Wrestlemania XXII
Date: April 2, 2006
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 17,159
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross
America The Beautiful: Michelle Williams

It’s time to go back to an arena, which is quite the change of pace after doing these things in stadiums for so long. Things are in a bit of a weird place for the company as John Cena is still establishing himself as the guy and is defending against HHH. The other story is Eddie Guerrero coming back to life, putting on a mask and trying to win the Smackdown World Title under the name of Rey Mysterio. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Battle Royal

Eugene, Viscera, Snitsky, Goldust, Lance Cade, Rob Conway, Tyson Tomko, Trevor Murdoch, Matt Striker, Super Crazy, Funaki, Steven Richards, Simon Dean, Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro, Psicosis, Animal, William Regal

Here’s the “get everyone on the show match” and they’re in Raw/Smackdown shirts because it’s an interpromotional battle royal, despite it being every man for themselves. Dean tries to run his mouth before the match and is immediately tossed out. Conway shows disloyalty by taking off his Raw shirt and is quickly tossed out. Funaki is out as the ring is starting to clear out a bit. Cade gets eliminated and Richards follows him out, with Crazy, Goldust and Regal all being tossed as well.

MNM gives Eugene a Snapshot and gets rid of him before the remaining stars draw a big line and go show vs. show. Psicosis and Murdoch are both out and we’re down to six. Viscera crushes Morrison and Nitro in the corner while Tomko and Snitsky beat up Animal in another corner.

The big splash misses for Viscera but he’s fine enough to hit a DDT on Mercury. We get a double Visagra (Tazz: “Not the Brokeback spot!” Cole: “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand!”) and Nitro and Mercury are both out. Snitsky gets rid of Tomko and we’re down to three. Viscera dumps Animal (that’s a choice) and then fires Snitsky out for the win at 9:04.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have Animal win this as it means nothing and could have given the fans a nice moment to start the show off. Viscera winning is fine, but that’s the whole point of the whole match: anyone would have been fine, but Animal winning would have made the fans happy. There’s nothing wrong with having a bunch of midcarders thrown into a match like this, but the result felt like they missed the layup.

Post match Viscera gyrates at Lilian Garcia and kisses her (they used to be a thing), leaving her looking rather annoyed.

Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child sings America The Beautiful.

The opening video, set to Shinedown’s I Dare You, looks at various Wrestlemania moments over the years. This includes looking at various stars from back in the day and what they are doing now for a nice touch. Then we get into the traditional looks at the bigger matches on the card.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Carlito/Chris Masters vs. Big Show/Kane

Show and Kane are defending, with Kane’s entrance seeing the buildings in the set lighting on fire for a really cool touch. Masters knocks Kane down to start but walks into a dropkick for his efforts. Show comes in for the overly loud chops but Masters rakes his eyes, allowing the tag off to a reluctant Carlito. The fans are pleased to see Carlito, who is crotched on the top rope in quite the landing. With Masters knocked to the floor, Show throws Carlito onto him for the big crash.

Not to be outdone, Kane hits the top rope clothesline onto both of them. Back in and Carlito dropkicks Show’s knee out, sending Show into an exposed buckle. A flapjack gets two on Show but he suplexes both of them and brings Kane back in to clean house. The top rope clothesline is countered into the Masterlock but Show breaks it up rather quickly. Carlito’s Backstabber hits Kane but Masters accidentally knocks Carlito silly. Kane kicks Masters in the face and chokeslams Carlito to retain at 6:42.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why this needed to be on the Wrestlemania card as it was a decent Raw match at best. Kane and Big Show were absolute monsters and it was hard to fathom that they would be in any real danger of losing the titles. Carlito and Masters weren’t exactly top level challengers either, but they would be featured in the midcard for a good while. Kane and Show would lose the titles to the Spirit Squad the next night on Raw.

Post match Carlito and Masters get in an argument and Carlito leaves on his own. Both teams would face off in singles match the next month at Backlash.

Shawn Michaels is ready to end Vince McMahon. He has a history of stealing the show at Wrestlemania but don’t expect a five star match from him tonight. Instead, expect violence and a different kind of Michaels. McMahon better be praying to the God above because Shawn is taking him to h***.

Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Ric Flair

Money In The Bank. Naturally it’s a big brawl to start with Hardy grabbing the first ladder. As usual, said ladder is kicked into him, in this case by Van Dam, who hits a slingshot dive onto the ladder onto Hardy as well. Not to be outdone, Benjamin hits a big step up flip dive off the ladder onto a pile at ringside. Flair goes up the ladder but Hardy suplexes him down for the big crash and all that screaming.

That’s enough for the referee to throw up an X and Flair is helped to the back. With five left for the moment, Van Dam hits Rolling Thunder onto Benjamin onto the ladder, leaving both of them down. Lashley goes up but gets cut down as the fans are behind Van Dam. Finlay throws a ladder at Hardy to cut him off and loads up said ladder, only to have Flair come back and take him down.

Flair goes up but gets shillelaghed back down, leaving Lashley to Dominator Benjamin. Lashley tries the climb but gets dropkicked down by Van Dam, who drives a chair into his back for the save. Instead of climbing, Hardy drops a leg off the ladder onto Lashley before Side Effecting Finlay off the ladder.

Since Finlay is already having a bad day, Van Dam climbs the ladder for a splash onto Finlay for the big crash. Van Dam goes up but Benjamin springboards onto the ladder (geez) for a slugout. Hardy climbs another ladder so Benjamin steps over to join them, only for Van Dam to kick said ladder over. That’s enough for Van Dam to get the briefcase at 12:15.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one nearly as much as some of the ladder matches, as this was pretty quick without much in the way of memorable stuff. Flair was pulled out and was then back in about two minutes, meaning there was only so much drama. No one really stood out here, save for Benjamin’s springboard onto the ladder. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t stand out or pull me in, as they hadn’t really started going nuts with this thing yet.

New Hall Of Famer Gene Okerlund is glad to keep celebrating but Randy Orton comes in to say he’s winning the Smackdown World Title tonight. The injured Batista comes in to say he’s waiting on the winner. He’ll be World Champion by Wrestlemania XXIII. True actually.

We get the Hall Of Fame Class Of 2006 (minus Bret Hart, who was uncomfortable being here):

Gene Okerlund (not much of a reaction actually)
Sensational Sherri (VERY happy to be here)
Tony Atlas (thankfully minus foot jokes)
Verne Gagne (I’d think he’s worthy)
William Refrigerator Perry (dude, get a suit)
The Blackjacks (with some snappy hats)
Eddie Guerrero (there’s your big pop)

A bunch of the other inductees come over to hug Vickie Guerrero in a nice moment.

United States Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Chris Benoit

JBL, with Jillian Hall, is challenging and the stage rises up so his limo can come in. Benoit slugs away to start so JBL cuts him off with a headlock. The Crossface attempt doesn’t work, even with Benoit firing off a bunch of headbutts. Back up and some chops drop JBL again but the Sharpshooter doesn’t work either. Instead JBL rolls outside and hides behind Hall, which is enough for JBL to take over back inside.

Benoit avoids a charge in the corner though and the rolling German suplexes have JBL down again. The Swan Dive is broken up and JBL mocks the Eddie Guerrero dance, as you might have expected. A superplex brings Benoit back down for the big crash and a rather delayed cover gets two. JBL gets in Two Amigos before booting Benoit in the face, setting up the chinlock. Benoit suplexes his way to freedom and hits his own Three Amigos. Now the Swan Dive can connect and the Crossface goes on, only for JBL to stack him up and grab the ropes for the pin and the title at 9:46.

Rating: B-. They were going with the idea of the power vs. the technical stuff here, though JBL was trying to get technical as well to surprise Benoit. That worked out well enough, though it was far from some instant classic. JBL needed a win like this after losing for so many months after dropping the title to Cena last year.

We recap Edge vs. Mick Foley. Edge was annoyed over losing the WWE Title so quickly and got a rematch, only for Foley, as the guest referee, to cost him the title. The beating and challenge were on, with Edge taunting Foley for not having the defining Wrestlemania moment (because headlining the show just doesn’t count). Foley was up for a hardcore match and Edge accepted, albeit with a Conchairto, in an attempt to draw out the old Foley, which is never a good idea.

Joey Styles joins commentary in JR’s face because he knows hardcore. Eh fair enough.

Mick Foley vs. Edge

Lita is here with Edge and anything goes, with falls counting anywhere. Foley comes to the ring with his (gray for some reason) flannel shirt buttoned up, which just seems rather ominous. Edge wastes no time in swinging a baseball bat at but Foley knocks it away and hits a faceplant. The Tree Of Woe elbow hits Edge but he’s right back up with a boot to the face. Lita starts throwing in the weapons, with a cookie sheet to the head rocking Foley again.

The spear hits Foley….but Edge is hurt. Foley gets up and opens his shirt to reveal barbed wire wrapped around his stomach (and the signature red flannel shirt), which makes the first few minutes all the more insane. Edge’s arm is cut open as Foley cuts the wire off and whips Edge’s back. Edge gets tied in the ropes and nothing good can come from this. Foley busts out the barbed wire baseball bat but Lita makes the save by jumping on his back.

That’s fine with Foley, who hits a Cactus Clothesline to take all of them to the floor. The running knee is countered with a toss into the steps though, followed by a more standard whip into said steps. It’s table time (of course), with Lawler saying you never know what’s underneath a WWE ring. Eh you kind of do, as it’s the same in almost every match. One heck of a head slam onto the ramp gives Edge two and they go back inside, where Edge covers Foley with lighter fluid (oh dear). Lawler: “What is Edge going to do here? Like Mick Foley on fire?” Styles: “YOU THINK???”

Foley gets in a quick piledriver to avoid the whole burning alive thing but Lita cuts off the Conchairto. Edge gets in a shot of his own but the near fall just makes him madder. Some barbed wire bat shots have Foley down, including one to the face to bust him open (you knew that was coming). A bulldog onto the bat gets two so now it’s time for thumbtacks. Naturally Edge gets dropped onto said tacks and it’s time for Mr. Socko, complete with some bonus barbed wire.

Lita gets the Mandible Claw as well and her mouth is busted for a great visual. The barbed wire bat hits Edge (who still has tacks in his back). A bat to the face busts Edge open and Lawler thinks it can’t get much worse. Then Foley gets the lighter fluid and Lawler is proven wrong. The table at ringside is covered in the fluid but Lita gets in a bat shot to Foley. The table is lit on fire and Edge spears Foley through the ropes and through the table for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: A. This is pretty much the only thing that is remembered from this show and that shouldn’t be a huge surprise. This was two people absolutely destroying each other, with Foley turning back the clock for another instant classic to boost someone else up the ranks. It was in the same vein as the 2000 Royal Rumble and Backlash 2004, which is some of the best work of Foley’s career. Excellent stuff here as it felt like a war, with Edge being taken to another level.

Edge and Lita leave, with Edge looking like he’s in shock. Foley gets a standing ovation on the way out, which is well deserved. Of note: Foley’s wife called him after the match…to check on Edge. Of course.

Sharmell begs Booker T. to not make her face the Boogeyman and asks why freaks follow Booker around. They then run into Paul Burchill, Ted DiBiase, Eugene, Snitsky, Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young (getting her feet kissed) and Goldust, naturally dressed as Oprah. Goldust says Booker needs to accept his inner freak to beat the Boogeyman and suggests where Booker put the worms. Booker panics and leaves.

Some fans won a sweepstakes from Snickers for good seats.

Celebrities are here.

Booker T./Sharmell vs. Boogeyman

Booker has the terrified Sharmell start in a funny bit. Thankfully Booker does jump Boogeyman from behind and hammers away in the corner. A kick to the face gives Booker two as the red smoke is making the arena look horrible. The Bookend gets two but Booker misses the ax kick and gets forearmed down (they didn’t seem to be on the same page there). The worms come out and Boogeyman has a snack so Sharmell comes in with Boogeyman’s staff. That earns her a wormy kiss so Sharmell runs off screaming, leaving Boogeyman to chokebomb Booker for the pin at 3:56.

Rating: D-. What do you want me to say here? This was a bad comedy match and nothing more than a way to give the fans a breather after the crazy hardcore match. Booker was injured coming in, but if this is the best they can do, just scrap the match.  Boogeyman is the kind of character who is there for little more than goofiness and having him beat Booker is a step too far. Nothing to this one, save for ruining the mat.

Post match, more worms are consumed.

We recap Mickie James challenging Trish Stratus for the Women’s Title. James debuted and was completely obsessed with Stratus, even kissing her under the mistletoe at Christmas. Stratus said it was too much and asked for time apart, which made James even more nuts, to the point where she kicked Stratus in the head and asked if Stratus loved her now. Then she kidnapped Stratus’ boyfriend and laid Stratus out at the same time. This was a heck of a story as the women’s division was dying for some fresh blood and James was all that and more.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James

James is challenging and Lawler thinks she’s nuts. JR: “You’d date her. But wait she might be too old for you. She’s in her early 20s.” Lawler: “Can she cook?” They waste no time in trading the forearms before Stratus Thesz presses her down and hammers away. The big chops in the corner have James down and Stratus drops her down into the splits. They head outside and the Chick Kick only hits the post to give James a needed opening.

The bad leg is wrapped around the post and James is rather pleased. A dropkick to the leg keeps Stratus down as the fans are behind James, which has commentary confused. The half crab stays on the leg but James pulls the hair, which is enough to make her break it up (you don’t see that one too often). Stratus slugs away (the fans don’t approve) and hits a spinebuster as JR tries to explain that Stratus hasn’t done anything to deserve the booing.

James gets a boot up in the corner but has to block the Stratusphere, allowing her to send Stratus crashing down. A half crab is countered into a small package to give Stratus two and a powerbomb out of the corner gets the same. The Matrish only kind of works due to the leg so Stratus loads up Stratusfaction, which is broken up with a hand between the legs (James licking her hand is edited out). James kicks her in the head (the botched Stratusfaction to Stratus is edited out as well) and wins the title at 8:49. JR: “The nutjob has won the title!”

Rating: B. The bad botch and probably going too far lick of the hand being cut out didn’t hurt things, as this was still miles ahead of just about anything you would see in the women’s division. It wasn’t so much that the match was great, but rather that it was a match that came with a story rather than just random title defenses. James was such a breath of fresh air for the division and it’s no surprise that she was a star for so long.

The McMahons are way too pleased with Vince McMahon’s arms. Vince laughs at the idea of Shawn Michaels telling him to pray, but says it’s time for their first family prayer. Vince makes it clear that he and God don’t like each other because Vince has defied every law God has ever had. He’s been successful anyway and brags about his physique (Stephanie gives him a look) before promising to send Michaels down to the fiery depths.

