IMG Credit: WWE

Hell in a Cell 2018
Date: September 16, 2018
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

Welcome to the first show of the three that WWE is currently building. In this case we have the show designed around carnage and that could mean a few things. The show hasn’t exactly blown me away on paper but maybe they’ll surprise me here. There are two matches inside the big red cage tonight so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Rusev Day vs. New Day

Rusev Day is defending after winning a tournament. There are enough empty seats visible that I feel like I’m watching 205 Live. Kofi wastes no time in double stomping English and it’s already off to Rusev. A fall away slam has Kofi in trouble and we go split screen to see an Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey ad. At least it’s on a commercial show instead of the regular TV shows.

Back with Kofi fighting out of a front facelock and hitting a tornado DDT for the tag off to Big E. Suplexes abound but Rusev tags himself in to kick Big E. in the head. English tags himself back in though, leaving Big E. to spear the illegal man to the floor with English nailing a dive. Back in and the reverse DDT gets two on Big E. but English takes too long going up, allowing New Day to hit a powerbomb/top rope double stomp (sweet finisher) for two (which doesn’t finish) in what could have been the ending.

Kofi gets Machka Kicked to the floor and Big E. gets DDT’ed on the apron. Back in and English tags himself in again, this time to Rusev’s annoyance. The annoyance gets even worse when misses a top rope headbutt. English’s top rope splash gets two and he grabs the Accolade of all things. Big E. gets Machka Kicked again but Kofi slips out. With Rusev missing a charge and sending himself outside, Trouble in Paradise retains the titles at 8:48.

Rating: B-. That’s about as perfect of a Kickoff Show match as you can get. They didn’t overstay their welcome, it was an exciting and entertaining match and they got a popular act out there to give the fans something to cheer about. That’s all you can ask for in something like this and it was a good idea.

The opening video talks about people being afraid of different things, which doesn’t have the most impact when it’s Brie Bella and Maryse. Tonight there is no turning back and you must surrender to evil.

The red Cell is lowered. It….really didn’t need the change. Was black not an option?

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Inside the Cell. Orton is back to being the Legend Killer but this time it’s more the Hero Killer, with Hardy being his first target. Hardy goes right after him to start as Phillips says there are no rules other than the pinfall or submission has to take place in the ring. That sounds like a rule to me. Orton takes him outside and sends him into the cage but Hardy does the exact same thing. Well, to Orton instead of himself but you get the idea.

It’s already time for a table because THE CELL isn’t enough of a weapon. That’s not enough either so of course it’s ladder time. A ladder to the ribs slows Orton down even more but a chair to the back cuts Hardy off. An RKO on the floor is blocked and Hardy uses the chair as a launch pad for Poetry in Motion against the cage. They actually get back in for Hardiac Arrest but the Swanton is broken up and that means a superplex.

Jeff kicks him down again and let’s get a second ladder because why not. Hardy sets this one up upside down on the floor but gets front suplexed onto it instead. Some more chairs are brought inside with one of them bouncing off of Jeff. Orton hits him a few more times before stealing Hardy’s studded belt for a whip to the exposed back. To get a little creative, Orton puts Hardy inside of a ladder with Hardy’s head sticking between some rungs for a little stomping.

We hit the chinlock, which feels completely out of place in the Cell. Hardy is right back up with the legdrop between the legs and a basement dropkick but Orton powerslams him. With nothing else working, Orton goes outside and finds….a screwdriver. That goes THROUGH THE HOLE IN HARDY’S EAR, which Orton then TWISTS AROUND, giving us one of the best in pain looks I’ve ever seen from Jeff. A low blow lets Hardy take the screwdriver out of his ear (I didn’t think I’d be writing that one) and he unloads with a chair.

Orton is still fine enough to crotch Hardy on top and the hanging DDT (with Orton bleeding from the back) plants Hardy again. The RKO is countered into the Twist of Fate and a Swanton onto the chair gets two. And so much for Hardy’s chance of winning, though there was no way that was the ending anyway. Hardy finds another table (of course) but sets up the big ladder with the small ladder next to it.

Orton gets laid on the table and Hardy climbs up, only to grab the top of the Cell. A few swings back and forth set up the splash through the table, though it seemed that Orton was off the table before Jeff even let go. They raise the Cell with the referee screaming for medics and for the match to be stopped. Orton covers Hardy and demands a count as the referee loses his mind, though he’s fine enough to count the pin at 24:50.

Rating: C+. I get what they were going for here but egads this went longer than it needed to. They easily could have cut out ten minutes here and had pretty much the same TLC match inside the Cell. The emphasis her is on the last three words: this was inside the Cell, making the ending that much worse. Yeah Hardy is hurt “for real” but IT’S THE FREAKING CELL. We’ve seen Shane McMahon dive all the way off the top and the match wasn’t going to be stopped, but this one was? Come on already.

Post match we get the quiet voices and the lack of Orton’s music as I’d like to point out that he was inside the Cell instead of FLYING OFF THE THING LIKE SHANE DID LAST YEAR (and the year before that because Shane gets to do whatever he wants). Replays show that Orton was off the table a good two seconds before Jeff dropped. Really not a good angle to show there people.

HHH vs. Undertaker is still happening again.

AJ Styles wants to fight Samoa Joe because he’s sick of talking all the time.

We recap Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch. Charlotte was added to the Women’s Title match last month at Summerslam and Becky wasn’t happy at having her title shot stolen from her. Becky turned on her after the match but the fans cheered her on anyway, so tonight it’s about the title for her and revenge for Charlotte.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Charlotte is defending. They hit the mat to start but Becky kicks her away for a cautious standoff. It’s way too early for either finisher so Charlotte settles for a knee crusher and a leglock. Back up and Charlotte misses a shoulder into the corner so Becky hits a running forearm to the shoulder (nice) from the apron. A Pentagon arm snap gets two and it’s off to the armbar.

The Bexploder is blocked so Becky forearms her down for two instead. Back up and Charlotte sends her to the apron but bangs up her arm again. The bad arm goes shoulder first into the apron for two more so Charlotte gets smart by kicking her in the face. Becky avoids the moonsault though and the cross armbreaker goes on. Since she’s Charlotte, that’s reversed into the sitout powerbomb and they’re both down.

The fans cheer for Becky and seem pleased when she wins a slugout. A hammerlock slam gets two but Charlotte grabs a desperation Boston crab. The Disarm-Her goes on so Charlotte crawls underneath the ropes for the eventual break. Back up and the spear is reversed into a small package to give Becky the pin and the title at 13:52.

Rating: B. That’s the kind of physical match you would expect from these two and the ending was exactly what it should have been. Becky won the title completely clean because she was willing to do whatever it took and if that included destroying Charlotte’s arm, so be it. Charlotte felt like she was fighting from behind the entire time and never once felt like she could keep up with Becky, which is how the match should have felt. Very good stuff and the right call at the right time.

Post match Charlotte offers a handshake but Becky holds up the title and says this is her moment. As she should.

The Marine 6 is coming, featuring Miz, Becky Lynch and Shawn Michaels.

Connor’s Cure video.

Jeff Hardy has been taken to a local medical facility. Gee you think?

Kickoff Show recap.

New Day has their pancake butler come in to celebrate but Kofi pops up as his interviewer. They’re ready to defend their titles against the Bar in Australia but first, pancakes. It’s starting to feel like they’re forcing these things and that’s not good at all.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins

Ambrose and Rollins are challenging and the BURN IT DOWN is strong this time. Feeling out process to start between Ziggler and Rollins with Seth taking him down and handing it off to Ambrose for some running elbows. An early Stomp attempt sends Ziggler bailing to the floor so it’s off to McIntyre instead. He wants and receives Ambrose who goes nose to nose with Drew before dropkicking his knee out.

A Ziggler distraction lets McIntyre hit Ambrose from behind though and it’s off to Ziggler for a chinlock. That lasts as long as your average chinlock and Rollins is right back up with the Sling Blade. Another distraction lets Ziggler hit the running DDT for another two and McIntyre comes in for an armbar. Ziggler grabs the sleeper before it’s right back to McIntyre for a shoulder breaker. Rollins fights up and gets to the corner but the referee is distracted so the hot tag doesn’t count (still one of my favorites).

Ziggler puts Rollins up top but gets kicked away so McIntyre tries his luck. That’s not the best either as Rollins scores with a Blockbuster and the hot tag brings in Ambrose. He can’t suplex McIntyre but he can get two off a Jackknife rollup instead. Ziggler comes back in and takes Ambrose to the apron where McIntyre gets in a big boot. Everything breaks down and Ambrose gets suplexed hard into the corner for a crash.

McIntyre is back in again and gets dropped just as fast, allowing Rollins to hit the frog splash for an even nearer fall. A Tower of Doom is broken up and Rollins tries a dive onto Ziggler, only to crash hard to the floor. Since it’s Rollins he’s back up only a few seconds later to tags himself in for the running up the corner superplex. The Falcon Arrow is loaded up but McIntyre hits the Claymore to give Ziggler the pin to retain at 22:58.

Rating: A. Totally awesome tag match here with Ziggler and McIntyre getting the win that they’ve needed to look like serious threats. If nothing else it makes you realize how sad it was to watch the makeshift/comedy guys fighting over the belts for months now. All four were working hard here and the fans were into it the whole way. I know it’s not the last match or even one of the last matches in the feud, but at least we had something awesome to get started. Great match and one of the best things in the tag division in years.

Mick Foley comes in to tell Braun Strowman that his life will change in the Cell (no, it won’t) and Strowman needs to respect his authority. Strowman says count the three and hand him the title. Foley: “Good talk.”

All four teams are ready for the first episode of Mixed Match Challenge.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles. Joe has been messing with AJ’s mind and promises to send AJ home to his wife and kids, sound asleep. We get the full Samoa Joe bedtime story from Smackdown and it’s still incredibly awesome on an evil level.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is challenging. AJ goes right at him to start but Joe shrugs it off and starts hammering away. A dropkick works much better and a running knee to the head rocks Joe again. There’s a baseball slide to keep Joe down but he’s smart enough to roll away before the Phenomenal Forearm. AJ’s slingshot gets kicked out of the air though and Joe sends him knees first into the steps.

Joe doesn’t take well to a comeback bid and gets his knee taken out again. Another running knee in the corner has AJ reeling so Joe sends him outside for the suicide elbow. Back in and we hit the neck crank for a bit until AJ fights up. That just earns him an elbow that turns him inside out as it’s all Joe. The rather cocky (and deserved) Joe gets caught on top and pulled face first into the buckle though and AJ finally has a breather.

Somehow AJ is fine enough to hit the torture rack powerbomb for two and they’re both done. The springboard 450 gets two and Joe’s crazy hard clothesline gets the same. Neither finisher can connect so Joe goes with a loud kick to the head for a delayed two. AJ is right back up with the Phenomenal Forearm but Joe catches him in the Koquina Clutch, only to have AJ backflip into the pin at 19:01.

