisted Bliss for the pin to retain at 8:46.

Rating: C-. The thing I took away from this was a line Cole said right after the pin: Bliss and Cross continue to dominate the women’s tag team division. This sounds ridiculous after they’ve won three matches in eight days, but that doesn’t make it any less accurate. The division is four teams at most and Bliss/Cross are as dominant as anyone else. It’s almost like the titles don’t need to exist, but that can’t change around here because reasons.

Rollins says he’s beaten Lesnar twice so he’s already better than AJ. On top of that, he already beat AJ at Money in the Bank and he’ll do it again tonight.

Video on the King of the Ring and how many stars have won it over the years.

Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles

Non-title, the OC is here with Styles and Rollins has taped up ribs. Rollins starts fast by tying AJ in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick. An OC distraction lets AJ take it outside though and a belly to back faceplant drops Rollins’ ribs on the floor. Back from a break with AJ getting two off a suplex to send Rollins out to the apron.

The Styles Clash on the apron is broken up and Rollins sweeps the leg to send AJ into the apron. Back in and the Falcon Arrow gives Rollins two but AJ fights out of a reverse superplex. AJ charges into a superkick but Gallows breaks up the frog splash. While they aren’t caught, the OC gets ejected, only to come back in for the DQ at 9:21.

Rating: C+. This was fine and the ending was the way to go rather than having either of them take a fall of any kind. I was worried that we would see WWE make the titles look weak again but maybe they’re starting to learn their lesson. It’s better than having the same losses every week so hopefully things are changing a bit.

Post match the beatdown is on with Ricochet’s save attempt not working. The super Styles Clash is loaded up but Braun Strowman comes in for the real save. A pair of powerslams to Styles as Rollins isn’t sure what to think. Strowman picks up the title and hands it to Rollins before a handshake can end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The energy was back here and the show felt important for a change. That’s not the kind of thing you can expect every week (Sasha isn’t coming back and you can’t have a huge announcement like the tournament every time) but it was awesome to do it for a week. You can tell that Heyman’s influence has grown as some of the featured names are changing.

Ignoring the continued lack of Baron Corbin, it’s nice to see some other names getting a big push around here as sometimes you just need some fresh characters. I really liked this week’s show and it made me want to watch again next week. I can’t remember how long it has been since that was the case and hopefully it is a sign of things to come.

Results

Samoa Joe b. Sami Zayn – Koquina Clutch

The Miz b. Dolph Ziggler – Figure Four

Ricochet b. Elias – Top rope sunset flip

Andrade b. Rey Mysterio – Hammerlock DDT

Drew McIntyre b. Cedric Alexander – Claymore

Robert Roode b. No Way Jose – Glorious DDT

Revival vs. Lucha House Party went to a no contest when R-Truth interfered

Viking Raiders b. Carter Mason/Sebastian Suave – Viking Experience to Suave

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. Kabuki Warriors – Twisted Bliss to Sane

Seth Rollins b. AJ Styles via DQ when the Good Brothers interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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