We recap Mark Henry vs. Undertaker. Henry cost Undertaker the World Title and injured him, meaning it’s time for revenge.

Undertaker vs. Mark Henry

It’s a casket match and Henry is Undertaker’s latest monster foe who isn’t afraid of the dark. Cole goes over the Undertaker’s Wrestlemania victims and it’s kind of amazing to think of how many more big names he would take out over the years. Henry jumps him at the end of the entrance (to be fair, Undertaker was taking his sweet time) but Undertaker gets a boot up in the corner.

Some running clotheslines don’t put Henry down but he drops Undertaker with a single shot. They go outside, where Undertaker sends him into the steps for a breather. Henry rams him in even harder though and they head back inside, where Old School is broken up. The casket is opened up but Undertaker isn’t about to go in (good advice). Back up and Undertaker kicks away at the arm, setting up Old School.

A Downward Spiral is blocked though and they fight down into the casket. Henry hammers him down but Undertaker grabs him by the throat to get up. Back in and the World’s Strongest Slam connects but the powers of I’m Facing The Undertaker stupidity take over, with Henry going up to hammer away. The Last Ride brings Henry back down and Undertaker throws him outside for the big dive. Back in and the Tombstone connects, which is enough to finish Henry off at 9:27.

Rating: C. It was an ok fight but Henry might as well have been dubbed “The Designated Victim” here as it never felt like Undertaker was in any danger. They had to do something with Undertaker but there was no drama here as Undertaker beating Henry was never in doubt. It’s not a terrible or even bad match, but this was definitely on the lower end of the Streak matches.

We recap Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon. Late last year, McMahon decided it was all about him (for a change of pace) and fired a bunch of people. Then he brought up the Montreal Screwjob, which made Michaels tell McMahon to grow up already. Therefore, it was time to destroy Michaels for good, setting up a showdown.

Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon

No holds barred. Michaels starts fast and jumps McMahon on the floor. McMahon is sent over the announcers’ table and onto JR, allowing Michaels to choke away. Michaels busts a framed photo of McMahon’s Muscle & Fitness magazine cover over McMahon’s head (you knew that was coming) so here is the Spirit Squad (you knew they were coming) to jump Michaels for a breather.

The big beatdown is on but Michaels fights back with their megaphone to clear them out without much trouble. That’s enough of a distraction for McMahon to hit a clothesline though and we slow back down. McMahon hits some shoulders to the ribs in the corner, followed by some whips with a belt. Delusions of grandeur make McMahon try his own superkick, which is easily blocked. Now Michaels gets to whip away with the belt and drops the top rope elbow.

Sweet Chin Music is loaded up but here is Shane McMahon to hit Michaels with a kendo stick as this keeps going. The beating lets Vince take down his pants but Michaels fights back and shoves Shane’s face in, with Vince of course thinking it’s great. Shane is knocked to the floor and handcuffed to the ropes in a smart move. The key is thrown into the crowd and Michaels beats on Shane with the kendo stick.

Back in and Michaels caves Vince’s head in with a chair (there’s some blood) but Michaels won’t throw the superkick. Instead it’s time for a ladder, which bounces off of Vince’s head to draw even more blood. Michaels still won’t throw the superkick though as Vince collapses. Instead Michaels grabs a table and some trashcans. After putting the trashcan on Vince and Vince on the table, Michaels climbs the big ladder and drops a big elbow. Michaels picks him up, says watch this, and finally (and I do mean FINALLY) hits the superkick for the win at 18:24.

Rating: D+. This was WAY too long, with the match being pretty much over about halfway through the thing. So much of the match was spent with Vince mostly destroyed and Michaels just finding more weapons. They could have done this in far less time as it felt more like someone blowing off steam in a video game for most of the match.

Vince flips Michaels off because that is his nature.

We recap Kurt Angle defending the Smackdown World Title against Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton. Mysterio won the Royal Rumble in Eddie Guerrero’s memory, last eliminating Orton. That didn’t sit well with Orton, who talked Mysterio into putting up his title shot, only for Mysterio to lose. Mysterio was kept in the match anyway, as this is all about Eddie’s memory. Oh yeah and Angle is there too. That’s how third wheel he felt here, and there wasn’t much that could be done to change it as this is all about Eddie/Rey. This gets Shinedown’s I Dare You, which helps a lot.

Smackdown World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle

Angle is defending and Mysterio gets played to the ring live by POD. Orton decks Angle with the belt before the bell before dropkicking Mysterio out of the air for two. Back in and Angle snaps off the German suplexes on Orton before suplexing both of them at once (with Mysterio FLYING).

Orton is back up with his backbreaker to Angle, who shrugs it off and hits a belly to belly. A pop up super hurricanrana brings Orton down for two and Mysterio kicks Angle in the head for the same. Mysterio sends Angle into the ropes but the 619 is cut off. The ankle lock goes on but Orton cuts off the referee, who doesn’t see Mysterio tap. With that broken up, Angle snaps off more suplexes and ankle locks Orton for a change. This time Mysterio grabs the referee so Orton’s tap is missed too. Well they’re certainly making Angle look strong, which makes sense as he’s in Wrestling Machine mode here.

Back up and Mysterio is sent into the post but Orton grabs the RKO on Angle for a delayed two. Orton goes up and is promptly belly to belly superplexed right back down in one of Angle’s better signature spots. Mysterio can’t quite hit a 619 around the post but settles for a kick to the head (eh fair enough) for two on Angle. Orton drops Mysterio again but gets Angle Slammed for two. Mysterio counters the Angle Slam with an armdrag and hits the 619 to Orton. The West Coast Pop pins Orton to make Mysterio champion at 9:18.

Rating: B-. It was mostly action packed, but I could have gone with a good bit more time to pack that action into here. Mysterio winning the title was a feel good moment, despite not being the biggest surprise, as the fans would have lost if it Eddie didn’t get his big tribute. It’s a good match, but dang they felt rushed out there and that’s not good to see. And then Mysterio would go on to have an all time disaster of a title reign, mainly because he was put in there against giant who kept crushing him, because reasons.

Post match Chavo and Vickie Guerrero come out to celebrate with Mysterio in a nice moment.

We look at John Cena and HHH in the locker room for a long time. Cena looks at the title while HHH gets a massage. JR gives a rather detailed explanation about how Cena is a rebel and this is a traditionalist town so HHH will likely get cheered no matter what.

Candice Michelle vs. Torrie Wilson

Playboy Pillow Fight, which is an excuse for the two of them to be in limited clothing. There is a bed and a bunch of pillows with the Playboy logo everywhere because that’s the whole point. Wilson brings her dog (he’s wearing a top hat) and they starts the brawl as the fans aren’t exactly thrilled. A suplex drops Michelle and a backdrop puts her onto the bed.

The dog is brought in as they fight out to the floor, only to come back in so Michelle can lose her gown. Michelle kicks her away and does the Go Daddy dance before dropping a middle rope elbow onto Wilson (on the bed). With nothing else working, Michelle grabs a pair of scissors to cut off Wilson’s dress. An issue of Playboy is rubbed into Wilson’s face, which inspires her to grab a rollup for the pin at 3:55.

Rating: F. Yeah what else were you expecting? This was about the women being out there and showing off how they looked. It wasn’t good and it went FAR longer than it needed to, with the fans letting them know what they thought. I get the appeal, but I’m also rather glad that we’ve moved WAY beyond this kind of stuff.

We look at the Wrestlemania press conference, which is pretty much the hype video for Cena vs. HHH. Cena is the rebel champion and HHH is the old school guy who wants the title back. This is the big dream match for Raw but it only feels so important.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. HHH

HHH is challenging and does the Conan the Barbarian entrance, rising up from the stage on his throne with the ridiculously big sledgehammer. Cena’s entrance on the other hand features a newsreel about the Great Depression and a bunch of machine gun toting goons hanging on an old gangster car, one of whom is infamously better known as CM Punk. Cena has his own gun and gets to fire, which at least drowns out some of the rather loud booing.

We get going, with JR immediately explaining that Cena is going to be booed no matter what. HHH wins an early wrestle off and grabs a hammerlock before kicking Cena away. An early FU attempt (the fans are NOT happy) is broken up and HHH punches him in the face, earning a standing ovation. Cena is sent outside but comes back in to hammer away in the corner for his first real offense. Some whips into the corner set up the release fisherman’s suplex and Cena grabs the chinlock. They go to the floor, where Cena backdrops him onto the ramp for a loud crash.

Back up and HHH sends Cena into the steps to take right back over. Cena fights back but a facebuster and hard clothesline get some of the loudest reactions HHH has ever received. Some neckbreakers give HHH some twos and the chinlock goes on to keep Cena down. Cena eventually fights up and hits that hard clothesline that he uses when he needs a big spot. The clothesline comeback sets up a powerslam and Cena initiates the finishing sequence.

That’s countered into a spinebuster to give HHH two but the sleeper is quickly broken up. The STFU goes on but HHH dives over to the ropes for the break. The FU is broken up as well and HHH hits Cena, and the referee, low in the corner. HHH brings in the sledgehammer and knocks Cena lukewarm for a pretty delayed two (the fans are ticked off again). Cena backdrops out of the Pedigree and gets two off the FU, leaving Cena stunned. Cena’s high crossbody misses but he pulls HHH into the STFU for two arm drops. HHH hangs on….and then taps out completely clean to retain the title at 22:02.

Rating: B. It took some time to get going but what matters the most is that Cena got a clean win over the other big name in the middle of the ring in the main event of Wrestlemania. That’s what HHH needed to do here and Cena gets one of the biggest boosts of his career. It also happens to be a very rather good title match and pretty worthy of the main event of Wrestlemania.

The big highlight package wraps up the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yeah it’s fine. That’s always been the reaction to this show and that’s still the case here. There are definitely good parts, with the main event, most of the Women’s Title match and Edge vs. Foley being worth a look, but the problem is, outside of Edge vs. Foley, nothing is really memorable. It came and went with very little changing, as even Mysterio winning the title felt rushed. The show is absolutely not bad, but it’s forgettable, and that’s not what Wrestlemania is supposed to be.

Ratings Comparison

Pre-Show Battle Royal
Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2020 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C-

Big Show/Kane vs. Carlito/Chris Masters

Original: D+
2013 Redo: C
2015 Redo: D+
2020 Redo: C-
2025 Redo: C

Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Ric Flair vs. Finlay vs. Matt Hardy vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: B
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B
2020 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B-

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Chris Benoit

Original: D+
2013 Redo: C+
2015 Redo: D+
2020 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B-

Edge vs. Mick Foley

Original: A
2013 Redo: A
2015 Redo: A
2020 Redo: A
2025 Redo: A

Boogeyman vs. Booker T/Sharmell

Original: F
2013 Redo: F
2015 Redo: F
2020 Redo: F
2025 Redo: D-

Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus

Original: B
2013 Redo: B-
2015 Redo: B-
2020 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B

Undertaker vs. Mark Henry

Original: D
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D-
2020 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C

Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon

Original: C+
2013 Redo: C+
2015 Redo: D
2020 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: D+

Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton

Original: D+
2013 Redo: C-
2015 Redo: C+
2020 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B-

Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle

Original: F
2013 Redo: F
2015 Redo: F
2020 Redo: D-
2025 Redo: F

HHH vs. John Cena

Original: A-
2013 Redo: B-
2015 Redo: C
2020 Redo: A-
2025 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: C-
2020 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B-

As usual, it’s the same issues, with so much of this show just being forgettable.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dynamite
Date: January 8, 2025
Location: F&M Bank Arena, Clarksville, Tennessee
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Matt Menard, Excalibur

We’re slightly back to normal this week with the first regular show in a few weeks. The big story this week is the Casino Gauntlet, which will be used to set up Jon Moxley’s new challenger for next week. Other than that, we’re still building towards Revolution, Grand Slam and possibly even All In: Texas. Let’s get to it.

Buddy Murphy vs. Will Ospreay

Fallout from Ospreay beating Brody King in the Continental Classic. Feeling out process to start with Matthews powering him into the corner and hitting some chops in the corner. That’s broken up and Ospreay knocks him to the floor for the dive. Back in and Matthews knocks him back down for a knee and a near fall, meaning frustration starts to set in. Ospreay fights up with a kick to the head into the Phenomenal Forearm before sending him outside again.

They kick it out on the apron, where the Oscutter is broken up. Ospreay gets thrown face first onto the announcers’ table for a nasty crash but Matthews charges into a superkick. Back in and a springboard missile dropkick sets up the Oscutter for two. Matthews knees him in the head again and a stomp give him two of his own. Ospreay is back with the Styles Clash into the Hidden Blade for the pin at 12:12.

Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other and it was the kind of a match that made me wonder where it was going. Ospreay wasn’t likely to lose here but dang they were having a good, hard hitting fight. Nice opener here and pretty much exactly what you would have expected.

Post match Ospreay asks for some love for Buddy “Murphy” before saying Matthews and Brody King don’t need a leader. Ospreay can see some success in their future and if Matthews ever needs a good man in his corner, let him know. That’s interesting.

Video on Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty.

Here is Private Party for a celebration but the Hurt Syndicate interrupts and walks past the velvet ropes. MVP proposes a toast: to the Syndicate winning the Tag Team Titles. My goodness Private Party could not feel less important.

Bobby Lashley vs. Mark Briscoe

MVP is on commentary. Lashley powers him into the corner to start bu Briscoe fights out with the Redneck Kung Fu. Briscoe goes up but dives into a suplex to send him outside. There’s a running shoulder to drop Briscoe again, setting up an overhead suplex. We take a break and come back with Briscoe striking away as the fight heads outside. A chair shot from underneath the ring hits Lashley (and sends MVP into hysterics), setting up a pair of flip dives. The Froggy Bow only gets one, and it’s a spear into a spinebuster into the Hurt Lock for the win at 10:09.

Rating: B-. This was a good way to make Lashley look like a monster while also keeping Briscoe looking strong enough. Lashley dominated but Briscoe kept fighting throughout, which made for a nice match. What matters here though is Lashley is getting the chance to look like a monster and he very well could be on his way to doing something big.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Private Party makes the save.

Casino Gauntlet Match

Unknown entrants, intervals that vary between entrants and the first fall gets a World Title shot next week. Jay White is in at #1 and Hangman Page is in at #2. They chop it out until Page runs him over with a shoulder for an early one. White sends him to the apron, where a Buckshot Lariat attempt is countered into a blocked Blade Runner attempt. A superplex brings Page down and it’s Wheeler Yuta in at #3.