Rating: A-. This was a lot of fun with Joe having AJ beaten for most of the match and AJ having to survive the entire time. It shows that AJ is in trouble here and that Joe is likely getting the title soon. Like, say in October. In Australia. In a match that was already announced. This one was a heck of a fight though as Joe knows how to bring AJ to a level that few others can and he did it here too. Just let Joe win the title in Australia and everything will be fine.

Post match Joe celebrates before AJ is announced as the winner. Joe says that AJ tapped and Graves agrees. AJ kicks Joe down and holds up the title as the announcers argue. The replay shows that AJ did tap and it was before three so we’re almost guaranteed a rematch, which was announced weeks ago because WWE now works for the calendar instead of vice versa.

Miz and Maryse, in matching suits that make Miz look stupid but somehow works on Maryse, are ready to take care of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella. Daniel and Brie are only relevant because of them and Miz wouldn’t be surprised if Brie is doing all this for the sake of reality show ratings.

We recap the mixed tag. Miz cheated to beat Bryan at Summerslam so now we’re having a mixed tag match to continue the feud without giving up the big rematch. Which is also taking place in Australia and has already been announced in advance. Oh and did I mention that Brie will be back on Total Divas this Wednesday?

Miz/Maryse vs. Daniel Bryan/Brie Bella

The women start (gulp) but thankfully it’s off to the men before anything happens. A distraction from Maryse lets Miz punch Bryan into the corner. Phillips: “Some people believe that Brie Bella has the hardest punch in WWE.” No Tom, they don’t. Graves: “No one believes that Phillips.” Yeah what he said. Bryan is back up with the moonsault over Miz into the running clothesline but Miz bails to the floor at the threat of a YES Lock.

The women come back in and once again tag back out before anything happens. Again: thank goodness. The fans chant COWARD at Miz as Bryan takes him down with a dragon screw legwhip and a top rope hurricanrana puts Miz in even more trouble. The running knee misses so Bryan settles for the YES Lock, drawing in Maryse for the save. Bryan is fine enough to hit the running dropkicks in the corner until Miz avoids the final charge and drops Bryan on his hip (better than his head/neck).

The Reality Check gives Miz two as Brie goes into cheerleader mode, which is really about as good of a role as she’s going to have. Miz fires off some kicks in the corner but Bryan breaks up the superplex. The Swan Dive (To quote Miz: Really?) misses so Bryan kicks Miz away and brings Brie in. Maryse won’t do the same so Brie punches Miz a few times and sends Maryse into the announcers’ table.

Everything breaks down and Brie gets two off a middle rope dropkick. Bryan gets back in and throws Miz down for touching his wife on the save and we hit the stereo YES Kicks. Of course the big ones both miss and the guys fight up the ramp, leaving Brie to hit the BRIE MODE knee. Miz gets back on the apron so Brie rams Maryse into him and grabs a rollup, only to have Maryse reverse into a hideous one of her own with a grab of the tights for the pin at 13:01.

Rating: D+. They tried as hard as they could here and keeping the women out of the ring was the best path they could have taken but they were running with an anchor here. I’m just not feeling this whole Miz vs. Bryan feud as it hasn’t reached that point where I need to see Bryan beat Miz. Maybe they’ll get there by the end, but for now it’s not really working. Getting it back to one on one might help, but please keep Brie out of the ring.

We look at the ending of the first Cell match again.

Hardy is now coughing up blood.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss. Rousey was ticked off that Bliss cashed in Money in the Bank so she went nuts and wrecked Bliss for the title at Summerslam. Now we’re doing a rematch where Bliss has no chance so we can build towards Rousey vs. THE LEGEND Nikki Bella at Evolution.

Raw Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Rousey, with bad ribs, is defending and has Natalya with her while Bliss has Mickie James and Alicia Fox in her corner. An early headlock takes Bliss down and Rousey loads up what looks like a Stump Puller before rolling back into a cradle (that’s a new one). Bliss decides to shove her and gets punched in the face for her efforts. A kick to the ribs has little effect as Rousey monkey flips her down and hammers away, followed by the overhead throw.

James and Fox have to save Bliss from the armbar so Rousey throws Bliss onto both of them. Rousey: “Who needs enemies when you have friends like that?” Bliss finally trips her down and kicks away even more, setting up a seated abdominal stretch. Rousey fights up for the swinging Samoan drop but the ribs give out, allowing Bliss to hit the knees to the ribs into the moonsault. The champ gets up again and tries a superplex, only to get pulled down into the Tree of Woe for a dropkick to the ribs.

Rating: B. This was a lot better than I was expecting, even with a complete lack of drama. I know no one was buying Bliss as having a chance here but Rousey sold well and they had a good story throughout. There were even a few surprises in there and Rousey has to face a little adversity from time to time.

The announcers talk about the victims of Hurricane Florence. Nothing wrong with that.

We look at the ending of Styles vs. Joe again.

Joe yells at the referee and Paige, who tells Joe to calm down. The rematch with AJ is set for Australia and there will be no countouts or disqualifications.

Super Show-Down rundown. Egads get on with the main event already.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman. Reigns won the Raw World Title at Summerslam and it’s not like he had anyone else to face. Strowman cashed in Money in the Bank but Shield reformed to take him out. Ignoring that Reigns knew about the cash-in in advance and this was a complete heel move from Shield, Strowman is now the villain and cashing in his contract tonight, meaning we’re done with it WAY early this year, making me rather happy.

Raw World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Reigns is defending inside the Cell with Mick Foley as guest referee in a completely minor detail. Reigns slugs away at the bell but gets sent shoulder first into the post. A running shoulder sends Reigns off the apron and into the cage as Reigns is in early trouble. Reigns is right back with a show to the face but another shoulder sends him hard into the cage. Strowman grabs the steps but has them dropkicked back into his face.

That’s it for Reigns’ offense though as Reigns dives into a chokeslam onto the apron. Reigns is right back with some chair shots to the ribs, followed by a DDT onto the chair for two. A pair of Superman Punches rock Reigns but the third is countered into a chokeslam….for three, which Foley calls two. That was quite the botch and pretty clearly a three count. Another Superman Punch gets another two and it’s time for a table.

Reigns sees Strowman up and runs around the ring at him but doesn’t see Strowman puck up the steps, which bounce off Reigns’ head. Strowman: “WHY WON’T YOU STAY DOWN YOU FOOL???” There’s a steps shot to the ribs and Strowman LAUNCHES them over the top because he’s strong enough to do that. The running powerslam gets two so Strowman sets up the table in the corner. Of course that earns him a spear through the table, drawing out Ziggler, McIntyre, Rollins and Ambrose.

Since WWE can’t pay attention to multiple things at once, we watch the brawl on the floor with Rollins and Ziggler fighting up to the top of the Cell. McIntyre follows them up and saves Ziggler from a bad case of death. Cue Ambrose to the top with a kendo stick to clean house, setting up a bunch of punching back and forth. A double clothesline puts all four down as Reigns and Strowman still haven’t moved.

Ziggler climbs down but Rollins follows him, meaning it’s time to fight on the side of the Cell. We’re just waiting on the big fall now and indeed there they go, through a pair of announcers’ tables in the most contrived spot of the night. All six are down….and we have Brock Lesnar (looking weird in a plain black shirt).

Brock kicks the door off the hinges (good visual) and then climbs up said door to get inside. Paul Heyman maces Foley and Lesnar hits both guys with pieces of the table. Lesnar wrecks them some more and gives Reigns an F5 onto Strowman. With Lesnar leaving, another referee comes in and it’s a NO CONTEST IN THE CELL AT 23:48.

Rating: B-. I don’t even know where we are anymore. The most violent match in WWE history just ended because “the two of them can’t continue”. As in after THEY LAID THERE FOR THE BETTER PART OF TEN MINUTES??? This is just so freaking dumb because, again, the stupid calendar backed them into a corner. If this is just any regular wrestling match then fine, but we just HAD to wait for Summerslam to change the title to Reigns and then we just HAD to do the Cell match in September.

This was a way to make you think that you were getting something good when it was any given street fight plus a bunch of interference so the other guys can do something cool off the side of the Cell. Oh but then we get to the important stuff: setting up a likely triple threat in NOVEMBER AT SURVIVOR SERIES BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PROMOTE THREE SHOWS AT ONE FREAKING TIME ANYMORE! This is the most annoyed I’ve been at a match in a long time and it wasn’t even a bad one. The ending sucked the life out of me though and that’s a horrible way to cap off an otherwise good show.

The show goes off the air almost immediately, likely to avoid the BULL**** chants from making the Network.

Overall Rating: A-. I was tempted to drop this by a few notches for that ending but man alive this was a heck of a show. Aside from the mixed tag (which was held back by reasons outside of the actual wrestling), nothing was even close to bad and there are two back to back instant classics in the middle. There are a lot of flaws with the way some things are going in the future, but the actual wrestling is rather strong at the moment, which I can’t say I expected coming in. Very good show and one of the best main roster shows in a long time.

Results

Randy Orton b. Jeff Hardy – Hardy missed a splash through a table

Becky Lynch b. Charlotte – Small package

Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler b. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins – Claymore to Rollins

AJ Styles b. Samoa Joe – Rollup

Maryse/Miz b. Daniel Bryan/Brie Bella – Rollup with tights to Bella

Ronda Rousey b. Alexa Bliss – Armbar

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar went to a no contest when Brock Lesnar interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 28, 2018
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Things continue to chug along around here as we have the continuing stories of AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe and The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan, plus a title match between new Women’s Champion Charlotte and Carmella. The latter could be the most interesting as it seems WWE has already pulled the plug on Becky Lynch’s heel turn and might be giving the spot to Charlotte instead. Let’s get to it.

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

They are now Lord Xavier the Wise, Sir Kofi the Brave and Big E. Hang on though as Big E. wants a cool name too. Booker says he already has it though. Big E.: “You just went FULL SAXTON ON ME!” Booker: “Tell me you didn’t just say that.” Booker officially welcomes them to the Five Time Champions Club and the celebration is on, including the Spinarooni. Woods and Kofi do one of their own (Woods’ was better) and Big E. does one, albeit with some help from his partners. The Booker cameo was fun and this was all it needed to be without going long.

The Bar vs. The Colons vs. Good Brothers

The winners face the winners of another triple threat for the right to face New Day at the pay per view. New Day has their own commentary table again as Anderson and Sheamus hit the mat to start. Sheamus can’t do much with him so it’s off to Cesaro, who gets taken into the wrong corner for some double teaming. Primo tags himself in so Anderson sunset flips him, only to have Epico come in for the save.