Yuta immediately gets taken down with a Blade Runner for two but Page goes after White for two again. With the ring cleared, it’s….Ricochet in at #4, though he comes out to Swerve Strickland’s music to scare the heck out of Page. Ricochet cleans house and hits a dive to the floor as we take a break. Back with a tag match breaking out until Adam Cole is in at #5. Ricochet knocks him back but gets superkicked out of the air. A Panama Sunrise connects for two and it’s Daniel Garcia in at #6.

Garcia hammers away at a bunch of people in the corner at the same time before getting in a staredown with Yuta. Powerhouse Hobbs is in at #7 to send people flying (Menard: “Come on, we gotta be smarter than this guys!” and we take another break. Back again with Hobbs hitting Ricochet with a heck of a clothesline, followed by an easy slam to White. Hobbs’ knee is dropkicked out though and it’s Roderick Strong in at #8.

The Bladerunner connects for White but Yuta hits him low to break up the cover. Lance Archer is in at #9 to clean house before he and Hobbs throw Ricochet back and forth. They trade power moves until Kyle O’Reilly is in at #10. The big brawl is on and most of the people are down as Jeff Jarrett is in at #11….but Yuta jumps him from behind. They fight off to the back and it’s Hobbs planting O’Reilly with a spinebuster for the win at 25:51.

Rating: B-. This was a rather star heavy match for the most part and having Yuta in there to get beaten up was a nice touch. Hobbs winning is certainly a surprise and I’m curious to see where it’s going. It isn’t likely to lead to a title change, but at least it’s something rather new. The match wasn’t as good as some of the previous versions, but I do like having someone new getting a one off title match after a big win.

Post match Hobbs says we’re going to shoot and promises to make Jon Moxley his b**** next week (Renee Paquette is not pleased).

Jeff Jarrett comes to the ring (he never actually got in) and doesn’t seem sure if he’s still got it…and here is MJF to interrupt. MJF introduces himself and explains why he wants the title back, but there are a bunch of people in the way. It’s a regular Dr. Seuss book of challengers but there is one person who can still go after the title. MJF lists off Jarrett’s resume, which he had to look up because it’s way too old for him. The reality is that Jarrett has signed a one year deal, which is all wrestling thinks he has left to give.

MJF thinks he can help Jarrett get the World Title and all he asks is the first title shot. The offer is made and Jarrett takes the mic. Jarrett says that people like MJF are called one hit wonders around here. The fans chant ONE HIT WONDER and Jarrett thinks that might be a nice t-shirt. Jarrett has a year left and knows that he is going to have to work, but he’ll be doing it alone. This went a good bit longer than it needed to, though I’ve heard worse ideas than Jarrett having one last run, possibly with a nice groundswell underneath him.

We look at Darby Allin being taken out (again) by the Death Riders (again).

Here is Cope for a chat. He talks about how Jon Moxley has attacked Darby Allin and how Moxley doesn’t think much of Cope himself. Cope talks about the injuries he has suffered in the ring, including winning a match with a broken (non-freakin) neck. So what can Moxley do to him that hasn’t been done before? Cue the Death Riders but FTR jump them from behind to even things up. Cue Marina Shafir with the briefcase though, allowing Pac to drop Cope. Moxley chokes Cope out and loads up the plastic bag, but Powerhouse Hobbs makes the save. The Death Riders looking strong you say?

Mariah May wants the women to fight to become the #1 contender. Harley Cameron storms in and asks for a match on Collision. They can even make it non title “hot girl graps”. Eventually the match is made, with Cameron threatening to make her feel the wrath. Hilarious again.

Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander

For the #1 spot in the Casino Gauntlet Match. Nightingale starts fast by knocking Statlander outside and giving Storm a spinebuster. Statlander is back in but Storm crossbodies them down. Nightingale catapults Storm head first into a low blow on Statlander and we take a break.

Back with Statlander and Nightingale having a slightly reluctant standoff. Storm breaks it up though and all three are down. Back up and a series of knockdowns sets up Nightingale German suplexing both of them at once. Nightingale is knocked outside though and Statlander hits Staturday Night Fever for the pin on Storm at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Storm taking a pin here wasn’t something I would have expected but what mattered the most was giving Statlander a win. At the same time, this doesn’t mean Storm won’t be in the match next week so this could just be a setback. The match wasn’t anything great, but I could go for any of these three being given a bigger push.

Post break, Toni Storm isn’t surprised she didn’t win because she’s not ready. It can’t be Toni Time all the time.

Here is Kenny Omega for his big return. After some applause, Omega talks about how he was diagnosed with diverticulitis a little over a year ago. They took two feet of his intestines out and if he hadn’t, he would be dead. Omega as immediately asking about when he would be able to get back in the ring. The doctor, who apparently called him Kenny Omega, wasn’t sure if he could ever even get back to a normal way of life.

That didn’t work for Omega, who came back to be this version of himself. Not worried about money or power but just being the best in the world. Cue Don Callis to interrupt but Omega isn’t having this and charges outside to beat Callis down. The Don Callis Family comes in to beat Omega down, including a shot to the abdomen. Will Ospreay makes the save and we get a very tense staredown to end the show. Omega and Ospreay as AEW’s version of the Mega Powers is good, but dealing with the Don Callis Family doesn’t help.

Overall Rating: B-. This wasn’t a bad show by any means and it did set up a few things going forward. The problem is that some of those things aren’t overly interesting. The Death Riders vs. Rated FTR isn’t doing much for me and anything involving the Don Callis Family has me wondering when it’s going to be over. I like Powerhouse Hobbs getting a title shot as his push is long overdue and Buddy Matthews might be on his way to a push of his own. For now, good enough show and I’m curious about where some of these things are going.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Buddy Matthews – Hidden Blade
Bobby Lashley b. Mark Briscoe – Hurt Lock
Powerhouse Hobbs won the Casino Gauntlet Match – Spinebuster to O’Reilly
Kris Statlander b. Toni Storm and Willow Nightingale – Staturday Night Fever to Storm

 

 

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Full Gear 2024
Date: November 23, 2024
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another of the big four shows here with the Death Riders once again on top of the promotion. That’s the main event, with Orange Cassidy trying to detail Jon Moxley for the World Title. Other than that, most of the titles are on the line and we should have a pretty stacked show. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Anna Jay

Taya Valkyrie is here with Purrazzo. Jay blocks a waistlock to start and kicks her in the face and the corner. Jay’s spinning kick lets her go up but a Valkyrie distraction lets Purrazzo take over. A clothesline sets up a crossarm choke, which is broken up so Jay can hit another superkick.

They slug it out until Jay hits a basement dropkick but Purrazzo knees her down. The Fujiwara armbar is broken up but Jay is kicked to the floor, where Valkyrie hits a spear. Since the referee watches her do it, it’s an ejection, though not a DQ for no apparent reason. Back in and the Fujiwara armbar goes on again, but Jay reverses into a rollup for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: C. Standard Rampage level match here with Jay getting a win after some recent losses. Odds are she’ll get a few more wins, get lose to a title and then lose the big one, as that’s just what happens to her most of the time. Purrazzo and the Vendetta need to actually do something already, because the team is losing what little value it had with every next loss.

Athena, Billie Starkz, Red Velvet and Leyla Hirsch are the four participants in the Ring Of Honor qualifying match for the four way at Wrestle Dynasty (on January 5). Yes Athena, by far the most dominant star in the history of Ring Of Honor’s women’s division, has to qualify. And yes, Ring Of Honor is still seen as is own promotion along with Stardom, AEW and CMLL for the sake of this match.

Zero Hour: The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Dante Martin vs. Buddy Matthews

Komander and Martin are sent to the floor to start and we get the big power showdown. That’s broken up by the other two before Mortos wristlocks both of them at once. Martin gets sent outside so Matthews puts Komander on top, only for Mortos to take Matthews’ place. Mortos dives onto Martin but Matthews, and then Komander, dives onto all of them.

Back in and Matthews avoids Cielito Lindo but Komander is back with a hurricanrana to Mortos. That doesn’t go very far as Mortos is up to wreck everyone else until Matthews gets in a shot of his own. Matthews’ Jackhammer gets two on Martin with Mortos making the save, leaving Martin to roll Komander up for two.

Matthews drops Martin with a top rope Meteora but gets caught by Komander’s tornado DDT. Mortos crucifix drivers Komander but Martin hits a heck of a springboard clothesline to Mortos, leaving everyone down. Backup and all four slug it out with Mortos getting the better of things. Komander gets in a knockdown though and Martin adds a frog splash, only for Matthews to hit the Stomp and pin Martin at 10:35.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that AEW has done a hundred or more times and it’s still a lot of fun. Let four people go out there and do a bunch of spots until one of them gets the win. No it doesn’t really boost Matthews up as he’s the biggest star and should be getting the win, but it doesn’t hurt any of the other three and the match was a good time. That’s a smart use of Kickoff Show and the crowd reacted well.

Paul Wight is back for commentary and brings out the Rizzler (a kid who makes quote unquote funny faces on social media) to be guest timekeeper.

Zero Hour: Big Boom AJ vs. QT Marshall

This is the celebrity match, with AJ and his son Justice better known as the Costco Guys. Apparently they’ve known each other for a long time and AJ is a former wrestler who now reviews items at Costco. Then Marshall didn’t like some cookies that AJ liked so…match! They stare each other down to start and Marshall knocks him down for some dancing. A snapmare drops AJ again but he’s back up with a backdrop.

AJ hits a powerslam for two and clotheslines Marshall outside, where Marshall’s security yells a lot. The distraction doesn’t work as Marshall’s running flip dive takes out the security by mistake. Back in and a DDT puts AJ down again and some right hands do it again. AJ manages a quick belly to belly though and makes the comeback, including a spinebuster. A top rope clothesline connects but AJ is gassed.

Marshall’s handspring kick to the face into a jumping cutter gets two, which sends Marshall after the Rizzler (who apparently does nothing but rub his chin). Wight cuts that off and AJ grabs a superplex to put them both down. Marshall’s friend Aaron Solo comes in for the distraction but gets decked, allowing Justice to hit a spear. AJ’s powerbomb is enough to pin Marshall at 11:44.

Rating: C+. All things considered, this could have been FAR worse. I hadn’t heard that AJ was a former wrestler until recently so this was a lot different than what I had been expecting. While he’s clearly out of practice (fair enough), AJ knew enough of what he was doing in there to make this an actual match rather than a bunch of silly stuff. Justice’s part was completely fine and Marshall is a nothing goofy heel in the first place. I have no interest in the Costco Guys’ content, but this was perfectly fine.

And now, the show proper.

Tag Team Titles: Kings Of The Black Throne vs. Outrunners vs. Acclaimed vs. Private Party

Private Party is defending and the Kings are played to the ring live. Caster’s rap mocks the band, but also says everyone loves the Best Wrestler Alive rather than the Acclaimed (who have Billy Gunn). Private Party have a bunch of dancers with glow sticks for their own flavor. Black works on Quen’s arm to start but gets kicked away, with Quen sitting down for the mind games.

The threat of the End has Quen backing away so Black elbows him in the face. Bowens comes in to trade armdrags with Kassidy with Kassidy getting the better of things, allowing the Outrunners to come in and plant Kassidy. Quen breaks that up and Floyd gets to clear the ring. King isn’t having that but Floyd Hulks Up, only to get blasted with a clothesline. The Kings take over and toss Quen into a knee to the face.

A backsplash hits Kassidy but the Outrunners and Acclaimed jump the Kings. The Acclaimed takes over on the Outrunners but Private Party is back in for stereo 450s for two each. The Outrunners are back with the Mega Powers elbow but Total Recall is broken up. King is back in to run people over and the Cannonball/kick to the head combination rocks Bowens in the corner.

The Acclaimed fights up to knock King down but Bowens doesn’t like Caster taking too much attention…so Caster offers Bowens the chance to pin him (ignoring commentary saying you can’t do that) for two. The Arrival plants Kassidy but Magnum breaks up the Mic Drop. Gin & Juice finishes Caster to retain the titles at 13:23.

Rating: B. Much like the other four way, this is something AEW does well and having so many people out there at once keeps the losing teams safe. This doesn’t make Private Party feel like some big, dominant team, but it did give them a nice pay per view win in a match that is more their style. Good opener here, though I can’t imagine Private Party are long term champs.

Private Party leaves through the crowd.

Orange Cassidy is ready to fight back against the Death Riders and says Private Party was the first step. They’ve been around since the beginning and now they’re the Tag Team Champions. It’s time for Cassidy to take the World Title and the power from Moxley.

We recap MJF vs. Roderick Strong. Last year at World’s End, Strong was revealed as one of the Devil’s henchmen. They have both since turned, meaning Strong is one of the two good guys wanting revenge on MJF, who decided that Strong and Adam Cole had to compete to face him here.

Roderick Strong vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

The bell rings and MJF bails to the floor to grab the mic and call the fans white trash. After a reference to Strong’s mother shooting his father, Strong goes outside to start the fight. Strong chops the post by mistake though and MJF starts in on the hand, setting up a powerbomb onto the apron.

Back in and the brainbuster is broken up but MJF knocks him down again. An armbar stays on the arm but Strong fights up and gets in a half nelson backbreaker. A torture rack toss into the corner sets up the jumping knee for two on MJF, who goes right back to the arm for a breather. The Heatseeker is blocked though and Strong hits a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and MJF’s attempt at a Panama Sunrise is cut off so he stomps on the arm for two more.

Strong is back up with a Texas Cloverleaf but MJF gets out rather quickly. That leaves Strong with a kick to MJF’s face and End Of Heartache gets two. A torture rack backbreaker into a fireman’s carry gutbuster have MJF down again but he comes back with a brainbuster for the double knockdown. Strong goes over to him but gets pulled into the Salt Of The Earth for the tap at 13:39.

Rating: B-. And that’s exactly what I was expecting from this match, as it was little more than a thing that had to be done before we get to the MJF vs. Adam Cole match. In other words, it’s just a way to extend the feud another month when it was already time to wrap it up. Odds are they’ll go to see Cole vs. MJF at World’s End one year in the making, making this match feel all the less important. The match was fine, but I have no idea why it needed to be here.

Post match MJF Pillmanizes Strong’s arm so Adam Cole runs in for the save. Kyle O’Reilly, with the Undisputed Kingdom, comes in to yell at Cole.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the TBS Title against Kris Statlander. Mone is the big star but Statlander is the powerhouse coming after her, including taking out Mone’s monster Kamille.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander

Mone, without Kamille for some reason, is defending. Statlander misses a charge into the corner to start and gets taken down, allowing Mone to hammer away. A gorilla press drop gets Statlander out of trouble but they head to the apron where Mone grabs a hurricanrana. Mone dropkicks her through the ropes and then sends her into the steps to keep Statlander in trouble.

Back to back running Meteora give Mone two and a middle rope version gets the same. A flipping neckbreaker plants Statlander for two more and a sunset bomb sends her into the corner for the fourth running Meteora (in about two minutes) gets two. The crossarm choke is broken up and Statlander flips her out of the corner for a breather. Statlander’s knee is banged up though and they’re both down for a bit.

Rolling Chaos Theory gives Statlander two but she has to power out of the Mone Statement. They flip around into a Backstabber to give Mone a breather and a middle rope Meteora hits Statlander for two. Back up and a hard clothesline gives Statlander two, followed by a spinning Falcon Arrow for the same. Mone reverses Staturday Night Fever into a tornado DDT but the frog splash is countered into an F5.

Statlander’s bad knee is fine enough to miss a 450, with Mone elbowing away at the knee. A frog splash onto the knee gets two and a pair of Backstabbers into the Mone Maker…gets two. Another Mone Maker is countered, as is another Staturday Night Fever attempt. Instead Mone sends her throat first into the middle rope and gets a rollup for the pin at 19:24.

Rating: B-. This was another match that went longer than it should have been with Mone again not exactly living up to her hype. I’m not sure why Statlander needed to lose clean here, unless it was designed to make Mone into more of a star. It didn’t help that there was almost no chance that Statlander was going to win here and then the match was long and never really broke into that really good level.

Post match Statlander is helped out as Mone gets to do her dance.

We recap Jay White vs. Hangman Page in a rematch from last month where White won. Page doesn’t take kindly to that and cost White a match. The rematch is set, with Page threatening quite the insane response.

Jay White vs. Hangman Page

White grabs a headlock before striking away, only to get suplexed over the top. Page slams the knee into the apron and the post before grabbing a DDT onto the leg. A belly to belly gives Page two but White dropkicks the leg for a breather. White grabs a DDT for two but a fall away slam sends him crashing into the corner, banging up the leg again in the process.

Page sends him flying again, only for White to sweep the leg and send it into the post. A top rope superplex gives White two but Page goes after the leg again. Back up and they trade forearms until a bridging German suplex drops White for two more. They go to the apron where a dragon suplex plants Page on the apron and they fight up the ramp. This time Page sends him off the ramp for a crash to the floor.

Page grabs the ankle lock so White crawls back to the apron, with Page throwing him away. White dives back in to beat the count, only for Page to grab the ankle lock again. That’s broken up again and a swinging Rock Bottom gives White two. Another Page ankle lock is reversed into a kneebar, sending Page over to the ropes. A pair of Deadeyes gives Page two but the ankle lock is countered into the Blade Runner to give White the pin at 19:53.

Rating: B+. Page going with the ankle locks (which he couldn’t do well, which isn’t surprising as it’s not something he does) was a bit weird but these two had a heck of a match with both of them going back and forth. I’m more than a bit surprised at White winning, but it’s nice to have someone fresh coming up in the upper midcard scene. Maybe just don’t have Page lose again and again?

Post match Page jumps White again and drops Christopher Daniels for trying to break it up.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher. Ospreay is still dealing with the Don Callis Family and is now having to face his former friend Fletcher, who is ready to prove himself as the real star.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

Don Callis is here with Fletcher. They charge at each other to start and slug it out with Ospreay knocking him to the floor. Ospreay follows him to the floor for a fight over a suplex onto the steps before going to the apron. Fletcher gets in a whip into the corner, setting up a brainbuster to plant Ospreay on the floor. Back in and Fletcher kicks away, setting up a hanging DDT for two.

A dragon sleeper keeps Ospreay in trouble but he slips out and hits a running boot in the corner. That means a big flip dive to the floor to drop Fletcher again, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm for two back inside. A torture rack powerbomb gives Ospreay two but the Oscutter is countered into a neckbreaker. Ospreay’s sitout powerbomb gets two and they both need a breather.

Ospreay is back up with a Stundog Millionaire and a Tombstone on the floor knocks Fletcher silly again. In case you’re wondering, Fletcher is on his feet again in a minute, only for Ospreay to hit a Spiral Tap for two. They both escape powerbomb attempts until Ospreay grabs a running Spanish Fly. The Oscutter is broken up but Ospreay settles for a Styles Clash for two more.

The running elbow to the face gives Ospreay two more so they go to the apron. Stormbreaker is countered into a jumping Tombstone from the apron onto the steps. Back in (with Ospreay standing 1:12 later) and a piledriver gives Fletcher two, because of course that’s not the finish. The Tiger Driver 91 is reversed into a rollup for two before Fletcher drops him with a hard shot. A Helluva Kick into a brainbuster onto the corner (seems familiar) finishes Ospreay clean at 24:15.

Rating: B. As much as I can’t fathom the idea of Ospreay losing (again) clean, and as much as I want to scream at the idea of his story with the Don Callis Family continuing (AGAIN), I’m too busy shaking my head at a jumping Tombstone from the apron to the steps, followed by Fletcher’s piledriver finisher, getting two.

That’s a hospital spot (Heck, Samoa Joe was slowly sent through a cheap wall and has been gone for…four months now?), or at least the end of the match, but why let something like dropping him head first onto the steel finish Ospreay? I can accept the idea of giving someone a big rub, but this company needs some top heroes soon and having Ospreay lose over and over is quite the choice right now.

Here is Mina Shirakawa to introduce Mariah May (with quite the black eye) for her Champagne Championship Celebration. May talks about how she has deserved this but she has dominated this division and no woman alive can touch her. Shirakawa doesn’t seem convinced but they do the toast anyway and then dance, with May grabbing the champagne bottle. Shirakawa sees it coming though and spears her off the stage through a table. This really didn’t need to be on pay per view.

We recap Jack Perry defending the TNT Title against Daniel Garcia. Perry is the brooding tough champion and Garcia is kind of sick of it while wanting a title of his own. Match on.

TNT Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Jack Perry

Garcia is challenging and gets a special entrance with a message from his mother telling him to finish what he started. They fight over a lockup into the corner to start and it’s an early standoff. Perry chases him out to the floor before they trade places, with Garcia wanting Perry to get back in. Back in and Perry bails to the floor again and they switch places again, only fr Garcia to send him into the barricade.

Garcia hammers away but gets dropped on his head on the floor, followed by a hanging DDT to make it worse. Back in and a top rope dropkick to the back of the head gives Perry two. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on but Garcia suplexes his way to freedom. They slug it out until Perry pulls him into the Snare Trap, sending Garcia over to the ropes.

Perry drops him onto the apron and goes over to shove guest commentator Matt Menard. A powerbomb puts Garcia through the timekeeper’s table but he dives back in to beat the count at nine. Garcia fires himself up and hits a clothesline, followed by a butterfly suplex into the corner.

Back up and Perry lawn darts him into the middle buckle and grabs the belt…which he throws at Garcia for a free shot. The referee takes it away so Perry can get in a low blow, setting up the running knee for two. Another running knee is countered into a piledriver to give Garcia two, leaving Perry to pose again. Garcia piledrives him again and grabs the Dragon Slayer for the tap and the title at 18:26.

Rating: B-. As annoying as Perry’s stupid posing has become, the end result was quite the relief as Perry finally loses the title. I’m not sure if Garcia is going to be the next big thing, but he needed to win something sooner than later. Throw in the fact that he took the title from Perry and it’s addition by subtraction if nothing else.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet for the International Title. Takeshita cost Ricochet his previous title shots and then won the title himself, so now Ricochet wants another chance.

International Title: Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita is defending and Don Callis is on commentary. Feeling out process to start until Ricochet grabs some armdrags. The armbar doesn’t slow Takeshita down that much so Ricochet goes with a more successful dropkick. Back up and Ricochet misses a charge to fall out to the floor, where Takeshita sends him into the barricade. They get back inside where Takeshita starts in on the back with some hard knees and a spinning side slam for two.

Some forearms to the back keep Ricochet in trouble, to the point where he can’t get in a springboard. Takeshita drops him again for a double arm crank but this time Ricochet fights up for a rolling dropkick. A springboard clothesline drops Takeshita and a jumping enziguri sends him outside for the running corkscrew dive. That’s enough for Callis to get off commentary as Ricochet’s handspring is countered into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more.

Takeshita hits a forearm but his German suplex is countered into a rollup, followed by a hard clothesline to leave both of them down. Ricochet gets caught up top with a release German superplex (geez) and another clothesline gives Takeshita two of his own. That lets Takeshita go up but he takes too long, allowing Ricochet to snap off a super hurricanrana.

The shooting star press gets two but the Spirit Gun misses Takeshita. Raging Fire and Vertigo are both countered and Takeshita misses the running knee. Ricochet kicks him in the head but takes to long going up, allowing Takeshita to crotch him down. The super Raging Fire retains the title at 19:17.

Rating: B. This is what Ricochet does, as he got in a bunch of offense, only to come up short in the end. The good thing is that the match worked well, with Takeshita working on the back to slow down the high flying. Ricochet fought back as much as he could but ultimately the back slowed him down enough for Takeshita to catch him. Good match, though, it was hard to imagine Ricochet winning.

We recap Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley. Strickland isn’t interested in joining the Hurt Syndicate so Lashley and company attacked him. Strickland fought back and the match was made.

Bobby Lashley vs. Swerve Strickland

MVP, Shelton Benjamin and Prince Nana are here too. Lashley starts fast by slamming him down and choking away in the corner. The spinning Dominator gets two, with Lashley pulling him up, which isn’t sitting well with commentary. A rather delayed suplex plans Strickland again and Lashley sens him into the post to cut off a comeback bid.

We hit the chinlock, which as usual fires Strickland right back up. Lashley charges into a boot in the corner but a Benjamin distraction lets him run Strickland over again. Strickland fights back again but Benjamin grabs his foot. This time Benjamin gets tossed, only for Lashley to plant Strickland onto the apron.

Lashley gets sent into the steps a few times, followed by a DDT to send him into the apron. A quick Swerve Stomp sends Lashley through the announcers’ table, followed by a regular one for two back inside. Strickland stops to glare at MVP though and gets suplexed by Lashley as a result. The spear through the barricade drops Strickland again, followed by another spear and the Hurt Lock for the win at Strickland is out.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up here but this was more about Lashley being too much for Strickland. That made for a nice story with Lashley looking like the new monster, but it’s another loss for Strickland, who has had a lot of those in big matches lately. In other words, another dominant heel, which is the running theme throughout this promotion.

Post match the Hurt Syndicate beats Strickland and Nana down again.

We recap Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Title against Orange Cassidy. Moxley is the new big evil and trying to remake the company so Cassidy is here to, reluctantly, stand up and come after the title/power.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy

Moxley, with Marina Shafir, is defending while Cassidy is intentionally on his own. Cassidy starts fast with some Orange Punches to knock Moxley outside for the dive. Cassidy hammers away on the announcers’ table until Moxley gets in a crotching onto the barricade. They fight into the crowd and then back to ringside with the beating continuing. With Cassidy busted open, Moxley sends him right back to the floor, where Shafir gets in a cheap shot.

Back in and Moxley bites at the cut, setting up a Gotch style piledriver for two. They go outside for the third time with Moxley ramming him into the announcers’ table. Back in again and Cassidy tells him to hammer away, setting up the Kimura. Cassidy makes the ropes but gets knocked into the barricade for his efforts. Moxley puts him on top and rakes the back before knocking him out of the air for two.

Cassidy finally knocks him of the top and hits a diving DDT for a much needed hope spot. That’s too much offense though as Moxley takes him down with a cutter. They forearm it out with Cassidy telling him to bring it, earning himself a clothesline. Back up and an Orange Punch gets two so here are the Death Riders. JR: “Throw their a** out. But they haven’t done anything. Well you know they’re going to.”

Cue the Conglomeration to get rid of the Riders, with Willow Nightingale running in to take out Marina Shafir. Cassidy briefcases Moxley in the head for two but in the melee, Wheeler Yuta runs in and knees Cassidy down. The Death Rider (from the Death Rider) retains the title at 19:22.

Rating: C+. And so, after weeks of Cassidy not looking like a threat and Moxley barely ever looking worried, Moxley mostly crushed Cassidy here, with Cassidy’s few hope spots being cut off in short order. The one big spot that Cassidy had was hitting Moxley in the face with a briefcase and Moxley kicked out of that on his own. As usual, Moxley is presented as the biggest, toughest monster in the company and it’s hard to fathom anyone actually being able to beat him.

Post match the beatdown is on and Yuta pours mouthwash on Cassidy’s face. Cue Hangman Page to stare at Moxley but Christian Cage runs in to lay Moxley out. With Page gone, Cage tries to cash in but Jay White comes in to take him out. The Death Riders jump White and leave, with White following them. As the villains get to their truck, a car smashes into it before they can get in. They steal a car and leave, with Darby Allin popping out of the car that hit the truck to end the show. Forgive me for not being overly interested in someone who lost to Moxley at Grand Slam and to Castagnoli this week on Dynamite.

Overall Rating: B-. This promotion needs to lighten up and let the fans have something to believe in for a good while. Of the nine matches on the main card, the villains won six of them (again) including the last three, with Daniel Garcia, Jay White and Private Party being the heroes of the company. Throw in Allin, who has regularly been crushed by the Death Riders, and there isn’t much to be hopeful for around here. Will Ospreay could be the hero, but he is still with the Don Callis Family stuff for whatever reason.

That doesn’t leave much on the good sign, as it feels like we’re just waiting on the Elite to save us. Everything feels so serious and now we wait on what feels like Allin losing, likely at Worlds End, to get us to the new year for more Death Riders. That’s not exactly encouraging as the dark times continue around here. Just find something to give us some hope, as the Death Riders stuff is really bringing things down.

And finally, as usual, DANG this show was exhausting. Counting Zero Hour, it ran about 5.5 hours with no matches on the main card being shorter than 13 minutes. That didn’t so much make me enjoy the show but rather make me want to take a long nap. It’s a long night of the villains going over time after time and I didn’t want to see any more from AEW for a good while. They might want to work on that whole having fun thing again, as it was a nice feeling to have at the time.