New Day is busy trading pancakes as the regular announcers talk about World Records. Anderson hits a running kick to the head in the corner but Epico shoves him to the floor. Back from a break with Anderson fighting out of an over the shoulder backbreaker and finally bringing Gallows back in. A pumphandle slam and running splash get two on Cesaro. Everything breaks down and it’s a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to drop Cesaro. Epico saves Primo from the Magic Killer and it’s a double Backstabber to Gallows. Cesaro breaks up the cover though and steals the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C-. New Day didn’t add a thing here as their commentary was only played for about ten seconds combined. We’re likely looking at New Day vs. the Bar at the pay per view and while that’s a good match, it’s not something that I need to ever see again. Get some fresh blood in there already.

In the back, Rusev Day comes in to see Paige, who says they’ll be in the other triple threat match along with Sanity and the Usos. Rusev thanks Lana for getting the opportunity but it was actually Aiden English.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte, with Becky’s edited promo which makes her sound like she’s been ripped off instead of snapping.

Here’s Jeff Hardy, with RKO painted on his face, to talk about Randy Orton getting inside his head. Orton has messed with his mind and made him believe that he can fly. We see a clip of last week with Hardy Swanton Bombing Orton through a table. That made Jeff feel rebroken by fate so Orton needs to get out here and finish what he started.

Orton is glad to see Hardy being back to what he truly is but he’s not finished working on Jeff yet. This version is the one that Orton is going to take away. You can call him whatever you want, but all that matters is RK….Jeff: “NO!”. They’re going to be inside the Cell. Egads Jeff is going to die. Orton doesn’t say yes but that seemed official.

Carmella laughs about how she’s beaten Charlotte twice and tonight she completes the trifecta because Charlotte didn’t beat her at Summerslam. She leaves and R-Truth comes in asking which way she went. Tye Dillinger comes in to try and talk him down but Truth thinks that’s good planning. Tye is rather confused and says this is his life.

Naomi vs. Billie Kay

Before the match, Billie says she’s clairvoyant and sees Naomi losing again, just like she lost to Peyton Royce last week. Naomi knocks her down and stands on the hair while dragging Billie around. That seems to annoy Billie more than anything else and she yells a lot, only to get kicked in the head. Naomi bulldogs her into the corner and gets two off a rollup. The kickout sends Naomi’s head through the ropes, where she waits on Peyton to hit her spot and kick her in the head, allowing Billie to get a rollup pin at 1:53.

Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella look at Brie punching the Miz last week and seem rather proud.

Here are Bryan and Brie for a chat. Bryan is tired of Miz acting like he’s not a coward and bragging about his punching. That’s why it was so nice to see Brie come in last week and punch him in the face. Brie talks about how great it was and Bryan says it was also really hot. He can’t wait to see her in the mixed tag but here are Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega to interrupt.

Vega brags about Almas and thinks that since Miz has already outsmarted Bryan, it’s time for Almas to outwrestle him. Almas says he’s the only star in this ring so let’s do this right now. Bryan can’t do that, but does ask for someone to come make it for them. Paige eventually does come out and, after catching her breath, makes the match.

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Daniel Bryan

Feeling out process to start with Bryan sending him into the ropes, allowing Almas to hit the tranquilo pose. With Miz and Maryse, in matching AWESOME jerseys, watching in the back, Almas grabs an inverted Gory Stretch before hitting one of the loudest chops I can remember in a long time. Bryan avoids the running knee in the corner though and Almas falls to the floor. The running knee from the apron doesn’t miss and Miz and Maryse walk away from the monitor as we take a break.

Back with Almas holding Bryan in a triangle choke over the ropes because Smackdown knows how to do something other than a chinlock. Bryan catches him on top but here’s Miz (no Maryse) for a distraction. A suicide dive takes him out but the distraction lets Almas hit a springboard corkscrew dive. Almas hits an inverted tornado DDT for a close two but the moonsault hits raised boots. The YES Lock has Almas in trouble but Brie has to deal with Vega. Maryse runs in and posts Brie so the hold is broken, allowing Miz to run in for the DQ at 9:25.

Rating: C+. We’ll call the ending a pleasant surprise as I was fully expecting Almas to tap there. Almas doesn’t need to be losing big matches like that over and over again so protecting him is a good sign. Now just give him a win or two and maybe we’ll see someone get elevated towards the top of the card.

Post match Almas hits the Hammerlock DDT and Miz Crossfaces Bryan. With Bryan helpless, Brie takes the running knees from Vega and a DDT from Maryse. The Skull Crushing Finale plants Bryan and Miz kisses Maryse.

Charlotte is sick of being blamed for Becky not being able to win the big one. She’s worked hard to get here and Becky can have the spotlight, after Charlotte takes care of Carmella.

Here’s AJ Styles to discuss Samoa Joe attacking him again last week. The rematch is official for Hell in a Cell (not announced as being inside the Cell) and AJ admits that Joe is great with the mind games. Why can’t Joe just come face him like a man though? It’s because Joe isn’t a man and the mind games are going to end right here, right now. AJ doesn’t have to wait for their match so Joe can get out here right now.

Joe pops up on the screen and is standing in the parking lot. He calls AJ’s wife and asks how “our” little Annie (AJ’s daughter) is. He knows why Wendy is angry and says he’ll keep the promise that AJ never kept. Make sure to save him a plate at the back to school barbecue next Sunday and maybe he’ll stop by next Tuesday. More good stuff here, as you had to expect.

Hardy vs. Orton is confirmed in the Cell.

AJ is running through the back to find Joe and nearly knocks out a production guy.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Carmella

Charlotte is defending and they have a lot of time. Carmella gets two off a rollup as the fans are already asking for Becky. A headlock keeps Charlotte in trouble so she suplexes Carmella down, which at least quiets the BECKY chants for now. The moonsault takes too long to set up though and Charlotte gets shoved into the barricade. Carmella hits the suicide dive for two and we take a break.

Back with Carmella hitting a headscissors and shouting a lot, as is her custom. Charlotte gets kicked in the chest but rolls through a high crossbody for one. The champ goes up but gets pulled back down in a pretty good looking super hurricanrana. Carmella slaps her in the back and screams a lot, followed by a pair of not very superkicks for two. Charlotte shrugs it off and hits a spear, followed by Natural Selection. The Figure Eight goes on and Carmella finally taps at 13:02.

Rating: D+. As usual, I have no reason to buy Carmella getting in any kind of offense on Charlotte but that’s what we’re stuck with. Thankfully Carmella lost clean here and we can get away from her for a bit. She’s fine as a short term champion but the four month title reign and seeing her ruin Asuka was WAY too much from here. Now we can move on to the better stuff and I think you know what’s coming.

Post match here’s Becky to jump Charlotte (to some loud cheers) and says she’s getting the title back at Hell in a Cell, “you b****”. Becky leaves and we get a bunch of replays to fill in the show as it feels like they went home way too early. That was more full on heel from Becky (and it went about as well as the other stuff) so I’m not sure what was up with that edited promo last week.

Overall Rating: B. Smackdown is just a fun show and that was the case here. They kept things moving with nothing really dragging and advanced some stories that I want to see. I’m curious about why Joe vs. AJ isn’t worthy of the Cell but Orton vs. Hardy is. They could do a bit better with their pay per view choices but at least the TV is good and they’re setting up stuff that could go in some interesting directions. Nice work this week.

Results

The Bar b. The Colons and Good Brothers – Double Backstabber to Gallows

Billie Kay b. Naomi – Rollup

Daniel Bryan b. Andrade Cien Almas via DQ when Miz interfered

Charlotte b. Carmella – Figure Eight

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 23, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

Here are Summerslam results if you need a recap.

No Way Jose vs. Mike Kanellis

Mike headlocks him to start as we hear about Maria Kanellis injuring her wrist but trying to get back by Evolution. That’s one of the first times we’ve heard any specifics about her status. Jose pops up without much effort and grabs a hiptoss, only to miss a charge into the corner. Showing some intelligence, Mike stomps away on the arm but spends too much time blowing a kiss, allowing Jose to avoid a charge of his own. A fireman’s carry flapjack gets two but Mike snaps the arm across the top rope. Kanellis’ superkick gets two but he’s slow going up, allowing Jose to punch him out of the air for the pin at 5:16.

Rating: C-. Better than most Main Event matches and that’s always nice to see. They were trying something with the arm and Kanellis was a little better than usual here. I get why Jose stays on Main Event so often as his energy is going to be more than enough to get the crowd going at the start of the night. Mike though….just hope Maria gets back soon.

From Raw.

The women’s division is around the ring (including the Bellas) for the presentation to Ronda Rousey and here’s Stephanie strutting to the ring to soak in their applause. After putting over Evolution, we see a package on Rousey destroying Alexa Bliss last night to win the title. Stephanie is proud of Rousey because this never would have happened without Stephanie’s business prowess. She shined Rousey up like a diamond and now everyone around the ring wants to be like Stephanie and Ronda.

Here’s Rousey but Stephanie wants to know why the fans aren’t chanting for her. Rousey says this isn’t about Stephanie for once and wants to know why the women aren’t all in the ring. They get on the apron and Rousey cuts Stephanie off again, saying that this is about everyone instead of just one person. Rousey puts over Natalya as the cornerstone of the division and the Banks vs. Bayley match from Takeover a few years back. She’s not Brock Lesnar because she’s going to be a fighting champion.

Stephanie says it’s true that Rousey isn’t Lesnar because this isn’t the Rousey who wanted to break people’s arms. Just look at poor Alexa Bliss, like in this clip where Rousey dislocated her elbow. Rousey wants to break everyone’s arm and take all of the spotlight. Actually that’s not true as Rousey is only going to break the arms of those who deserve it.

Stephanie gets her arm barred again (with the elbow being regularly bent, meaning it shouldn’t hurt that much) and since it’s not Wrestlemania, it works just fine. The face women, including the Bellas, pose with Rousey and it’s a big group hug because they’re all sisters or something. I’m not sure why this was necessary but at least it ended well.

From later in the night.

Stephanie is getting her arm looked at with Corbin and Bliss in the trainer’s room with her. Angle comes in and Stephanie yells at him, saying he needs a vacation. Stephanie makes Corbin the new acting General Manager. If that means one less boss, fine. I’m so sick of this story anyway that I’ll take any change at this point.

We get a clip of the Becky Lynch promo and subsequent brawl with Charlotte from Smackdown, but I’m not going to copy it from the old review as usual because it’s rather different. The version aired here doesn’t include Lynch ranting against the fans or really anything to suggest that she’s a heel. In other words, it’s made to look like she’s a fired up woman who got ripped off, suggesting that they’re changing the entire story. That might not be the worst idea, though it’s a pretty hard about face.

From Smackdown, unedited this time.

Miz and Maryse open things up with Miz looking rather serious until the Daniel Bryan chants start up. Miz says he was able to close his eyes and feel that in a way he never could before. Two nights ago, something happened at Summerslam and now he has a family to think about. Maryse is hugging Miz as he looks near tears and says that with a heavy heart….hang on as he needs to cry some more. He announces his retirement and there’s a YES chant.