Results
Anna Jay b. Deonna Purrazzo – Rollup
Buddy Matthews b. The Beast Mortos, Dante Martin and Komander – Stomp to Martin
Big Boom AJ b. QT Marshall – Powerbomb
Private Party b. Kings Of The Black Throne, The Acclaimed and The Outrunners – Gin & Juice to Caster
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Roderick Strong – Salt Of The Earth
Mercedes Mone b. Kris Statlander – Throat into the middle rope
Jay White b. Hangman Page – Blade Runner
Kyle Fletcher b. Will Ospreay – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
Daniel Garcia b. Jack Perry – Dragon Slayer
Konosuke Takeshita b. Ricochet – Super Raging Fire
Bobby Lashley b. Swerve Strickland – Hurt Lock

 

 

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We’re back to one of the main four pay per views but things are only going so well for AEW right now. The promotion is focused on the Death Riders and various people trying to rise up against them, with Orange Cassidy getting the shot against Jon Moxley this week. Other than that, there are some grudge and title matches filling out the card, though it’s only looking so interesting. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Big Boom AJ vs. QT Marshall

This is the Costco Guys match as AEW gets what I guess passes for a celebrity these days. I have a grand total of no idea who these people are and from their limited appearances, I have no reason to believe I’m going to be interested, but I’m also the definition of not the audience for something like this. That being said, this is also a great example of something that should be harmless.

Of course AJ wins here as there is no reason for him not to. Marshall is little more than a comedy goof and he’ll get beaten up by the kids here so AJ can win. I’m sure AEW will hype up the appearances from the social media celebrities and it’ll have a limited impact, but that is the kind of thing that has been done in wrestling for years. The match will be little more than a detail and that’s all it needs to be.

Zero Hour: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Anna Jay

This was added at the last minute, which is pretty normal around AEW, though in this case the two of them have had some issues lately. Jay turned down Purrazzo and the Vendetta’s offer to help her against Mariah May and now Purrazzo is ready to get some revenge. She’s also the home area star so there should be quite the crowd reaction, which is a bit of an odd choice for a villain.

I’ll go with Purrazzo to win here, as she is not only the hometown star but she also has Taya Valkyrie to help her out. The Vendetta hasn’t really done anything so giving the team a win here should make sense. While it would make sense for Jay to win here, as she’s lost lately and given her up and down win/loss record throughout her entire time in AEW, it should be Purrazzo going over.

Zero Hour: Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Dante Martin vs. Buddy Matthews

Ah there it is, as we have the match with no particular need to be on the show added at the last minute. It feels like little more than a Rampage main event and something similar probably has been more than once. If nothing else, it has been at least a week since we’ve seen Komander and that is just far too infrequently for someone who seemingly has to be around so often.

I’ll take Matthews to win here, as he’s the only one of the four who hasn’t been beaten into the ground. Mortos needs a win to boost himself back up a bit but that isn’t something you often see around here. Komander and Martin are pretty firmly stuck in their spots and not going anywhere, so there is pretty much no reason to believe that either of them has a chance. Matthews should win here, though he should have won multiple times before and rarely does so it’s fairly up in the air.

Jay White vs. Hangman Page

This is a match that should be one sided on paper, but the more I think about it, the less sure I am. White has come back and hit the ground running, doing some of his best singles work since coming to AEW. That being said, Page feels like he is taking quite the downgrade in this feud, as he went from headlining a pay per view to trading wins with White. It’s not terrible, but it feels like Page should be doing something better.

I’ll go with Page winning here to end the feud, as he could easily be moved into the main event scene again. While there is a chance that White wins here and Page teams up with Swerve Strickland to fight off the Bang Bang Gang, Page needs the win here more. If nothing else he needs to it move him on to something bigger, and in theory that is what happens here.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

For the life of me I do not get why Ospreay is still stuck with the Don Callis Family feud, yet here we are in what should be the blowoff to the whole thing. AEW has tried as hard as they can to make Fletcher into a bigger thing and while it has certainly not been a failure, Ospreay still feels like a far bigger star and should win here to allow him to move on to anything else.

For the sake of my sanity, I’ll go with Ospreay winning here, even if the Family interfering to extend the feud would not surprise me in the slightest. Ospreay is someone who should be coming after Jon Moxley and the World Title, but first he has to get through this. It feels like that has been the case for most of his AEW run and it would be nice to see him get out of that cycle for once.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Kris Statlander

This story has been more about Mone treating Kamille like a loser and in theory that could lead to the two splitting in the near future. That could set up Kamille taking the title away from Mone down the line, which would mean that Mone needs to retain it here. That’s not the most thrilling story and certainly isn’t doing Kamille any favors at the moment, but it should make things easier to predict here.

For now, I can’t imagine Mone losing the title as it seems like AEW wants her to have some kind of an epic reign. At some point she is going to lose the title and it might be to Kamille down the line, but for now she is going to beat Statlander to retain. Statlander needs a win of some kind, but for now it looks like she is going to lose as Mone continues to not be anywhere near as special as AEW seems to see her.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Daniel Garcia

For the first time in a good while, I actually have some hope about Perry losing the title. Garcia is another name AEW seems interested in pushing as a big deal and at some point that means he is going to have to win something. I’m not sure if it is going to be the TNT Title, but it would not shock me to see AEW go in that direction. If nothing else, a break from Perry as champion could be quite the benefit.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s where AEW is going to go as I’ll take Perry to retain the title. AEW seems to think he’s some kind of great character and a huge deal, so for some reason that is what we are going to see or the time being. The match should be good and Garcia should win, but ultimately this feels like another case of Perry being the unstoppable force who leaves with the title. Again.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita(c) vs. Ricochet

And now we have the video game match of the show which has all of the potential to be incredibly fun. These two could absolutely tear the house down and I could go for seeing what they have the chance to do. Takeshita finally won a title and is now getting the chance to show what he can do on top. Ricochet is someone who can have a heck of a match with anyone and there is a chance to do something great here.

I’ll go with Takeshita to retain here, as there is almost no reason to have him lose the title so soon. Ricochet probably shouldn’t be losing another high profile match so quickly into his time in AEW, but losing to Takeshita is hardly a bad thing. At the end o the day, Takeshita is someone that AEW should be getting behind and it would be nice to see him getting a win on the big stage here, especially over a talent like Ricochet.

Tag Team Titles: Private Party(c) vs. House Of Black vs. Outrunners vs. Acclaimed

This has the potential to be the big wild party match with everyone going nuts and getting in all of their usual stuff. That should make for a rather fun showcase, even though the match is rather light on villains. The question here is what the twist might be, as there is little reason to believe that things are going to go off without a hitch. Well and who leaves with the titles of course.

Despite Private Party not exactly feeling like a great team before they won the tiles, I’ll take them to retain here, likely with FTR turning on the Outrunners to cost them the titles. It should make for a good match either way, and the kind of entertaining match that the show needs. I could see the House winning the titles, but this feels like Private Party getting a pay per view win rather than the usual on television.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Roderick Strong

I have no idea why this match is taking place. The Adam Cole vs. MJF feud is long since dead but for some reason we are now going to see MJF vs. Cole’s most of the time friend. Strong’s backstory involving his parents was dropped into this feud at the last minute and it didn’t exactly feel right. I’m not sure how well the match is going to go, but the story definitely needs a boost.

There is no reason for MJF to lose here as he still has the showdown with Cole coming, so I’ll go with MJF getting the win. At the end of the day, MJF has been gone for a long time now and he is going to need a win to boost him up before the likely match at World’s End, as AEW would love to do that whole “it’s been a year since the stunning betrayal” deal. That doesn’t make for a good story, but it’s likely the story we’re getting.

Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley

I saved one of the best for near the end as this has been the match that interests me the most. Lashley is the new monster but Strickland has been stepping his game up to fight him. This included a heck of a segment this week on Dynamite with Strickland taking Lashley and the rest of the Hurt Syndicate out to stand tall. That made him look like a star, but that might be it.

I just can’t imagine Lashley losing his first big match so we’ll go with the logical choice of him taking Strickland out here. There is a good chance that the feud continues with Strickland getting some help, possibly in the form of Hangman Page, to make things that much more nutty. For now though, Lashley needs to win, with Strickland giving it his all in defeat.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Orange Cassidy

And then there’s this, which just does not feel special. The Death Riders have been dominating the promotion for the last few months and it does not feel like we are anywhere close to that story being over. Cassidy is the first challenger to the title and while he is someone who could be a threat to Moxley, there is a heck of a gap between that and actually winning the title.

There is almost no chance that Cassidy wins here, as Moxley gets to claim another victim and move on to something else, possibly Darby Allin, down the line. The Death Riders are going to be the big focus of the company for a good while to come, and that includes them winning here. Hopefully something big happens in the match, as otherwise it just isn’t feeling that important.

Overall Thoughts

This show isn’t terrible, but it also isn’t jumping off the page. There are a few matches that I want to see, but I’m having a hard time getting interested in where things go after. That has been the case with AEW for a good while and unfortunately I’m not sure I can see it changing. A lot of this show feels like it is designed to set up things for later, and that doesn’t make for the most interesting show from here. Odds are it will be good as most AEW pay per views are, but the whole promotion needs something fresh and soon.

 

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Smackdown
Date: May 3, 2024
Location: LDLC Arena, Lyon-Decines, France
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We have a rare taped show this week as the show is in France before tomorrow’s Backlash. That means we could have something interesting here, but there is always the chance that not much happens here and everything is built around the special atmosphere. Backlash could use the build and maybe that is what we get this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Bayley/Naomi/Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL/Tiffany Stratton

Naomi (in French flag gear) starts with Sane and sends her into the corner for the running basement dropkick. Belair comes in with a handspring moonsault and a marching suplex as the fans are WAY into everything. Bayley tags herself in and Belair is not happy, with Stratton taking Bayley down for two to make it worse.

We take a break and come back with Bayley still in trouble, including Asuka hitting a sliding knee for two. Stratton’s handspring elbow in the corner sets up a handspring elbow for two of her own. Bayley fights up and sends Stratton into the corner, allowing the tag off to Cargill for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Asuka missile dropkicks Cargill. Kai adds a scorpion kick but gets caught in the KOD to give Belair the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C+. This was the all star tag match with the point being as many people in there as possible. Damage CTRL is flailing but Kai taking the fall is the best way out of this whole thing for them. The important part was keeping the winners looking strong and not having Stratton take the fall on her way into the title shot at Backlash. Nice opener here and Belair/Cargill feel like major stars.

A-Town Down Under is ready for their first title defense and insult the French fans.

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill want a win and to be done with Damage CTRL. Bayley doesn’t seem impressed.

We look at Carmelo Hayes being drafted to Smackdown last week and coming after Cody Rhodes in a losing effort in last week’s main event. Hayes did show promise though.

Carmelo Hayes is entering the King Of The Ring tournament when Bobby Lashley comes in to offer him any advice he can. Hayes appreciates it but he has it figured out. Lashley points out that he lost last week, with Hayes asking when Lashley took his own shot. Lashley tells him to watch out who he disrespects.

We look at the Smackdown Draft Picks, with the rosters locking this Monday.

New Catch Republic vs. Authors Of Pain

The Final Testament is here with the Authors. Dunne dropkicks at Akam to start and grabs a mostly ineffective armbar. Bate comes in and strikes away but gets powered into the corner so Rezar comes in for a fight over a suplex. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside for a flip dive from Bate. Back in and Bate is suplexed into the corner to put him in trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Rezar grabbing a bearhug but Bate slips out and hits a dropkick. A few more shots are enough to bring Dunne back in for the comeback as the fans are going nuts with this stuff. Everything breaks down and Bate manages the airplane spin on Akam, setting up Dunne’s running knee for two. Scarlett offers a distraction so Kross can take Bate out, leaving Dunne to walk into the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: B-. As usual, the power vs. speed formula worked well here as both teams did their parts. This could have gone either way as they’re both heading to Raw so the story might not be over. The Authors are good in the monster role and the Republic knows how to be the scrappy underdogs. Throw in the impressive airplane spin and this works.

We recap Kevin Owens/Randy Orton vs. the Bloodline.

Paul Heyman can’t get Nick Aldis to call off the match so what happens is on Aldis’ hands. Aldis: “Is that from the Tribal Chief?” Heyman reveals he hasn’t spoken to Roman Reigns since Wrestlemania, meaning he pulled Reigns out of the Draft. Aldis isn’t pleased and makes Heyman the guest on the RKOrton Show.

Here are Kevin Owens and Randy Orton for the RKOrton Show. They waste no time in sucking up to the French fans before saying how disappointing it is that their first guest is Paul Heyman. Cue Heyman, who threatens them with Bloodline violence. Owens wants to know who the real Tribal Chief even is anymore, but here is the Bloodline for the brawl. The villains are cleared out and we have another segment designed to get people on the show, which is fine.

The Street Profits want the Tag Team Titles.

Angel vs. LA Knight

The rest of Legado del Fantasma is here with Angel and after another weird QR code, we’re ready to go. Knight starts fast with a neckbreaker to send Angel outside, where he is sent into the announcers’ table on the floor. A corner clothesline and suplex give Knight two inside and we take a break. Back with Berto’s distraction letting Angel get in a shot of his own, only to have Knight clothesline him down. The BFT finishes for Knight at 6:42. Not enough shown to rate but Knight gets a win to get him back on track after losing to AJ Styles.

Post match Knight enters the King of the Ring but Santos Escobar seems to do the same. Violence is teased but Knight hits the catchphrase and leaves instead.

We look back at Carlito being revealed as Dragon Lee’s attacker.

Carlito says he wanted one more Wrestlemania moment but Lee got it instead. That wasn’t cool, so he….gets jumped by Lee instead.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. A-Town Down Under

The Profits are challenging and enter through the crowd. A quick misdirection gets things going and Dawkins is pounded down into the corner. That doesn’t last long as it’s quickly off to Ford for the dropkick and Waller is planted with a Rock Bottom. The Swanton sets up the big flip dive as the Profits get to pose.

We take a break and come back with Ford kicking Theory and hitting a springboard elbow on Waller. Everything breaks down and Waller walks the ropes for a missile dropkick. The Sky High into a Doomsday Blockbuster gets two on Waller and even commentary has to praise the kickout. The referee tries to get rid of Ford, leaving Theory to roll Dawkins up, with Waller coming in for a Downward Spiral to retain the titles at 8:06.

Rating: C+. Even though the champs won the titles about a month ago, I thought there was a chance of a title change here to make the show feel special. As it is, it’s nice to have Theory and Waller pick up a win over a credible team. The tag divisions are going to look a lot different starting next week and it’s a good move to have the new champs start their reign with a win like this one.

Here are Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles for a face to face staredown before their title match at Backlash. Styles thinks Cody is overlooking him because he is all distracted by everything going on around him. Cody loves the spotlight because everyone wanted Dusty Rhodes’ son. Then the pressure got to be to much and he left.

Styles came here and people didn’t want him, so he had to prove himself over and over. Now he is ready to prove that he is that phenomenal (the fans REALLY approve). Cody talks about everything he has done to get here including a bunch of mistakes. Now though, he is ready to prove he had what it takes and that is too sweet. The handshake results in Styles slapping him in the face.

The Bloodline and Randy Orton/Kevin Owens are brawling in the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They were in a weird spot with this show as they’re coming up on a pay per view that does not feel important in the slightest and this show didn’t do much to help it. This show felt much more like a house show than anything else, but these fans never get to see this kind of thing live so they were going nuts all night. The wrestling was good, but there was almost nothing you needed to see here, with Heyman’s reveal about not talking to Roman Reigns since Wrestlemania being the only important point. Not a bad show, but absolutely not necessary viewing.

Results
Bayley/Naomi/Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill b. Damage CTRL/Tiffany Stratton – KOD to Kai
Authors Of Pain b. New Catch Republic – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Bate
LA Knight b. Angel – BFT
A-Town Down Under b. Street Profits – Downward Spiral to Dawkins

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: April 26, 2024
Location: Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

It’s time for the Draft and that means we will be seeing sixteen picks tonight, which could make for quite the shakeup. Only half of the roster is available to be selected tonight with the other half taking place on Monday Night Raw. We are also eight days away from Backlash and the show could use a boost. Let’s get to it.

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

Note that I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper seats, looking straight at a corner post with the entrance on my right.

Here are the Draft Rules:

• Raw, Smackdown and NXT stars are eligible
• Four rounds tonight, Six rounds on Raw
• Four picks per round
• Champions are protected
• Smackdown picks first tonight, Raw picks first on Monday
• The rosters lock May 6

Paul Heyman explains that Roman Reigns is voluntarily pulling out of the Draft because he doesn’t want to hog the #1 spot while he is not going to be around for a good while. That means Nick Aldis needs to make a new star and Heyman is intrigued.

NXT is excited about potential callups.

Corey Graves is in the ring to moderate a contract signing between AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes. Styles says it is time for some Georgia boys to fight. Their paths have not crossed before but Styles respects Cody for making a name for himself outside of WWE, just like Cody did. Styles learned a lot from Dusty Rhodes, including how to carry the title. At Backlash, we find out if Cody can carry it.

Styles signs, leaving Cody to talk about how there is respect between them. But when he signs this contract, it becomes a must win. Cody signs, leaving Styles to say the title reign ends at Backlash. Not much to this, but it’s not supposed to be some big epic story. That being said (and I wish I could take credit for this), at some point Cody is going to face someone who didn’t know Dusty and I have no idea what they are going to talk about.

With Styles gone, here is HHH to announce the first picks, with Cody joining him.

Smackdown
1. Bianca Belair
2. Carmelo Hayes (From NXT)

Monday Night Raw
1. Jey Uso
2. Seth Rollins

Cue Carmelo Hayes, who (after shrugging off some WHOOP THAT TRICK chants, a reference to his rivalry with Trick Williams in NXT) has been hearing Cody talk about how if you come at the king, you best not miss. Hayes never misses, and he’s shooting his shot against Cody tonight. Cody is in and we have a main event.

Legado del Fantasma vs. LWO

That would be Berto/Angelo vs. Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee in this instance. Berto drops Lee to start but Lee is right back up with some elbows to the face. Angel low bridges Lee to the floor though and we take an early break. Back with Rey getting the hot tag and hitting a top rope seated senton. Berto is sent to the floor and it’s the 619 into Project Dragon to give Lee the pin on Angel at 5:26. Not enough shown to rate but it was a quick and to the point match, which really didn’t need a break.

Post match Santos Escobar pops up to say he is not a liar. That’s why he has had Elektra Lopez find the security footage of Dragon Lee being attacked. The footage shows Carlito, of the LWO that is, attacking Lee, and then jumping back in to act like he found him. Carlito lays out the LWO, making him the heel that he should have been a LONG time ago.

Bron Breakker vs. Cedric Alexander

Spear finishes Alexander at 15 seconds.

We look at Tiffany Stratton breaking up last week’s Women’s Title match.

Stratton tells Nick Aldis she should get the next Women’s Title match but Aldis has another idea. Bayley has suggested Naomi vs. Stratton for the title shot, with Stratton suggesting that Bayley be at ringside. Deal.

Here are Michelle McCool and Torrie Wilson for the next picks.

Smackdown
3. Randy Orton
4. Nia Jax

Monday Night Raw
3. Bron Breakker
4. Liv Morgan

The fact that Jax has “former model” as the third fact in her bio tells you a lot. Yes she’s a model, but apparently there wasn’t a third thing about her career worth mentioning.

We look at the Bloodline attacking Kevin Owens last week.

The Bloodline arrives and Solo Sikoa asks Paul Heyman if they have been drafted. Heyman recaps the Roman Reigns issue and says no one has drafted the Bloodline because they don’t know who it includes. Tama Tonga shows up and here is Kevin Owens to brawl with him.

Here is Bianca Belair for a chat. She is ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Jade Cargill to continue ending Damage CTRL. Cue the Kabuki Warriors but Jade Cargill cuts them off. Cue Kevin Owens and Tama Tonga to brawl to the ring, with Solo Sikoa joining them. Randy Orton comes in for the save and the Bloodline bails after a brawl.

Here are the Dudley Boyz for round three.

Smackdown

5. LA Knight
6. Bloodline

Monday Night Raw

5. Ricochet
6. Sheamus

Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi

Bayley is at ringside. Naomi starts fast so Stratton bails to the floor, where Naomi hits a baseball slide. Back in and Stratton hits a running hip attack to the back of the head, only for Naomi to tie her up in the ropes. A jumping faceplant sends Stratton outside and Naomi dives onto her as we take a break. Back with Stratton getting two off a spinebuster but Naomi grabs a headscissors driver for the same. They both grab swinging faceplants for a double knockdown…and here is Nia Jax to jump Bayley on commentary. Naomi goes out for the save and gets sent into the post for the DQ at 6:18.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have much time to get anywhere but the biggest problem is Jax being around. She brought things down on Raw and now she is going to get to do it again here. That is hardly the best news imaginable and it wouldn’t shock me to see her added to the title match at Backlash. Either that or get the next one after that. Either way, it doesn’t give me hope for the future of the division.

Post match Jax leaves and Stratton hits Bayley and Naomi with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

The Street Profits and B Fab are ready to win the Tag Team Titles next week. Cue A Town Down Under, who mock the Cincinnati Bengals, and get scared off by Bobby Lashley.

The Final Testament attacks the New Catch Republic. Karrion Kross promises to continue the violence no matter what.

Here are Teddy Long and JBL for the final picks.

Smackdown

7. AJ Styles
8. Andrade

Monday Night Raw

7. Alpha Academy
8. Kiana James (From NXT)

Here are the final picks:

Smackdown
1. Bianca Belair
2. Carmelo Hayes (From NXT)
3. Randy Orton
4. Nia Jax
5. LA Knight
6. Bloodline
7. AJ Styles
8. Andrade

Monday Night Raw
1. Jey Uso
2. Seth Rollins
3. Bron Breakker
4. Liv Morgan
5. Ricochet
6. Sheamus
7. Alpha Academy
8. Kiana James (From NXT)

Video on Kiana James (which is good, as the fans were silent after her name was called).

James is in NXT and is ready to show what got her this far. Shawn Michaels comes in for the hug.

Nick Aldis announces Bayley defending against Tiffany Stratton and Naomi at Backlash. He brings in Teddy Long to announce the Bloodline vs. Randy Orton/Kevin Owens.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Cody Rhodes

Non-title. Hayes starts fast with a springboard clothesline, only to get knocked outside as we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Hayes escaping a headlock and elbowing Rhodes into the corner. They trade chops in the corner with Rhodes getting the better of things, only to have Hayes come back with a spinning faceplant.

The springboard DDT gets two but Rhodes is back with a Disaster Kick for two. Rhodes goes old school with a running powerslam for two more, followed by the Cody Cutter for the same. Hayes is back with the First 48 (Codebreaker) but they both try springboards at the same time and miss (Rhodes seemed to come up favoring his shoulder). Rhodes has had it and grabs Cross Rhodes for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: B-. The only thing that matters right now is Rhodes’ shoulder, which hopefully is just banged up and not seriously hurt. They went home in a hurry after the landing but at the same time, they were only going to be able to go so much longer. Hayes looked good here, but that has been the case with his previous Smackdown previews. Nice main event here, as Hayes gets to rub elbows with the big star.

AJ Styles comes in after the match for a rather intense handshake but no violence as the show ends.

Overall Rating: C+. Obviously this was a show where the wrestling wasn’t the point, but this was kind of a dull show. They did a bunch of stuff for Backlash and it still isn’t enough to shake off the feeling that it is a glorified house show. The Draft stuff was just kind of there, with Hayes and Breakker feeling important and not much else. I didn’t dislike the show, but I was expecting a good bit more than what we got here.

Results
LWO b. Legado del Fantasma – Project Dragon to Angel
Bron Breakker b. Cedric Alexander – Spear
Naomi b. Tiffany Stratton via DQ when Nia Jax interfered
Cody Rhodes b. Carmelo Hayes – Cross Rhodes

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: April 12, 2024
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

It’s the first Smackdown after Wrestlemania and the big story is Cody Rhodes finishing the story, meaning it is time to find out what is next. That could go in a variety of different directions and after Raw, we aren’t likely to see the Rock anytime soon. I’m curious about where this an everything else goes so let’s get to it.

Here are Night One and Night Two of Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

We open with a quick Wrestlemania recap.

Here is Cody Rhodes to quite the hero’s welcome, including the YOU DESERVE IT chant that delays the start of his chat. Cody talks about how the Rock interrupted him on Raw and it made him think of someone from Detroit. That someone would say “who the h*** told you tonight was open mic night b****?”

After that line from Cody’s wife Brandi Rhodes from a few years ago on AEW Dynamite, Cody apologizes for the swearing and talks about the Rock handing him something we couldn’t see. Cody doesn’t say what it was but says that with Rock going off to Hollywood, he’s in the rear view mirror. That means it is time to get ready for Backlash in France, where he will be facing one of six wrestlers.

Cody goes over the six options (Santos Escobar, Rey Mysterio, LA Knight, AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley and Kevin Owens) and says in some cases you need to find out who the better man is. We are sold out here in Detroit and he is no longer the hunter but rather the hunted. To those six wrestlers, if you come at the king, you better not miss. For those of you don’t know him, he was undesirable, became undeniable and is now undisputed. This was the short form victory speech from Cody, but he moved towards his first challenger so the wheels continue to turn.

The Bloodline finds Cody Rhodes’ dressing room, with Kevin Owens sticking his head out. Solo Sikoa says he’ll take care of this. Paul Heyman says winning and losing matters here and if you want the locker room back, the title has to come back to the Bloodline. That’s from the Tribal Chief, so Sikoa seems to rethink things.

Sheamus is coming back.

LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner faces the winner of another triple threat match for the Backlash title shot. After seeing a clip of Legado del Fantasma saying they didn’t attack Dragon Lee last week, it’s a brawl to start with Lashley taking over. Lashley and Knight head outside, with Escobar diving onto both of them as we take a break about a minute in.

Back with Lashley cleaning house until Knight knocks him to the floor. Knight takes over on Escobar…and here is Legado to beat him down, including a triple powerbomb. Lashley comes back in but gets beaten down as well, with the Street Profits coming in for the save. With everyone else gone, Knight hits the BFT to pin Escobar at 8:34.

Rating: C+. The action was good but there was a lot packed into this and that might not have been a good thing. Having that many people run in made the match feel secondary and that shouldn’t be the case in a match with some actual stakes. Knight winning should be setting up a rematch with AJ Styles next week and that is a good way to go.

The LWO doesn’t believe that Legado del Fantasma didn’t take out Dragon Lee. Rey Mysterio says he’s done a lot in recent years, but he thinks he has one more run as WWE Champion.

Here is the Bloodline for a chat. Paul Heyman talks about how things went badly at Wrestlemania and brings up Seth Rollins being the big problem. Rollins came in and distracted Reigns, who gave into temptation and went after Rollins so the focused Cody Rhodes could end everything. Cody Rhodes is the new undisputed WWE Champion, but like a phoenix rising from the ashes….and Solo Sikoa cuts Heyman off.

Sikoa says loses matter, so there are consequences to losing, right? Heyman agrees, with Sikoa saying consequences need change. Heyman panics, but Sikoa moves him aside to look at Jimmy Uso. Sikoa slowly hugs him, says he loves him, and then steps aside so the debuting Tama Tonga can jump Jimmy. The beatdown is on and Tama poses, with Sikoa pulling Heyman over to them (Heyman: “NO PLEASE!”).

Heyman gets to do the pose with them and tries to call Roman Reigns, but Sikoa knocks the phone out of his hand and stomps on it. Jimmy gets the chair wrapped around his head in the corner, where Sikoa says he loves him and the running hip attack (Heyman: “THIS IS NOT WHAT THE TRIBAL CHIEF WANTS!”) connects. The Bloodline leaves, with Heyman looking terrified/bewildered and Jimmy looking dead. This was tremendous, with Heyman selling things as only he can and a feeling of “when the Tribal Chief is away, the mice will play”. The Bloodline continues, and now we get to see where things go in the new direction.

Cameron Grimes vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker wrestles him around to start and hits the Steiner Line. Grimes manages some kicks out of the corner but goes up and is kind of World’s Strongest Slammed out of the air. The spear finishes for Breakker at 1:19. If Breakker can be healthy, he’s World Champion in a few years.

AJ Styles is ready for Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens and hopes LA Knight is watching.

Here is Bayley for a chat and the fans really seem to love her again. She talks about how good it feels to hear that again and how she has been champion before. This time feels different though because she beat Iyo Sky to get here. It represents the most talented locker room she has ever been a part of, but even more than that, it’s because of all of the fans. The fans never gave up on her and she thanks them so much.

Let’s start this off right by giving someone a new opportunity so here is Tiffany Stratton to interrupt. She isn’t sure why she wasn’t invited to Wrestlemania so she accepts the challenge. Bayley wasn’t talking about “Terry” because she had someone else in mind: Naomi. Tiffany: “NAOMI? She couldn’t win a title if it glowed in the dark!” Cue Naomi, with Tiffany saying she already beat her. Naomi takes the coat off and says Tiffany is trying her on the wrong night. She can’t accept Bayley’s challenge just yet because she needs to beat Tiffany right here and now. Bayley is slipping right back into her old style and that is great.

Paul Heyman checks on Jimmy Uso, when Tama Tonga comes in to say by orders of the Tribal Chief (Heyman is scared again), and Solo Sikoa comes in with the taped thumb. Tonga and Sikoa leave. Heyman: “What the h*** does that mean?” Lost and confused Heyman is working very well.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi

Non-title and Bayley is at ringside. We’re joined in progress with Naomi running the ropes but getting knocked down. Stratton takes her into the corner for some shots to the ribs but Naomi hits a knee to the face. Back up and Naomi hammers away, only to be sent outside for a crash as we take a break. We come back with Naomi hitting a middle rope spinning kick to the head. Stratton drops her again and hits a running double stomp for two of her own. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever misses though and Naomi grabs a rollup for the pin at 9:16.