Actually it’s his retirement of ever facing Daniel Bryan again because Sunday was a satisfying conclusion. Miz did exactly what he promised to do when he beat Bryan in front of a sold out Barclays Center. The 100 punches from Bryan didn’t equal one Miz punch because he has the hardest punch in this entire arena. Bryan promised to punch him but when Miz did it, he got the pin. Miz praises Maryse and plugs Miz and Mrs. but here’s Bryan to interrupt.

Bryan calls Miz a coward over and over again as Miz hides behind Maryse. It doesn’t matter what Bryan calls him because the record books will always say that Miz got the win at Summerslam. Bryan asks him to shut up for once because Miz is just hiding behind things, like the makeup he’s wearing right now. On Sunday, Bryan got to do what he wanted: expose Miz as a wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a wrestler.

Maryse tells Bryan to change his name to Daniel Bella but here’s Brie to punch Miz in the face. Miz and Maryse bail and Bryan announces a mixed tag for Hell in a Cell. Good thing Maryse chose now to bring Brie into it. I can go with this as A, Brie was always less annoying than Nikki and B, this isn’t the kind of match that should be in the Cell so having it move forward in another way is the right idea.

From Smackdown again.

Renee Young brings out AJ for an interview on the platform. AJ isn’t happy with what happened at Summerslam but he wouldn’t change a thing. He has a promise for Joe: the next time Joe mentions his family’s name, he’ll rip Joe’s heart out. Joe trips AJ from behind and pulls him down off the platform for the Koquina Clutch knockout. Joe: “OH WENDY!” AJ can’t come home and tuck in the kids because he’s already gone to sleep.

Stills of New Day winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

Rhyno vs. Mojo Rawley

Mojo grabs the rope to get out of an early armbar attempt and we take a very abrupt break. Back with Rhyno fighting out of a chinlock and a collision staggering Mojo. The running shoulder in the corner sets up a belly to belly for two but Mojo chop blocks the knee. A running right hand in the corner sets up the sitout Alabama Slam to finish Rhyno at 6:52 in a match that had a lot clipped out in the middle.

Rating: D+. That clip in the middle didn’t do them any favors and I’m curious about what they did in the middle. Rawley has completely stopped meaning anything on Raw after his short push came to an abrupt ending, which is kind of a shame as he’s not a bad heel. Rhyno is the same guy he’s been for the last ten years and that’s why he’s still got a job to this day.

From Raw to wrap things up.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor

Reigns is defending and runs Balor over to start. Balor does his jump over the top to avoid a charge but gets punched in the face to send us to a break. Back with Balor fighting out of a chinlock (good grief come up with something else) and kicking Reigns into the barricade. The running apron kick is broken up and Reigns drops him onto the apron. A hard whip sends Balor into the corner and Reigns yells at him a bit.

Balor takes him down though and scores with the double stomp to the chest. That’s all for the comeback as Reigns takes him into the corner for the clotheslines but Balor knocks him to the floor again. A good looking running flip dive has Reigns in trouble and we take a break. Back with Reigns hitting an uppercut but getting caught by a Pele. Balor gets all fired up and stomps away with an aggression you don’t often see from him. Reigns is right back with a sitout powerbomb for two but the Superman Punch is countered into an Eye of the Hurricane for a very hot two as the fans are completely into this one.

Rating: B+. The fans helped carry this one and they had me believing that a title change might happen. I mean, that went away as soon as Cole kept saying “HE’S GONNA DO IT!” but they had me for a few seconds. Reigns needs a win like this and as usual, when he’s putting in the effort, the match was very good. Really strong main event and the post match stuff is going to be a big deal.

Post match Strowman is in the ring and kicks Reigns down as the cash-in is…..hang on a second as we’ve got Shield music (and no bell, meaning the cash-in didn’t take place). Cue Rollins and Ambrose in the Shield gear as the fans are VERY pleased. Strowman goes after Reigns but the triple beatdown is on. The trio knocks Strowman outside but he fights off the TripleBomb, only to get speared down. Now the TripleBomb connects to end the show.

I’m not sure what the thinking here is, but Strowman looked like a face with the cash-in and Shield looks like heels by thwarting the cash-in, but since Shield won’t be booed, they’re going to wind up being the faces no matter what. It should be fun seeing WWE try to twist Strowman into a heel, especially when he was willing to fight Shield on his own and Reigns welcomed the challenge of a cash-in.

Overall Rating: C+. The talking carried this show (again) as the promos have been on fire as of late. This was an interesting week for WWE as it felt like they were more worried about keeping the Brooklyn crowd from taking the shows over, but that made for some very good television. I know it gets boring at times and I’m right there with those making the same complaints, but when WWE turns it on, they can still do some great stuff.

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

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

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

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

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/now-thats-different-wwe-heavily-edits-becky-lynch-promo-role-reversal-coming/

Check out the videos.  These are very interesting and not something you see from WWE every day.

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 2, 2018
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

You never know what you’re going to get around here and that’s one of the reasons that makes this show interesting. Well as interesting as it’s going to be. This week’s TV was the usual up and down so it all comes down to the match and segment selections, plus whatever new stuff they have. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Nikolai Volkoff and Brian Christopher.

Opening sequence.

Zack Ryder vs. Mike Kanellis

Didn’t we see this last week? Ryder starts fast with a faceplant and flapjack as the announcers talk about him being only a single win away from being a Grand Slam winner. Egads what a thought. Kanellis sends him face first into the middle buckle though and fires off some shoulders in the corner. We’re already off to the chinlock but the Woode Awakening gets Ryder out of trouble. Ryder goes to the middle rope, only to drive into a powerbomb for two. A good superkick gives Kanellis two but Ryder catches him on top with a super hurricanrana. The Broski Boot sets up the Rough Ryder for the pin at 5:44.

Rating: C. This match had no right to be any good but they worked hard and got a good match out of it. Kanellis could be worth something if they gave him a better gimmick and had Maria to get him some heat. Ryder continues to be great at what he does, but it would be nice to have him actually get the chance to do it every now and then.

From Smackdown.

Renee Young brings out Becky Lynch for a chat. Becky knew she would get back to the top of the mountain if she kept fighting. She hasn’t had a title match since Wrestlemania XXXIII nearly a year and a half ago. Now she’s back and just has to beat Carmella again to become Smackdown Women’s Champion again. Becky wants to go into Evolution as the champion but here’s Carmella to interrupt.

Carmella admits that she lost fair and square last week and that scares her. Becky has worked her way to the top and has been there to mentor Carmella every step of the way. She was the first woman to be drafted to Smackdown and Carmella was literally the last person drafted. With some tears in her eyes, Carmella talks about having to block out all the haters who say she’s not worthy of the title.

Now she’s getting to go into the biggest match of her career against her idol and they’re going to kill it. We’ll ignore why Carmella would want to have a great match rather than successfully defend her title but here’s James Ellsworth’s music. The distraction lets Carmella jump Becky from behind (as you knew was coming) and load up a chair. Cue the returning Charlotte for the save.

From later in the night.

Charlotte vs. Carmella

Non-title but if Charlotte wins, the title match at Summerslam is a triple threat. Before the match, Carmella says her fashion sense is just as flawless as her wrestling abilities. Charlotte may not want to admit it but Becky is rooting against her. Carmella moon walks away to start so Charlotte shoulders her down and says all night baby.

A t-bone suplex into a nipup puts Carmella on the floor but Charlotte misses the slingshot dive. Carmella sends her into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Charlotte missing a moonsault and getting sent outside so Carmella can stomp away. Carmella takes her down with a chinlock and things slow a bit.

Charlotte fights up and hits a big boot before sending Carmella outside for a moonsault off the barricade. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two but the Figure Eight attempt is broken up. Carmella’s superkick gets two and she can’t believe all these kickouts. For some reason Carmella tries the Figure Four but gets reversed into the Figure Eight for the tap at 12:46.

Rating: C-. You know, I really could go for something other than putting two challengers over the champ to set up a title match. Granted I could also go for the lack of triple threat matches. It’s cool that Charlotte is back and there’s nothing wrong with putting her right into the title scene, but egads I’m over the triple threat title matches, especially if Carmella retains and we go on to Becky vs. Carmella one on one like we could have had in the first place.

From Raw.

Alicia Fox vs. Natalya

Bliss and Rousey are the seconds. Natalya goes aggressive to start and tries an early Sharpshooter but Fox gets to the floor and pulls Natalya into the ring skirt. After beating the heck out of a tied up Natalya, Fox grabs the chinlock inside. That goes as long as you might expect but an abdominal stretch lasts a lot longer. Fox even one ups it by jumping up and wrapping her legs around Natalya’s waist (that’s a new one). The bridging northern lights suplex gets two and Fox goes after Rousey, allowing Bliss to get in a cheap shot. Fox’s running big boot is good for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D+. There’s something likable about Fox and it’s good to have her back. If nothing else another person on the roster lets you keep some matches fresh instead of burning through the same ones over and over again. The match was more storyline than wrestling but Fox looked better than she did in most of her pre-injury matches.

Post match Rousey goes after Fox and hits the spinning Samoan drop. The numbers get the better of her for a bit but the villains get chased off.

From Smackdown again.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to plug Evolution (this is why I wanted to wait for after Summerslam, as Evolution is getting almost as much if not more attention) because it makes him think of his wife Brie Bella. Brie was in the ring when the Give Divas A Chance campaign started. The two of them have fought for respect for years now but every time they’ve taken a step forward, it’s been two steps back.

We see a clip from last week of Miz throwing the fake baby at Bryan and beating him down. That bothers him because Miz taunted him for two years while hiding behind the wall of Bryan’s injury. But then Bryan was cleared and Miz had to find a new way to hide. Last week Maryse and the baby were the new wall because Miz knows he would get destroyed in a fight.

Miz pops up on screen with security around him. He doesn’t want to hear this from Bryan because we’re not in the indies. If Bryan wants to fight, call Miz’s agent because he’s on the set of Miz and Mrs. right now. Bryan calls him a coward again so Miz brings up the Talking Smack segment from 2016. This right here, the eternal conflict, is all Bryan wants because it’s what furthers Bryan’s career. It took Bryan ten years of fighting on the indies to get noticed but Miz just yelled at Bryan for five minutes and got famous.

Bryan says that’s the difference between the two of them: Bryan is in this for the passion and Miz just wants fame. It’s been done before and better, but Miz is never going to be the Rock or John Cena. If Miz needs a big stage, come fight Bryan at Summerslam. Miz laughs it off and says the YES Movement is dead because everyone has moved on. No one wants to hear from Bryan because all the fans see when they look at him is this, and the screen is filled with pictures of crying babies. More great stuff from these two as there’s a natural chemistry there and I’m fine with waiting on the match announcement, as it’s not like it’s a secret.

Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze takes him into the corner to start as Percy talks about seeing Breeze wearing Crocs. Hawkins scores with a knee to the ribs and blocks a sunset flip. A whip to the corner has Breeze down and we take a break. Back with Hawkins elbowing him in the face but missing the top rope version. The Stroke gives Hawkins two and a heck of a clothesline is good for the same as frustration is setting in. Instead of taking his time, Hawkins goes over to Breeze and eats a Supermodel Kick. The Unprettier gives Breeze the pin at 8:50.