Rating: C. They needed to give Naomi a win to set her up for her title shot and while I could have gone with it not being against Stratton, this was the right way to go. Stratton is going to be around the title picture sooner than later and it wouldn’t shock me to see her cause some mayhem when Naomi gets her shot.

Grayson Waller and Austin Theory brag about winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

The Street Profits and New Catch Republic are watching the video. Nick Aldis says we’ll find the next challengers next week.

Logan Paul brags about beating a legend in Randy Orton and a dunce in Kevin Owens. It was the biggest Wrestlemania ever and that’s because of him.

Chelsea Green/Piper Niven vs. Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair

This is Niven’s first match in about two months. Belair beats up Green to start so it’s off to Niven, who tries going after the braid. That doesn’t work at all as it’s off to Cargill, who hits Jaded for the pin at 1:22. Yeah that worked.

Kevin Owens takes a Detroit Tigers WWE Title belt and, after shoving a CM Punk shirt off the table, talks about how he’s going to win. Also, Dominik Mysterio sucks.

Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles

The winner gets LA Knight next week for the shot against Cody Rhodes at Backlash. Styles gets sent to the floor to start but he cuts off Rey’s dive without much trouble. Owens knocks Styles down and hits a Cannonball against the barricade. Rey drops Owens and we take an early break.

Back with Styles flipping Rey into a tornado DDT on Owens but being able to block the 619. Owens is back in and Styles is sent outside, leaving Owens to hit the swinging superplex on Mysterio. With everyone back in, Owens German suplexes both of them at once for a rather nasty landing and a triple breather. Rey tries the 619 on Styles but Owens breaks it up and hits a Stunner to send Rey outside. The Swanton hits knees so Rey and AJ go up. Styles hits a Styles Clash to send Rey onto Owens, which is enough to give Styles the pin at 9:14.

Rating: B-. They did some cool stuff in here but Styles was the only winner that made sense here. Styles vs. Knight II for the title shot is a good way to go and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Styles move on. Styles is a perfect choice to be Rhodes’ first challenger, as beating him would mean something but it’s not wasting a big title shot. For now though, nice main event to set up next week.

LA Knight comes out for the staredown with Styles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The Bloodline stuff was the highlight here, with Tama Tonga being added in a good moment. Other than that, they set up a #1 contenders match to get us the Backlash main event and gave us Bayley’s first challenger. Throw in squashes for Bron Breakker and Jade Cargill and this was a fun show which also played off what we saw at Wrestlemania.

Results
LA Knight b. Santos Escobar and Bobby Lashley – BFT to Escobar
Bron Breakker b. Cameron Grimes – Spear
Naomi b. Tiffany Stratton – Rollup
Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair b. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven – Jaded to Green
AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio – Super Styles Clash to Mysterio

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Wrestlemania XL Night Two
Date: April 7, 2024
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Corey Graves
God Bless American: The War And Treaty

It’s time for the second half of the biggest show of the year and things are not looking great for our hero. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins lost to the Bloodline last night and that means Rhodes’ shot against Roman Reigns will be under Bloodline rules. That should make for a big main event and we have quite the stacked card to go along with the big one. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

I was in attendance for this show, sitting in the upper deck with the entrance on my right.

Michael Cole recaps the main event situation and runs down the card. He also brings up that it isn’t as cold, which is absolutely true.

Meek Mill narrates the opening video, which is about finishing the story.

The War And Treaty sing God Bless America.

Here is Stephanie McMahon of all people to welcome us to the show, saying we are now in the Paul Levesque Era. She talks about being at the first Wrestlemania and asks if we’re ready.

World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre is challenging and is played to the ring by the Ulster Scottish Pipe Band while Rollins has the Philadelphia Mummers, a large group of musicians who are in outfits that might be even more outlandish than his own. CM Punk is the guest commentator and is in fine form, saying that if McIntyre has a pipe band, Punk has a pipe bomb. The bell rings and McIntyre hits a Claymore for two at five seconds in.

Rollins, whose knee is banged up from last night, rolls outside with McIntyre following to send him into the post. McIntyre grabs a fan’s phone and takes a quick picture before going outside to yell at Punk. That’s enough of a distraction for Rollins to hit a quick Pedigree on the floor. Back in and the Stomp gives Rollins two of his own as we are not even three minutes in yet.

Another Pedigree is countered with a backdrop and McIntyre hits the Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre tries another Claymore but gets countered into the Pedigree. Rollins’ knee gives out so the followup Stomp only gets two and they both need a breather. Rollins goes up for a top rope stomp but only hits mat, meaning the knee is hurt again. The Futureshock gives McIntyre two so he yells at Punk and calls for a GTS.

Punk thinks that means McIntyre is putting the fans to sleep but Rollins slips out, only to get Claymored for two more. It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but the powerbomb is escaped. The Stomp onto the table connects and they head back inside where a quick Claymore gives McIntyre another near fall. Punk: “You gotta hit him with that GTS McIntyre!” Another Claymore gives McIntyre the pin and the title at 10:32.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match that Brock Lesnar specialized in and it made sense for McIntyre to come out swinging like he did here. Rollins was banged up and just wrestled a long match the night before so testing him early was a good idea. There was zero reason for Rollins to keep the title here and it made for a great way to open the show, as a title change is always a big deal.

Post match McIntyre gets the big, emotional moment and goes outside to present the title to his wife. With that out of the way, McIntyre turns to Punk and goes over to talk some trash. Punk points out that he can’t hear anything McIntyre is saying with the headphones on so McIntyre tells him to suck it. That’s enough for Punk to sweep the leg and hit McIntyre in the head with his brace. I think you know what’s coming and indeed here is Damian Priest with the briefcase. That briefcase goes upside McIntyre’s head and it’s time to cash it in.

World Heavyweight Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

Priest is challenging and wins in 10 seconds with South Of Heaven.

Post match Priest celebrates with Judgment Day as Punk applauds McIntyre in a great troll moment.

Bobby Lashley/Street Profits vs. Final Testament

Street fight with Snoop Dogg on commentary and Bubba Ray Dudley of all people as guest referee. B Fab, Paul Ellering and Scarlett are here too. It’s already time for a table to start, with Snoop saying it’s picnic time with Yogi Bear. The AOP cut off the Profits and the villains beat down Lashley with the kendo sticks inside. A neckbreaker onto a chair gives Kross two on Lashley with the Profits making a save. Dawkins gets powerbombed down but with B Fab having to make a save.

Back up and Lashley breaks up the Super Collider and takes Kross down with a Downward Spiral. Ford gets to show off with a big flip dive over the post to take out the AOP, leaving Lashley to beat on Kross with a chair. Scarlett breaks up the Hurt Lock so B Fab makes the save, including a Russian legsweep to drive Scarlett through the table at ringside.

Kross is back up with a Saito suplex to Lashley before putting him through a chair for two. That kickout doesn’t work for Kross, who yells at Ray, allowing the Profits to get back up for What’s Up. Ray even puts his glasses on and says GET THE TABLES. Kross is laid on the table, which immediately breaks. Therefore another table is brought in and the frog splash puts Kross through it to give Ford the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C. This feud wasn’t interesting coming in and the match didn’t make it that much better. It was two teams who didn’t have much going for them and their feud has gone on for a rather long time now. It also felt more like a way to get Dogg and Dudley out there, which actually might have been more interesting than the match itself.

The winners celebrate with Snoop Dogg.

We look at last night’s main event.

Paul Heyman more or less guarantees that Roman Reigns is winning under Bloodline Rules.

We recap LA Knight vs. AJ Styles. Knight is the new, brash talker who has the fans behind him but Styles doesn’t like him. Styles cost him in the Elimination Chamber and now Knight wants revenge in one of his biggest matches ever.

LA Knight vs. AJ Styles

Styles debuts new music here. They start the fight in a hurry until Styles misses a charge and crashes out to the floor. That lets Knight ram him into the announcers’ table over and over but Styles goes after the knee back inside. There’s a shinbreaker to keep Knight in trouble but he Russian legsweeps his way to freedom.

A springboard tornado DDT (that’s a new one) gives Knight two but Styles escapes a superplex. The belly to back faceplant gives Styles two so he goes up, only to have Knight catch him with the jumping German superplex to send Styles flying. That’s fine with Styles, who takes Knight down again and hits a baseball slide to drive the knee into the post.

They go outside where Knight gets in a posting and rips up the floor pad (you don’t see that much anymore), only to get dropped onto them. The count is beaten so Styles drops a springboard 450 for two. Back up and the BFT is countered into a rollup but the Styles Clash is blocked as well. Knight breaks up the Phenomenal Forearm and finishes with the BFT at 12:23.

Rating: B-. This might not have been a classic but it was around the level of a strong TV match. What matters most is Knight winning of course, as he has been needing that big win for a long time. Knight is someone who is going to be around for a bit and thankfully this gets his momentum back up. Styles seems like he is slowing down a good bit, though he’s still certainly good for a match like this.

In May, Smackdown and King/Queen of the Ring are both coming to Saudi Arabia. Much like last night’s Saudi moment, this wasn’t well received live.

We look at the Hall Of Fame 2024 class.

Here is the Class:

US Express (in Bray Wyatt shirts)
Thunderbolt Patterson (with Gerald Brisco)
Bull Nakano (nice reception)
Lia Maivia (represented by her daughter)
Muhammad Ali (not represented at all)
Paul Heyman (carrying Roman Reigns’ title and coming out to the old ECW theme)

WWE did community stuff this week.

We recap Logan Paul defending the US Title against Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. Paul is annoying, both guys want to beat him up and win the title. End of story.

US Title: Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton

Paul is defending and rides a big Prime truck to the stage, where he meets the Prime mascot. Owens on the other hand runs into Sami Zayn for a pep talk in the back. With that out of the way, Owens uses the golf cart he stole on Smackdown and even backs up to give Orton a (rather fast) lift. Paul bails straight to the floor to start but it turns out that a blond professional wrestler is easy to find at ringside during a wrestling match. Owens and Orton take turns sending him into the announcers’ table but Paul sends them into each other back inside. Paul: “Y’all fight!”

That doesn’t work either as Orton elbows Paul in the face and Owens adds a backsplash…but only one of them can cover. Owens and Orton slug it out until Paul cuts them both off with a double buckshot lariat. Paul mocks Orton’s pose before hammering away n Owens in the corner. The fans chant for various non-Prime beverages until Owens sends them both into the corner for a double Cannonball.

The Swanton hits Paul’s raised knees, allowing Paul to hit his own Swanton. Paul actually out uppercuts Orton, who comes right back with the snap powerslam. A double hanging DDT puts Owens and Paul down at the same time before taking Owens up top. That’s broken up by Paul, who gets caught with the spinning superplex. The moonsault hits Paul but Orton is right back with the RKO to Owens…for two. Now there’s something you do not see very often.

Paul finds the brass knuckles and clocks Orton with them….for two more. That’s another fairly nutty kickout and quite the stretch. Orton is back up (way too quickly after a brass knuckles shot) with an RKO to Paul but can’t cover. Instead he takes the knuckles away and tosses them but the Prime mascot pulls Paul outside.

The mascot is IShowSpeed, a video game streamer, so Orton RKO’s him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Owens hits a pop up powerbomb on Paul and a Stunner to Orton for two. Another pop up powerbomb is countered into an RKO (that was sweet) but Paul shoves Orton outside and hits the frog splash to pin Owens at 17:38.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty long match and a rather formula based triple threat, which isn’t the best thing to see. The action was enough to keep it going, with that last RKO being quite impressive, but other than that, nothing stood out for the most part. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this one and it should have been better than it was.

We recap Iyo Sky vs. Bayley for the former’s WWE Women’s Title. Bayley started Damage CTRL but Sky and the rest of the team seemed to dislike her. Then Bayley overhead them insulting her in Japanese and the whole thing fell apart. Now Bayley needs to prove she can do it herself.

WWE Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Iyo Sky

Bayley is challenging and has an ancient Egypt style entrance (yeah it’s weird) and what sounds like new music. Feeling out process to start with Sky grabbing the arm as they roll out to the floor. Sky gets back in and tries a dive but Bayley cuts her off again. Now Bayley hits her own dive but seems to come up favoring her knee. You can’t do that with Sky, who goes right after the knee to take over again.

A double stomp to the ribs gets one on Bayley and they head outside, where Sky goes to the barricade. The dive is pulled out of the air with a spinebuster but Sky catches her on top again. With Bayley knocked outside again, Sky hits the moonsault to send them both crashing onto the floor. Back inside and Bayley manages a sunset bomb into the corner for two but Sky’s bridging German suplexes gets the same.

Bayley avoids the Over The Moonsault but her top rope elbow only hits mat. Sky gets a crossface before switching over to STF. That’s broken up as well and the Bayley To Belly gives Bayley two. Sky is right back with a butterfly backbreaker and Over The Moonsault connects….for two. A bottom and middle rope moonsault connect for Sky but she misses the rope version. The Rose Plant is blocked so Bayley grabs a belly to back suplex and drops a top rope elbow. The Rose Plant connects this time to give Bayley the pin and the title at 14:23.

Rating: B. This did exactly what it should have done and somehow there was no interference. What mattered here was Bayley getting to show that she could do it on her own as she becomes a much more firm heroine again. This was a good match with Bayley fighting through the injury and even showing she can be something of a high flier in her own right. Heck of a match here and Bayley is back on top for the first time in a long time.

Celebrities are here.

The Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders and Snoop Dogg are here to announce tonight’s attendance: 72,755, for a two day total of 145,298. That’s the two day total listed, but because it’s Snoop Dogg, he says 145,420.

We recap Cody Rhodes challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Title in the main event. Rhodes came up short last year but it is time for his second chance. He is completely up against the wall as it is Bloodline Rules, but Rhodes is fighting with a big purpose.

WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

Rhodes, with Brandi Rhodes and wearing a skull mask as he comes up on the riser, is challenging and comes out to an absolute roar. Reigns is played to the ring by an orchestra, which is good, but doesn’t feel nearly as epic. We get the Big Match Intros to start and only Paul Heyman is here as a second. They stare at each other to start until Rhodes drives him into the corner to no avail. A running shoulder puts Rhodes down but Reigns doesn’t follow up, meaning we can reset a bit.