Rating: D+. Breeze is someone who could have been something special on the main roster but they had to reset everything once he got to the main roster because NXT serves no real purpose as a developmental program most of the time. At least he got somewhere with the Fashion Police thing but I had a great time watching him in NXT and now this is a big night for him.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Samoa Joe with a message to AJ. He puts a stool in the ring and talks about how much he respects what AJ has done for the title, making it the most prestigious in WWE (the fans gasped a bit on that). AJ has put the title in front of what he wants and even in front of his own family. Last week AJ came out here and told a story about being able to talk to his daughter about being anything she wants to be.

The truth is that AJ is barely home long enough to hug his child, let alone look her in the eye. AJ is more comfortable living out of a suitcase than being at home with his family. He’s a great champion, even though he’s a failure as a father. Come Summerslam, AJ’s family will be cheering for Joe because it means they’ll have daddy back but Joe will be WWE Champion. This was more great stuff and as usual, it’s not about what Joe is saying but rather the intensity with which he says it. In a word, Joe comes off as real and that’s something most people can’t do in wrestling anymore.

We look at Paul Heyman trying to get Brock Lesnar to go to the ring on Monday. That meal he listed still makes me a bit hungry, save for the medium well steak.

From Raw again.

Here are Angle and Corbin to address Heyman and Lesnar. Heyman does come out with no energy, knowing what’s about to happen. The fans greet him with the Goodbye Song and Heyman says Lesnar isn’t coming out here tonight. That sends Angle over the edge into a rant about what a champion does, like doing charity work, reaching out to the community, and DEFENDING THE TITLE. Angle: “BROCK LESNAR MUST BE THE WORST UNIVERSAL CHAMPION OF ALL TIME!” Fans: “YES!!!”

Heyman actually agrees and says he tried to rehabilitate Lesnar because he’s one of the few people Lesnar tolerates. Kurt doesn’t buy it but Heyman says take this out on Lesnar because Brock doesn’t respect anyone. However, Heyman thinks the world of Angle and would like to have a better working relationship with him. Angle fires him anyway, sending Heyman diving to Angle’s leg.

Cue Lesnar to give Heyman the greatest relief of his life. Lesnar finally gets in and hands the belt to Heyman before grabbing a mic. That’s rarely a good idea. He asks if Angle and Corbin have a problem with him….and there’s an F5 to Angle before a word is said. Corbin immediately leaves and Heyman slaps Brock on the back. Brock grabs him by the face and makes Heyman look at Angle. The fans want Strowman (or maybe Roman) but get Brock leaving to end the show. So yeah, that’s it and no, this isn’t going to get the result that the company wants, especially in New York.

Overall Rating: C. The opening match was good and the rest of the show did its job of recapping the rest of the week. Summerslam continues to not be the hottest build in the world as there’s a lot going on and not enough time to focus on most of it, but that’s the case for a lot of the big shows. Lesnar vs. Reigns is one of the least interesting main events in a long time and while the fans are starting to boo him, they’re not exactly thrilled with Roman (I’m still not sure if the cheers were Roman or Strowman on Monday). That’s the biggest story and with that on top, there isn’t much time for the rest.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 31, 2018
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Most of the blue half of Summerslam is either set up or you can tell where things are going. We still need to get the confirmation of Miz vs. Daniel Bryan and some #1 contenders for the Bludgeon Brothers. You can probably guess where things are going but it’s nice to have things made official. Let’s get to it.

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

Renee Young brings out Becky Lynch for a chat. Becky knew she would get back to the top of the mountain if she kept fighting. She hasn’t had a title match since Wrestlemania XXXIII nearly a year and a half ago. Now she’s back and just has to beat Carmella again to become Smackdown Women’s Champion again. Becky wants to go into Evolution as the champion but here’s Carmella to interrupt.

Carmella admits that she lost fair and square last week and that scares her. Becky has worked her way to the top and has been there to mentor Carmella every step of the way. She was the first woman to be drafted to Smackdown and Carmella was literally the last person drafted. With some tears in her eyes, Carmella talks about having to block out all the haters who say she’s not worthy of the title.

Now she’s getting to go into the biggest match of her career against her idol and they’re going to kill it. We’ll ignore why Carmella would want to have a great match rather than successfully defend her title but here’s James Ellsworth’s music. The distraction lets Carmella jump Becky from behind (as you knew was coming) and load up a chair. Cue the returning Charlotte for the save.

The Usos are in a dark room and quote Rock (that’s two Rock references in two nights) but one cuts the other off before he can swear.

Carmella comes in to rant to Paige about what happened and says Paige will never be champion again. Paige makes Carmella vs. Charlotte for tonight and if Charlotte wins, it’s a triple threat at Summerslam.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Usos vs. The Bar

Hang on though as New Day comes out to sit at a table full of cereal and pancakes. Sheamus and Jimmy start and we take a break before anything can happen. Back with Cesaro holding Jey in a chinlock as New Day is doing their own commentary. A double clothesline sets up a knee drop and it’s off to an armbar from Sheamus. Jey fights up as Big E. eats cereal and leads the cheers.

Sheamus goes shoulder first into the post and the hot tag brings in Jimmy. House is cleaned and a high crossbody gets two but Cesaro sends Jimmy into the post as we take another break. Back again with Jimmy hitting a Whisper in the Wind on Cesaro but not being able to follow up. The superkick into the Superfly Splash gets two with Cesaro making a save, sending New Day into hysterics. Cesaro breaks up half of the Double Us and the second Superfly Splash hits knees, giving Sheamus the pin at 15:05.

Rating: C+. Ignoring the fact that half of the match was spent in commercials, this was a rather good return for the Bar. I see no reason why they had to be off TV for so many months but at least they’re back and winning again. The division doesn’t have the depth to leave a team (or teams) on the shelf for weeks at a time but at least we should get a nice match next week.

Post match New Day comes in for the staredown but the Bar bails.

Charlotte is very happy that Carmella’s big mouth has gotten her this opportunity. She doesn’t care about what has happened between the two of them before because things can change.

We look back at Samoa Joe attacking AJ Styles last week.

Here’s Samoa Joe with a message to AJ. He puts a stool in the ring and talks about how much he respects what AJ has done for the title, making it the most prestigious in WWE (the fans gasped a bit on that). AJ has put the title in front of what he wants and even in front of his own family. Last week AJ came out here and told a story about being able to talk to his daughter about being anything she wants to be.

The truth is that AJ is barely home long enough to hug his child, let alone look her in the eye. AJ is more comfortable living out of a suitcase than being at home with his family. He’s a great champion, even though he’s a failure as a father. Come Summerslam, AJ’s family will be cheering for Joe because it means they’ll have daddy back but Joe will be WWE Champion. This was more great stuff and as usual, it’s not about what Joe is saying but rather the intensity with which he says it. In a word, Joe comes off as real and that’s something most people can’t do in wrestling anymore.

Nakamura leaves and Orton loads up the RKO but sweeps both legs instead. The Orton Stomp returns and still looks stupid so Orton switches to regular stomping instead. Orton hits the hanging DDT off the apron and puts Jeff on the announcers’ table for some right hands. He rips off Jeff’s necklace and pours water on Jeff’s unconscious face so he can scrub the paint off with a cloth. Orton: “Enigma erased.” They’re making me want to see more of Orton and I could very easily picture him taking the title from AJ at this rate.

Becky isn’t thrilled with Charlotte possibly being added to the match but she knows she can defeat Carmella one on one. She’ll never root against her best friend.

Lana vs. Zelina Vega

Fallout from last week’s brawl between the two. Vega does Almas’ pose on the mat so Lana does a handstand as we have a pose off. Lana shoves her outside and we take an early break. Back with Vega holding her in a dragon sleeper (at least it’s something different) and getting two off the running knees in the corner. Lana gets in a kick to the ribs and a neckbreaker, followed by some dancing. Her own running knees to Vega’s back get two but Almas offers a distraction. Cue Aiden English to pull Almas down but Vega rolls her up for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: D. Somehow, this is a major improvement for Lana, who can now at least get through a short match. It helps a lot to have Vega around in case you need someone to work a match, even though she’s that much better as a manager. Neither of them are going to be pushed for what they can do in the ring but being able to do this well is at least acceptable.

The Bludgeon Brothers still don’t care who wins the tournament because no one can escape the bludgeoning.

Aiden begs Lana’s forgiveness but leaves before Rusev arrives. I’m not sure why as Aiden was trying to help. Rusev comes in and says that wouldn’t have happened if he was out there. Lana is mad at him too and says she needed him.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to plug Evolution (this is why I wanted to wait for after Summerslam, as Evolution is getting almost as much if not more attention) because it makes him think of his wife Brie Bella. Brie was in the ring when the Give Divas A Chance campaign started. The two of them have fought for respect for years now but every time they’ve taken a step forward, it’s been two steps back.

We see a clip from last week of Miz throwing the fake baby at Bryan and beating him down. That bothers him because Miz taunted him for two years while hiding behind the wall of Bryan’s injury. But then Bryan was cleared and Miz had to find a new way to hide. Last week Maryse and the baby were the new wall because Miz knows he would get destroyed in a fight.

Miz pops up on screen with security around him. He doesn’t want to hear this from Bryan because we’re not in the indies. If Bryan wants to fight, call Miz’s agent because he’s on the set of Miz and Mrs. right now. Bryan calls him a coward again so Miz brings up the Talking Smack segment from 2016. This right here, the eternal conflict, is all Bryan wants because it’s what furthers Bryan’s career. It took Bryan ten years of fighting on the indies to get noticed but Miz just yelled at Bryan for five minutes and got famous.

Bryan says that’s the difference between the two of them: Bryan is in this for the passion and Miz just wants fame. It’s been done before and better, but Miz is never going to be the Rock or John Cena. If Miz needs a big stage, come fight Bryan at Summerslam. Miz laughs it off and says the YES Movement is dead because everyone has moved on. No one wants to hear from Bryan because all the fans see when they look at him is this, and the screen is filled with pictures of crying babies. More great stuff from these two as there’s a natural chemistry there and I’m fine with waiting on the match announcement, as it’s not like it’s a secret.

Charlotte vs. Carmella

Non-title but if Charlotte wins, the title match at Summerslam is a triple threat. Before the match, Carmella says her fashion sense is just as flawless as her wrestling abilities. Charlotte may not want to admit it but Becky is rooting against her. Carmella moon walks away to start so Charlotte shoulders her down and says all night baby.

A t-bone suplex into a nipup puts Carmella on the floor but Charlotte misses the slingshot dive. Carmella sends her into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Charlotte missing a moonsault and getting sent outside so Carmella can stomp away. Carmella takes her down with a chinlock and things slow a bit.

Charlotte fights up and hits a big boot before sending Carmella outside for a moonsault off the barricade. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two but the Figure Eight attempt is broken up. Carmella’s superkick gets two and she can’t believe all these kickouts. For some reason Carmella tries the Figure Four but gets reversed into the Figure Eight for the tap at 12:46.

Rating: C-. You know, I really could go for something other than putting two challengers over the champ to set up a title match. Granted I could also go for the lack of triple threat matches. It’s cool that Charlotte is back and there’s nothing wrong with putting her right into the title scene, but egads I’m over the triple threat title matches, especially if Carmella retains and we go on to Becky vs. Carmella one on one like we could have had in the first place.

Becky is upset in the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling, while not exactly prolific, did what it was supposed to do but the show’s strength was in its promos. The talking advanced the big stories and I’m sure Miz vs. Bryan will be confirmed soon. AJ vs. Joe has some serious potential and I’m intrigued by where Orton/Hardy/Nakamura is going. They were doing stuff without having a ton of wrestling tonight and that’s ok, especially this close to a major show.

Results

The Bar b. Usos – Small package to Jey

Zelina Vega b. Lana – Rollup

Charlotte b. Carmella – Figure Eight

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: June 7, 2018
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

I’m actually more interested than usual in this show based on how different this week’s television shows went. Monday Night Raw was such a disaster while Smackdown was a perfectly watchable wrestling show. I’m not sure how they’re going to pull off a highlight show when almost nothing interesting was going on Monday but they’ve pulled off something similar before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Mike Kanellis

Kanellis is still alive. Who knew? They fight over a lockup to start and Jose scores with a hiptoss. Some forearms in the corner have Jose in trouble and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Kanellis takes way too much time yelling at the conga line and Jose is back up with a clothesline. A superkick gives Kanellis too (with a blown kiss as he’s dedicated to this ridiculous gimmick) but Jose’s pop up right hand is good for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: D. There’s only so much you can do here and while Kanellis isn’t anything special, it’s nice to see some fresh blood on the show. As long as Maria gets back in the next few months (or whenever she’s ready to be back), Kanellis might have a fighting chance. Jose’s presence here makes more sense as he’s almost destined to be a house show opener at best, even if he has some potential to do more than that.

Now we’re often told what’s coming up next, but in this case we’re being told that two different matches are up next. A mystery is afoot and we have some actual drama! I mean, it’s as low level drama as you can possibly have and it’s likely going to be done by the time I’m done typing this but what else am I supposed to talk about on this thing?

From Raw.

Natalya vs. Nia Jax

Non-title with Ronda Rousey on commentary. Nia runs her over and knocks Natalya to the floor as we take a break. Back with Natalya fighting out of a chinlock and scoring with a jawbreaker. A discus clothesline puts Nia down for two but Natalya hurts her knee on the step over into the dropkick. The Samoan drop ends Natalya in short order at 7:22.

Rating: D. I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to be interested in seeing if Ronda can armbar Nia when she’s already armbarred HHH but you can’t expect them to keep continuity for a full two months. Nia’s rather abrupt heel turn and Rousey suddenly being friends with Natalya are both stretches but I’ve seen worse from this company before. Just keep the match at Money in the Bank short and they should survive.

Post match Nia checks on the downed Natalya and Rousey comes in to keep things safe. Natalya is all frustrated as Rousey helps her out. Nia didn’t get physical after the match and looked concerned.

And from Smackdown.

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

The threat of a Disarm-Her sends Charlotte outside so Becky settles for a headlock back inside. That’s escaped as well and it’s a standoff until they both catch kicks to the ribs. A double knockdown sends us to a break. Back with Becky going for the arm again but getting caught in a backbreaker for two instead. Lynch drops her one more time and gets two off a top rope legdrop but gets sent into the corner. The moonsault hits raised knees and the Figure Eight is countered twice in a row. The second counter is pulled into the Disarm-Her for the tap at 8:11.

Rating: C+. I’d love to believe that this is going to lead towards Becky getting into the title picture again as I have no idea why she hasn’t been a long reigning champion already. She has the look, the talking ability, the skill and whatever else might be needed to make a long reign work. Unfortunately since it’s Money in the Bank season, this win isn’t going to move her up the rankings but rather just be a momentum builder, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Lynch helps her up and everything is cool.

From Raw again.

Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Owens easily takes him down to start and asks if that was too sweet. A headlock has Balor slowed down and we switch to a chinlock to really mix things up. Balor fights up into an armbar but Owens whips him hard into the corner to cut him off again. Back from a break with Owens holding another chinlock and Balor fighting up in short order. The kick to the head looks to set up the Coup de Grace but Owens rolls outside.

A snap of the arm over the rope puts Balor in more trouble and it’s off to an armbar. Balor fights up with an elbow to the face but gets superkicked back down. The shotgun dropkick knocks Owens into the corner, only to have him pop back up to crotch Balor. Owens stomps away and that’s a DQ at 18:34.

Rating: D-. So yes, after this horrible show, we’re really supposed to be interested in a DQ finish to a long and really boring match. These two are capable of so much more but since it’s Money in the Bank season, it’s time to sit around and do the boring matches for the sake of building momentum or whatever nonsense we’re supposed to care about this week.

Post match Owens hits the frog splash and climbs the really big ladder. He takes forever teasing the big splash off the ladder but Balor gets up and pulls him down. A Coup de Grace off the ladder crushes Owens and Balor pulls down a briefcase to end the show.

Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak

Feeling out process to start before Tozawa hits him in the face a few times. We take an abrupt break and come back with Gulak hitting a backbreaker and cranking on the arm. Gulak mixes it up with a second chinlock before just stomping away. That doesn’t sound like submission based wrestling, meaning I doubt it’s going to go anywhere.

Tozawa fights back so let’s cut to the crowd, then back to the ring, then back to the crowd in about ten seconds. A missile dropkick gives Tozawa two and he grabs something like AJ’s Black Widow. That doesn’t last long (of course) and Tozawa misses a charge into the corner, setting up the Gulock for the tap at 10:13.

Rating: C-. They need to do something with Gulak sooner rather than later as he’s getting this submission stuff over and could be a great foil for a variety of people, mainly the Cruiserweight Champion. I mean, we’ve established that he couldn’t go onto the other shows and do his submission stuff there because he’s just a cruiserweight and that would never work.

We’ll wrap it up on Smackdown.

New Day vs. Miz/Rusev/Samoa Joe

Woods wastes no time in forearming Miz down for an early two and it’s New Day alternating with elbows and splashes for two more. Joe tags himself in to face Big E. and this is already feeling bigger. Big E. suplexes him down and it’s off to Woods to try his luck. That would be bad luck as an enziguri puts him down and we take a break. Back with Woods fighting out of Miz’s chinlock but getting pulled down by the hair.

Joe comes in and gets kneed in the head, allowing the double tags to Miz and Kofi. Everyone else fights to the floor and the Boom Drop has Miz in trouble. Joe breaks up Trouble in Paradise and the DDT gives Miz two. Big E. comes back in and gets whipped into the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Rusev gets low bridged to the floor and Woods hits a big flip dive over the top.

Joe gets sent outside as well and Kofi hits a springboard trust fall to drop him again. Big E. spears Miz to the floor (that’s going to be a bad injury one day) and the Midnight Hour is broken up as Joe pulls Woods into the Koquina Clutch on the floor. Kofi dives into the Machka Kick and Miz posts Big E. The villains come back in….and Miz grabs the pancakes, which he throws at Joe and Rusev by mistake. One Machka Kick and a backsplash later and Miz is left down and alone. Kofi comes back in and the Midnight Hour is good for the pin at 13:19.

Rating: C+. I liked this one though it wasn’t as good as the New Day’s match from a week or so ago. They’ve certainly lost some steam but they’re still one of the best trios around. That Trust Fall alone, which looked like a springboard to Miz, was enough of a cool visual to make this work. The pancakes….not so much but that’s their thing and it’s not going away at the moment.

Overall Rating: D+. Yeah this show didn’t do much good after what we had this week. It’s not interesting TV and that’s been the case for a long time now. If they want to make people more interested, give us something more worthwhile to watch. Mike Kanellis was one of the highlights of this week’s show and that should tell you everything you need to know about what’s going on in WWE right now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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: June 5, 2018
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

Please just let it be better than last night’s show. With three TV shows between the two brands until Money in the Bank, it’s hard to say how much worse things could get. Last night’s Monday Night Raw was really not that well received but maybe the extra hour is what brought them down. It should be interesting to see how things go with just two hours and maybe less of a focus on the ladder matches. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Carmella to open things up. After demanding her praise from the crowd, it’s time to talk about Asuka. She knows Asuka is revered and that is more than enough to be intimidating. We see a video on Asuka’s best moments and Carmella says that’s impressive. Next though, we see the real Asuka, which was exposed at WrestleMania. Now she’s just the defeated Asuka, including losing her first match on SmackDown.

Cue Asuka, but before she can say anything it’s Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville interrupting. Mandy talks about getting close to defeating Asuka and knowing that she can be beaten. Sonya says Mandy left just enough for her to take out but here’s Paige to interrupt. Paige makes the matches around here so Asuka can pick who she wants to fight. That would be both of them of course and that’s next. Asuka needs to wreck these two as somehow she’s in need of some momentum. You wouldn’t ever expect that from someone like her but WWE managed to make Asuka lose momentum.

Asuka vs. Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville

Carmella is on commentary. An early kneebar attempt has Sonya bailing to the ropes as Carmella eviscerates Saxton on commentary. Saxton: “If I were you Carmella….” Carmella: “THANK GOODNESS YOU’RE NOT!” Mandy gets in a cheap shot from the apron and Sonya hammers away in the corner to take over. Asuka fires up and hits some hip attacks but Carmella offers a distraction so Sonya can run Asuka over from behind.

The Moon Walk on the desk takes us to a break. Back with Asuka and Mandy slugging it out again until Asuka dropkicks the heck out of her. Stereo kicks to the face drop Asuka and Sonya but Deville is right back with a heck of a spear for two. With Mandy on the floor, the Asuka Lock makes Deville tap at 11:31.

Rating: C. Not bad here and thankfully Asuka didn’t lose again. I’m fine with her having to sweat a bit against these two but odds are she loses to Carmella (a new enforcer costing her the match wouldn’t shock me) and we get more of the same Carmella promo over and over. She’s good at it, but jumping from where she was to pinning Charlotte clean didn’t work for me then and it isn’t now either.

Post match Asuka has to deal with Mandy, allowing Carmella to hit her with the belt.

Miz is in the back practicing Mizjitsu when New Day comes in. They want some help revealing their member….Miz: “Rephrase.” They mean reaching in and pulling a name out of a hat, which Miz agrees to do. Miz reaches in and finds….pancake batter I think? He threatens them all with violence in tonight’s six man tag.

Karl Anderson vs. Harper

Harper hits him in the face to start and a forearm has Anderson down. A charge into the corner misses though and Anderson grabs a quick rollup for the pin at 2:18.

We look back at last week’s dance off.

Naomi promises to beat Lana and snatch the contract (no word on if that will render the contract bald).

Jimmy Uso/Naomi vs. Aiden English/Lana

The men start things off and English is already singing about Rusev. That goes nowhere and everything breaks down in a hurry with Naomi hitting a big dive over the top to take them both out (with English saving her from a broken neck as she was going to land on her head otherwise).

Back from a break with English offering a distraction so Lana can forearm her in the back to take over. A double arm crank keeps Naomi down and she can’t dive over to the corner. Naomi does manage a faceplant to put Lana down though and it’s the hot tag to bring in Jimmy. Everything breaks down and Naomi hits a high crossbody on English, setting up a superkick to the throat for the pin at 10:33.

Rating: D+. Just a match really but this is where Smackdown completely outshines Raw: they’ve put together this mini feud between Lana and Naomi to give them a reason to fight heading into the ladder match. Instead of just having them wrestle matches for the sake of wrestling matches, there’s something a little more personal and it makes things a mixture of a little more interesting and a lot easier to sit through. Now why can’t Raw get that?

We go to the back where Paige is moderating the contract signing between Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles. After Paige explains the idea of Last Man Standing, AJ says this feels like it’s been going on forever with all of Nakamura’s tricks and mind games. It ends at Money in the Bank with AJ as the last man standing. AJ signs but Nakamura says the pen is out of ink. Paige has another one but Nakamura wants AJ’s. That one is broken and AJ is ready to fight with Dean Malenko and Adam Pearce holding him back. AJ gets in a hard slap anyway and leaves as Nakamura pulls out his own pen to sign.

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

The threat of a Disarm-Her sends Charlotte outside so Becky settles for a headlock back inside. That’s escaped as well and it’s a standoff until they both catch kicks to the ribs. A double knockdown sends us to a break. Back with Becky going for the arm again but getting caught in a backbreaker for two instead. Lynch drops her one more time and gets two off a top rope legdrop but gets sent into the corner. The moonsault hits raised knees and the Figure Eight is countered twice in a row. The second counter is pulled into the Disarm-Her for the tap at 8:11.

Rating: C+. I’d love to believe that this is going to lead towards Becky getting into the title picture again as I have no idea why she hasn’t been a long reigning champion already. She has the look, the talking ability, the skill and whatever else might be needed to make a long reign work. Unfortunately since it’s Money in the Bank season, this win isn’t going to move her up the rankings but rather just be a momentum builder, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Lynch helps her up and everything is cool.

Samoa Joe asks what you see when you look at him. Maybe a vicious man or a backwards moral compass? Tonight New Day will find out that those things are true but he wants more than that. He wants people to see a man who keeps his promises. Last week he climbed the ladder and pulled down the briefcase, just like he said he would. The people saw the future and they know it’s the truth. Any man who calls himself WWE Champion is a marked man and very soon, everybody gets it. Sweet goodness this man is awesome.

We get an old school platform interview with Big Cass, who brags about being tall. Years ago when he was in NXT, he was backstage at Wrestlemania XXX and once the show was over, he was getting his bag when he saw Daniel Bryan. All Cass could think was “really?” That should be him because a good big man will always beat a good little man.

We see a clip of Cass laying Bryan out and Cass brags about how big (with the camera looking up at him in a smart production choice) and smart he is and how he holds a grudge like no one else. At Money in the Bank, he’ll beat Bryan down and embarrass him, breaking his arms and legs so there won’t be any more heel hooks. Then Bryan can go be a garden gnome on Total Bellas because a little man like him will never survive in a big man’s world.

Sin Cara isn’t sure what happened to Andrade Cien Almas when Zelina Vega comes up. Almas accomplished nothing when Cara was his role model but Vega taught him to respect no one. She’s gone to Paige to set up a match between Cara and Andrade for next week and here’s Andrade to jump him.

New Day vs. Miz/Rusev/Samoa Joe

Woods wastes no time in forearming Miz down for an early two and it’s New Day alternating with elbows and splashes for two more. Joe tags himself in to face Big E. and this is already feeling bigger. Big E. suplexes him down and it’s off to Woods to try his luck. That would be bad luck as an enziguri puts him down and we take a break. Back with Woods fighting out of Miz’s chinlock but getting pulled down by the hair. Joe comes in and gets kneed in the head, allowing the double tags to Miz and Kofi. Everyone else fights to the floor and the Boom Drop has Miz in trouble. Joe breaks up Trouble in Paradise and the DDT gives Miz two. Big E. comes back in and gets whipped into the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Rusev gets low bridged to the floor and Woods hits a big flip dive over the top. Joe gets sent outside as well and Kofi hits a springboard trust fall to drop him again. Big E. spears Miz to the floor (that’s going to be a bad injury one day) and the Midnight Hour is broken up as Joe pulls Woods into the Koquina Clutch on the floor. Kofi dives into the Machka Kick and Miz posts Big E. The villains come back in….and Miz grabs the pancakes, which he throws at Joe and Rusev by mistake. One Machka Kick and a backsplash later and Miz is left down and alone. Kofi comes back in and the Midnight Hour is good for the pin at 13:19.

Rating: C+. I liked this one though it wasn’t as good as the New Day’s match from a week or so ago. They’ve certainly lost some steam but they’re still one of the best trios around. That Trust Fall alone, which looked like a springboard to Miz, was enough of a cool visual to make this work. The pancakes….not so much but that’s their thing and it’s not going away at the moment.

Overall Rating: B-. Holy Taylor Made Man of the 90s what a difference a night makes. This was a fun show with some good matches and stories that didn’t want me to let my hair grow so that it was long enough to pull out. It’s not great or anything but it didn’t have me begging to change the channel and after last night, that’s a major upgrade. Just having stories that tie into the ladder matches but aren’t exclusively about the ladder match makes a world of difference and the show was that much better as a result. Do this more often and I could downright tolerate Money in the Bank season.

Results

Asuka b. Sonya Deville/Mandy Rose – Asuka Lock to Deville

Karl Anderson b. Harper – Rollup

Jimmy Uso/Naomi b. Aiden English/Lana – Superkick to English

Becky Lynch b. Charlotte – Disarm-Her

New Day b. Miz/Rusev/Samoa Joe – Midnight Hour to Miz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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: May 17, 2018
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

So you remember last week when I was wondering how you could put together a show featuring almost nothing but Money in the Bank qualifying matches? Well that’s pretty much the same thing this week, but this time around we also have Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal as Reigns tries to prove that WWE is against him. It’s a fictional show remember. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Titus Worldwide vs. Authors of Pain

They’re certainly varying things up around here. Akam drives Apollo into the corner to start but Crews flips forward to get away. A dropkick works a bit better but Rezar tags himself in to run Crews over from behind. Some hard knees to the ribs keep Crews in trouble and the fans want Titus.

The side slam/middle rope stomp combination gets two and it’s off to a chinlock. That’s switched to a side choke to keep things fresh until Apollo gets in an enziguri to put Rezar on one knee. The hot tag brings in Titus to a huge reaction and he knocks Rezar into the corner with a hard shoulder. A big boot to the chest gets two but Akam is right back in for the Last Chapter and the pin on Titus at 4:36.

Rating: C-. I’m so thrilled that they brought the Authors up and have them on Main Event in less than two months. I mean, it was such a great idea and they’ve been used so well. How many matches have they had on Raw so far? Two? Such is life in WWE though, especially with an act like the Authors who should be as easy of an idea as you’re going to find.

From Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Baron Corbin vs. No Way Jose vs. Bobby Roode

Corbin wastes no time in sending Jose outside but Roode punches away to take over. There’s a Blockbuster for two and we take an early break. Back with Corbin knocking Jose off the apron but going after him this time to continue the beating. Roode decks Corbin and Jose is finally able to get in some offense, including a middle rope crossbody for two. The spinebuster gets two on Jose and Roode goes up for a clothesline to take him down again.

The GLORIOUS pose looks to set up the DDT but Corbin offers a distraction, allowing Jose to clothesline Roode to the floor. Corbin keeps up the clothesline train with a running version off the apron. The chokebreaker drops Jose for two and Deep Six gets the same on Roode. Jose makes a save and Corbin is sent into the post but the Glorious DDT puts Jose away at 10:43.

Rating: C+. This was a nice surprise and you could almost imagine any of the three of them getting into the ladder match. Roode isn’t the most thrilling guy in the world but he’s someone that could be in there and fit in well enough. I still like Jose and the potential is there if he can get away from the dancing stuff. Then again, I can’t imagine that happening and that’s on WWE, as usual.

We see Roman Reigns spearing Jinder Mahal through a wall to take him out of the qualifying match.

From Raw again, here is said qualifying match with Jinder’s replacement.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Elias vs. Bobby Lashley vs. ???

It’s Owens of course and he helps pound Lashley down it the corner. Lashley gets tossed and we take an early break. Back with Owens sending Lashley into the steps and dropping a backsplash on Elias for two. Lashley is back up as the fans chant for Bobby’s sisters. Elias sends Lashley outside and let’s stop for a song! He even has someone holding his mic while he plays the guitar but has to stop to knee Owens in the face.

Back in and Owens breaks up the vertical suplex on Elias so Lashley suplexes both of them at once. The fans still want to Walk With Elias and a sitout powerbomb to Owens has them rather pleased. Lashley makes a save and plants Elias but here’s Sami to pull him to the floor. Back inside, the frog splash ends Elias to send Owens on at 13:12.

Rating: C. Kind of a messy match here as these three aren’t exactly people who are going to have chemistry. Lashley’s booking continues to astound me a bit as he was supposed to be some big return and now he’s just a guy who uses a vertical suplex as a finisher. You can’t just give him the Dominator again? The match wasn’t anything special but at least the ending advances some stories and puts Owens in the ladder match.

And now, to Smackdown.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: New Day vs. The Bar

A double DDT gets two on Big E. and Cesaro grabs a Sharpshooter. Woods comes in for the save and gets in his own DDT for two. A wheelbarrow faceplant slams Cesaro into the mat so Sheamus comes in for a save this time around. Big E. spears Sheamus through the ropes, leaving Woods to drop the elbow for the pin on Cesaro at 9:25. As expected, there was no mention of Miz pinning the US Champion.

Rating: C-. In theory this should put Woods in the ladder match but I could see him saying that he doesn’t deserve it. To be fair, no one would buy Woods as a threat to win the thing so switching him out for Big E. or Kofi wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. New Day vs. Bar has been a fine enough feud and tying something like this into it wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

Back to Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James vs. Bayley

Bayley gets knocked outside and we take a break less than thirty seconds in. Back with Bayley still getting double teamed and having her comeback cut off. As is customary, Mickie turns on Bliss with a rollup for two but they still get together to kick Bayley down. A double high crossbody gives Bayley an opening and a double Stunner over the ropes makes thins even worse.

Mickie gets dropped face first on the top rope but she’s still able to break up Bliss’ sunset flip. They all slug it out from their knees with Bayley getting the better of it, including ducking a shot so Bliss hits James. The Bayley to Belly gets two on Bliss with Mickie making the save. Mickie and Bayley fight on the floor but the distraction lets Bliss DDT Bayley for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one but that’s often the case with these triple threat matches. This was the standard formula: two people get together to take over, get in a fight, and then someone gets a pin. Bliss winning is the right choice as you can have Bayley and Sasha do something else later on. Mickie and Bliss will still be friends because stuff like this never changes anything. The fans didn’t seem to care but, again, this isn’t the match that matters so the fans not being interested is expected.

And back to Smackdown again.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Becky Lynch vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

Mandy lets the other two fight and then jumps Becky from behind. A rollup gets two on Sonya and the argument takes us to a break. Back with Sonya hammering on Becky but a Bexploder gets her out of trouble. Mandy tries to steal the pin and gets thrown down by Sonya, who sends her to the floor.

Becky gets the better of a slugout and goes up, leaving Mandy to put Sonya in an electric chair. A missile dropkick to Mandy brings them both down but Sonya breaks up the Disarm-Her. Sonya gets kicked down again though and the Disarm-Her makes Mandy tap at 8:00 to send Becky to Money in the Bank.

Rating: C. Mandy and Sonya are getting better in the ring but neither is ready for such a big spot. Becky is someone who could be a big deal in the division for a long time to come and there’s no reason to not put her in here. You can put the Iconics in for a better performance in the heel tag role than Mandy and Sonya so there’s not much to complain about here.

We look at Nia Jax challenging Ronda Rousey for Money in the Bank.

Chad Gable vs. Mojo Rawley

I’m not sure why but this interests me. Gable takes him down without much effort and cranks on the ankle. Mojo can’t get away so we hit an armbar instead. The armbar sequel sets up a northern lights suplex for two and it’s right back to the armbar. Mojo finally takes him to the floor for a ram into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Gable being pulled into a backbreaker for two.

As you might expect, it’s off to the chinlock to keep Gable down. That’s broken up pretty quickly and Gable grabs an armbar over the ropes. Mojo misses a charge into the corner and a good looking flying forearm drops him. Mojo’s spinebuster is countered into an Oklahoma roll for two, followed by a German suplex for the same. Gable gets sent face first into the buckle though and the running right hand gives Mojo the pin at 11:38.

Rating: C. Much better than I was expecting here, if nothing else just because you don’t expect to see these two getting any kind of time. That’s what Main Event should be used for instead of the same matches over and over again, especially the repetitive cruiserweight tag matches. These guys are just sitting around so give them a chance and see what you might have.

And from Smackdown one more time to wrap it up.

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title with the winner getting to pick next week’s stipulation. The battle over a wristlock doesn’t go anywhere so AJ dropkicks him down to pick up the pace a bit. A slingshot forearm to the floor has Nakamura in more trouble but he posts AJ for a breather. Back from a break with Nakamura kicking AJ against the ropes and choking in the corner. Good Vibrations sets up a running kick to AJ’s face and we hit a dragon sleeper.

AJ fights out and puts Nakamura on top for a Pele. The running seated forearm drops Nakamura again and AJ nips up as the pace quickens. The belly to back faceplant gets two but a spinning kick to the face rocks Styles. Nakamura gets two off the Landslide (Samoan driver) but misses the running knee in the corner.

He’s fine enough to break up a springboard though and a kick to the ribs sends AJ to the apron. Kinshasa misses but AJ can’t get the Calf Crusher. The sliding knee gets two but Kinshasa is blocked with a spinwheel kick. The Phenomenal Forearm nearly hits the referee and Nakamura claims a low blow. That’s enough of a distraction to set up Kinshasa for the pin on Styles at 17:30.

Rating: B+. That’s the best match they’ve had yet and Nakamura needed to win something at some point. I’m still really not big on having a match to set up another match but this is better than a lot of the nonsense this company gives us at times. I’m not sure what the stipulation will be but they have a few options as we head towards Money in the Bank, especially with Nakamura’s quirky sense of humor at times.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event alone helped this but they really had to show every single qualifying match instead of the Intercontinental Title match? Sometimes it’s ok to just show us a recap or a highlight package instead of everything getting its own section. Then again having fewer qualifying matches would be nice as well but WWE has made it clear that they love that freaking ladder match more than almost anything else. Nice show, but mainly due to Styles vs. Nakamura being awesome.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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: May 15, 2018
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

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

We get a quick recap of Styles vs. Nakamura.

Here’s Daniel Bryan for a chat with Renee Young to get things going. She can barely get her questions in though as the DANIEL BRYAN chants are a bit too loud. After they die down a bit, Bryan talks about how he lost last week and no one likes losing. He’s back and willing to scratch and claw his way to the top because he wants to be WWE Champion. Cue Big Cass to mock Bryan, saying that he was Bryan’s first major setback since his return to WWE. Yeah he tapped out at Backlash, but only so he could get out of the hold to keep beating on Bryan even more.

Cass takes credit for Bryan’s loss to Rusev last week and says Bryan will never be able to do anything without a seven foot shadow following him. He gets in the ring so Bryan goes straight for the knee with a series of kicks before wrapping it around the post. Referees come out but but can’t stop Bryan from hitting a chop block and slapping on a heel hook. Good segment, now get Bryan on from Cass.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: New Day vs. The Bar

A double DDT gets two on Big E. and Cesaro grabs a Sharpshooter. Woods comes in for the save and gets in his own DDT for two. A wheelbarrow faceplant slams Cesaro into the mat so Sheamus comes in for a save this time around. Big E. spears Sheamus through the ropes, leaving Woods to drop the elbow for the pin on Cesaro at 9:25. As expected, there was no mention of Miz pinning the US Champion.

Rating: C-. In theory this should put Woods in the ladder match but I could see him saying that he doesn’t deserve it. To be fair, no one would buy Woods as a threat to win the thing so switching him out for Big E. or Kofi wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. New Day vs. Bar has been a fine enough feud and tying something like this into it wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

The Bludgeon Brothers look at various teams and say friendship is a disease. They’re waiting.

Paige is on the phone with Carmella and says she can’t have a horse drawn carriage entrance. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville come in and say Mandy is going to Money in the Bank. Paige says not so fast because tonight, she can have a qualifying match. That’s not cool with Sonya, who wants one too. Paige gives them both a match against Becky Lynch, which makes them think it’s a handicap match because they’re not that bright. Paige spells it out for them and they seem a bit nervous.

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Jake Constantino

Must be Rico’s cousin. Jake gets in an armdrag before being knocked into the corner for the running knees. The hammerlock DDT ends Constantino at 1:19.

Post match Vega says she isn’t impressed because they’re here to take over.

Rusev Day are in the back to insult London. Aiden English has a new song for when Rusev wins Money in the Bank but Lana comes in to says she’s in a qualifying match next week too. They’ll dominate Smackdown on Rusev Day. The tension between Lana and English was gone here, almost to the level of Lana’s accent being gone.

It’s time for the Royal Mellabration and she has a town crier to introduce her. Some beef eaters bring out the title and here’s Carmella to come to the ring where there’s a big leopard print pillow for the title. Carmella orders them to cheer for her but then complains about the silence. These people will cheer for a baby outside of a hospital and now they won’t give her the same treatment? She’s champion so she’s better than everyone else and lists off a bunch of names beneath her. Cue Paige to announce Carmella vs. Asuka at Money in the Bank. Asuka comes out and Carmella panics as she leaves.

Nakamura can’t understand Renee’s questions. He’ll win tonight.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Becky Lynch vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville

Mandy lets the other two fight and then jumps Becky from behind. A rollup gets two on Sonya and the argument takes us to a break. Back with Sonya hammering on Becky but a Bexploder gets her out of trouble. Mandy tries to steal the pin and gets thrown down by Sonya, who sends her to the floor.

Becky gets the better of a slugout and goes up, leaving Mandy to put Sonya in an electric chair. A missile dropkick to Mandy brings them both down but Sonya breaks up the Disarm-Her. Sonya gets kicked down again though and the Disarm-Her makes Mandy tap at 8:00 to send Becky to Money in the Bank.

Rating: C. Mandy and Sonya are getting better in the ring but neither is ready for such a big spot. Becky is someone who could be a big deal in the division for a long time to come and there’s no reason to not put her in here. You can put the Iconics in for a better performance in the heel tag role than Mandy and Sonya so there’s not much to complain about here.

Samoa Joe doesn’t like Big Cass targeting people smaller than him so he’ll target Cass next week in their qualifying match. He doesn’t care how big Cass is because he can be put to sleep.

The Iconics play a word association game and say Billie will beat Lana next week in the qualifying match.

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title with the winner getting to pick next week’s stipulation. The battle over a wristlock doesn’t go anywhere so AJ dropkicks him down to pick up the pace a bit. A slingshot forearm to the floor has Nakamura in more trouble but he posts AJ for a breather. Back from a break with Nakamura kicking AJ against the ropes and choking in the corner. Good Vibrations sets up a running kick to AJ’s face and we hit a dragon sleeper.

AJ fights out and puts Nakamura on top for a Pele. The running seated forearm drops Nakamura again and AJ nips up as the pace quickens. The belly to back faceplant gets two but a spinning kick to the face rocks Styles. Nakamura gets two off the Landslide (Samoan driver) but misses the running knee in the corner.

He’s fine enough to break up a springboard though and a kick to the ribs sends AJ to the apron. Kinshasa misses but AJ can’t get the Calf Crusher. The sliding knee gets two but Kinshasa is blocked with a spinwheel kick. The Phenomenal Forearm nearly hits the referee and Nakamura claims a low blow. That’s enough of a distraction to set up Kinshasa for the pin on Styles at 17:30.

Rating: B+. That’s the best match they’ve had yet and Nakamura needed to win something at some point. I’m still really not big on having a match to set up another match but this is better than a lot of the nonsense this company gives us at times. I’m not sure what the stipulation will be but they have a few options as we head towards Money in the Bank, especially with Nakamura’s quirky sense of humor at times.

No stipulation is picked to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I don’t remember the last time you could feel the difference in the presentation between the two shows like you could this week. Raw was beating us over the head with the same ideas and Roman Reigns didn’t exactly help things. This show, while not exactly a masterpiece, focused on some other stuff outside of Money in the Bank and didn’t have a really dumb story as a bonus. It’s amazing how much easier that is to sit through and it made for a better show. I know Raw isn’t going to change, but it’s not hard to see why this show is better.

Results

New Day b. The Bar – Top rope elbow to Cesaro

Andrade Cien Almas b. Jake Constantino – Hammerlock DDT

Becky Lynch b. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville – Disarm-Her to Rose

Shinsuke Nakamura b. AJ Styles – Kinshasa

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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