Reigns misses a charge into the post so it’s time to head outside. Rhodes grabs a table but Reigns gets in a cheap shot and puts it right back underneath the ring. Instead Reigns whips out a kendo stick and starts hammering away but Rhodes knocks it out of Reigns’ hands. A Figure Four has Reigns in trouble, which doesn’t last long as he gets to the ropes rather quickly. They fight into the crowd and onto a platform, where Rhodes manages a suplex.

Reigns is sent back to ringside and then counters the Disaster Kick with a hard powerbomb to put Rhodes in trouble again. The trash talk is on and Reigns grabs the cravate to keep Rhodes down. A PerfectPlex of all things gets two on Rhodes (McAfee: “I almost flipped my pencil.”) and Reigns fires off the corner clotheslines. Rhodes comes back with shots to the face of his own and they’re both down for a breather.

Back up and the slugout is on with Rhodes getting the better of things, setting up a powerslam. The Disaster Kick gets two but Reigns is back with his own Cross Rhodes for two. Reigns to Heyman: “I just wanted to shove it in his face.” Heyman: “I loved it.” The Superman Punch misses though and the Bionic Elbow puts Reigns down. They head outside again and let’s set up that announcers’ table again. The delay lets Reigns get in a low blow and he puts Rhodes through the table.

Back in and a Superman Punch gives Reigns two, followed by a Cody Cutter to give Rhodes the same. Rhodes hits a spear of his own for two more, followed by the Cross Rhodes. Cue Jimmy Uso and yeah you knew he was coming. Cue Jey Uso to go after Jimmy so they brawl on the ramp. That means Jey can hit a spear off the apron, sending them through some luckily placed tables. The distraction lets Reigns hit a quick spear for two, meaning frustration is setting in.

They guillotine choke goes on but they crash out to the floor for the break. Rhodes is up first and spears Reigns through the barricade for quite the twist on the move. Back in and a pair of Cross Rhodes connect for Rhodes until Solo Sikoa comes in with the Samoan Spike). The spear/Samoan Spike combination connects on Rhodes for two, leaving Sikoa annoyed.

Cue John Cena to take Sikoa outside for the AA through the announcers’ table. That brings out the Rock, who stares Cena down and immediately plants him with the Rock Bottom. Rock whips out the weightlifting belt….and the Shield’s music plays, with Seth Rollins sneaking in from behind with a chair. Not that it matters as Reigns Superman Punches him down. Then a gong strikes, the lights go out, and Undertaker is here. A chokeslam plants Rock and Undertaker disappears again. Reigns picks up the chair and goes after Rollins, allowing Rhodes to hit three straight Cross Rhodes for the pin at 33:34.

Rating: B+. Yeah he had to win the thing and there was no other option. Reigns had the title for over three and a half years and it was time for some fresh blood in there. The staggered interferences was a brilliant idea as it was one big reaction after another as the people kept stepping up to fight back against the Bloodline. The title change is what mattered though, as it was time for Reigns to lose the belt. I can’t say I see Cody as the long term star, but this absolutely had to be his moment and they nailed it.

Post match a bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Rhodes, who wants a microphone. He praises Bruce Prichard and HHH for making Wrestlemania feel special before bringing both of them out. The big celebration wraps up up.

The highlight package finishes the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Maybe it was the warmer weather but this was a much more enjoyable time than Night One. It helped that it felt like so many things went down but they did a great job of making it feel huge. The cash in worked, Bayley won the title and Rhodes gets his big epic moment. That’s a heck of a way to use a night and WWE bounced back from a not so great Saturday. Awesome show here, as it feels we’re in a new era.

Overall Overall Rating: B. The best thing I can say here is that WWE finally pulled the trigger and finished Reigns. There are all kinds of things going on but that is the story that will be remembered on this show. The action was mostly good and it covered the biggest stories in WWE, with the main event being a total blast. Not an all timer, but the second night more than picked the first one up.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Seth Rollins – Claymore
Damian Priest b. Drew McIntyre – South Of Heaven
Bobby Lashley/Street Profits b. Final Testament
LA Knight b. AJ Styles – BFT –
Logan Paul b. Randy Orton and Kevin Owens – Frog splash to Owens
Bayley b. Iyo Sky – Rose Plant
Cody Rhodes b. Roman Reigns – Cross Rhodes

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: March 29, 2024
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We are just over a week away from Wrestlemania and WWE is already in the northeast for the final push towards the show. That means things are already intense and there is a good chance that we are going to be getting some fallout from the Rock attacking Cody Rhodes on Raw. Jade Cargill is here as well so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick look back at The Rock attacking Cody Rhodes on Raw. More on this later.

Randy Orton/Kevin Owens vs. Pretty Deadly

Owens jumps Wilson to start and drops a quick backlash for an early two. Orton comes in to hammer away on Prince so Wilson tries to tag himself in…but he’s not holding the tag rope so it doesn’t count. Well that’s not something you see everyday. The villains take Orton outside for a drop onto the announcers’ table and we take an early break.

Back with Orton belly to backing his way out of a chinlock and the tag bringing Owens in again. A DDT gives Owens two as everything breaks down. Owens comes back in but Orton is taken outside for a drop onto the announcers’ table. Cue Logan Paul with the brass knuckles to drop Owens, allowing Prince to steal the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C. This was a way to advance the triple threat at Wrestlemania and that is not a bad way to go. Paul is at his best when he’s messing with people or things that that’s what you had here, with Owens getting a pretty humiliating loss to a goofy team. That isn’t going to sit well with Orton and odds are Paul knew that coming in.

Post match Orton pulls Paul out but Pretty Deadly makes the save. Owens breaks that up and Pretty deadly is laid out, with Orton chasing Paul to the back. The chase is on and Paul jumps into a car and drives off.

Iyo Sky talks about how Bayley formed Damage CTRL to leach off of them but Sky made Bayley relevant. Then the team outgrew Bayley so they did what had to be done. Sky stands up to end the interview but gets jumped by Bayley. They destroy the green screen and are finally separated. Good brawl, but we were told what would happen before the break and that hurt things.

Here is Nick Aldis for a chat. He’s happy to bring out Jade Cargill for her first official appearance as a member of the Smackdown roster. The contract is signed and Cargill says there are some talented stars around here, but none of them are here. That woman oozes star power at a level you do not see very often.

Damage CTRL doesn’t like Bianca Belair so Dakota Kai is taking her out tonight.

Nick Aldis runs into Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, who have dropped the witchcraft stuff but don’t say anything. Aldis keeps walking and runs into AJ Styles, who asks if LA Knight isn’t here. Aldis says he asked Knight not to be here, but Styles says Aldis should have told him.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Titles Qualifying Match: Austin Theory/Grayson Waller vs. Street Profits

Ford flips out of a double suplex to start and hands it off to Dawkins, who runs Waller over on the floor. We take a break and come back with Dawkins suplexes his way out of trouble, allowing the diving tag to Ford. A springboard spinning back elbow to the face puts Theory down for two and the Doomsday Blockbuster gets the same. Theory’s rolling neckbreaker is cut off with a sitout powerbomb but we cut to the back where Karrion Kross and Scarlett have taken out Bobby Lashley and B Fab. The distraction lets Theory raise his knees to block the frog splash and pin Ford at 6:21.

Rating: C+. Well what we saw of it was good, but as is the case so often in modern wrestling, there is only so much you can get out of a match that runs less than seven minutes and includes a commercial plus a backstage brawl. This should set up a six man between Lashley/the Profits and the Final Testament, which is a feud that needs to wrap up already as it’s long since stopped being interesting.

Post match the Final Testament comes in for the beatdown with Bobby Lashley making a failed save attempt.

We look back at Dominik Mysterio costing Rey Mysterio a match with Santos Escobar last week.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for a chat. Santos Escobar is here to brag about his win last week. He was hoping for Rey’s knee to get infected and amputated (geez) but he’ll settle for just getting a win. All it took was the help of one man, so here is Dominik Mysterio for a chat. Escobar says Dominik was right and, after Dominik is booed out of the building, promises to ruin Rey.

Cue the LWO, with Rey saying he believed he was done with Dominik. But now Rey has the chance to beat some respect into both of them. The challenge for Dominik/Escobar vs. Rey/a partner of his choosing at Wrestlemania. That would be the newest member of the LWO: Dragon Lee. Cue Lee for the brawl as the match seems likely for Wrestlemania.

Naomi wishes Bianca Belair luck and says she has her back tonight. Belair is rather pleased and they’re in this together against Damage CTRL.

Judgment Day isn’t happy with what is going on with Rhea Ripley not even knowing what Dominik Mysterio was going to do.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Match: New Catch Republic vs. Legado del Fantasma

We’re joined in progress with Dunne in trouble but he gets over for the tag to Bate as house is quickly cleaned. A standing shooting star hits Berto and the ring is cleared, with Bate hitting a big dive as we take a break. Back with Bate in trouble and getting double super gorilla pressed for two. Bate gets over for the tag seconds later though and the Birminghammer gives Dunne the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C+. Just like in the previous tag match, how much can you get out of a match that goes about seven minutes with a break? It doesn’t help that Legado was already beaten down from the pre-match brawl so the Republic doesn’t even look that great for winning. But at least we now have a sixth team for the 12 man ladder match, because we have a 12 man ladder match.

We look back at the Rock beating down Cody Rhodes to end Raw. The beating continued after the show went off the air.

The Bloodline promises to take out Jey Uso next week.

Here is AJ Styles, who says he should have had LA Knight locked up last week. Styles doesn’t buy that Knight isn’t here and thinks he might be the cameraman. That’s a no, but here’s someone coming through the crowd…and that’s not Knight either. One of the security guards is Knight though and even though Styles sees him on the Titantron, the beatdown is on anyway. Styles bails through the crowd.

Video on Tiffany Stratton.

Next week: the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is back.

Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai

Belair starts fast and knocks Kai into the corner for the running shoulder. Some rolling suplexes have Kai in trouble but she knees her way to freedom and we take a break. Back with Belair raining down right hands in the corner, followed by a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster. A Glam Slam into a moonsault gives Belair two but Kai manages a knee to the back for the same. The exchange of forearms goes to Belair but Kai manages to send her to the apron. A running knee only hits post though and Belair grabs a superplex. The KOD gives Belair the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with giving a star a win and that is all they were trying to do here. Kai is the weakest link in Damage CTRL and having her lose to Belair at one of the last shows before Wrestlemania is hardly some career killer. Odds are we’re getting ready for a big tag match at Wrestlemania so we can probably call this a mini preview.

Post match the Kabuki Warriors come in for the beating but Naomi makes the save. The numbers game catches up to her until Jade Cargill comes in for the real save.

Overall Rating: C+. Oh yeah we are firmly in the “we’re almost to Wrestlemania so please do not screw anything up” period. That means we don’t have much time left to wait but at the same time, there is only so much to be gotten out of a show like this one. There was a likely Wrestlemania match set up and two more teams qualified for the ladder match but that’s about it. This is a completely skippable show, but it’s probably the last skippable show for a few weeks and that is a great feeling.

Results
Pretty Deadly b. Randy Orton/Kevin Owens – Brass knuckles punch from Logan Paul
Austin Theory/Grayson Waller b. Street Profits – Knees to Ford’s ribs
New Catch Republic b. Legado del Fantasma – Birminghammer to Angel
Bianca Belair b. Dakota Kai – KOD

 

 

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: March 22, 2024
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We are just over two weeks away from Wrestlemania and that means things are going to be picking up around here. In this case that means we have Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes going face to face, which could make for a big moment even if the Rock isn’t here. Other than that we have Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar, which should be quite the showdown. Let’s get to it.

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

Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar

Their respective stables are banned from ringside. After the long recap of their relationship and split, Rey hammers away and drops Escobar with an elbow to the face. Rey slips a bit and comes up limping slightly, allowing Escobar to knock him off the top. Not that it matters as Rey hits a top rope hurricanrana into a baseball slide dropkick in the corner. Escobar is back with a running dropkick of his own, only to get headscissored out to the corner. The sliding splash connects for Rey and we take a break.

Back with Escobar hitting the running knees in the corner and tying him in the Tree of Woe. Rey breaks that up and sends him outside, setting up a dive off the post to the floor. Back in and another basement dropkick sets up a Lionsault for two on Escobar. Rey dropkicks him back to the floor for some rams into the announcers’ table, followed by a running seated senton into the timekeeper’s area. Escobar is thrown back in but a man in a Mysterio mask shows up to distract Rey. That lets Escobar hit his own 619 into the Phantom Driver for the pin at 12:34. It’s Dominik Mysterio, with the fans not being happy.

Rating: C+. That’s a surprise way to go and gives Dominik something to do after not being the biggest star in recent weeks. The Rey vs. Escobar feud is probably not done as we need the big LWO vs. Legado showdown, but for now we might be getting more from Rey vs. Dominik. It worked well last year, but it’s kind of a random twist after they haven’t interacted in a long time. As for the match, it’s always nice to have Rey back, but Escobar winning here should be a nice boost for him.

We look back at Bayley being beaten down by Damage CTRL, with Naomi’s save not working.

Bayley (in brighter clothes) thanks Naomi for her help last week but Naomi wants to take out Iyo Sky. Bianca Belair comes in and doesn’t buy what Bayley is saying after the last year plus. Belair and Bayley argue but Naomi walks off.

Post break Belair tries to convince Naomi that she’s right but Naomi is going to be out there fighting Damage CTRL. She wants Belair to help her, because Belair couldn’t do it on her own either.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Match: Grayson Waller/Austin Theory vs. OC

Michin is here with the OC, who are now in two qualifying competitions for Tag Team Title shots over Wrestlemania weekend. Gallows and Theory start things off with Gallows launching him into the corner and hammering away. Anderson comes in and Theory/Waller are sent to the floor for a flip dive.

We take a break and come back with Gallows hitting a heck of a chokeslam on Waller, with Michin adding an armdrag on the floor. Anderson hits a flipping neckbreaker on Theory and grabs back to back spinebusters. The middle rope neckbreaker gets two on Waller but the Magic Killer is broken up. Waller grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes to pin Gallows at 6:54.

Rating: C. Not much to see here but they went the right way by not having the OC, who have barely done anything for months, go over. Waller and Theory might not be the biggest deal around at the moment but they deserve a chance to go to Wrestlemania over the OC. That being said, it’s nice to have the OC doing SOMETHING after just standing around for such a long time.

Video on Bron Breakker, including a bunch of his stats to make him look like even more of a physical freak.

Earlier today, Roman Reigns was on the Pat McAfee Show and talked about how he is the only one who didn’t have to go to Hollywood because it came to him.

Naomi vs. Iyo Sky

Non-title and Damage CTRL is here with Sky…or they would be if she was here. We cut to the back to see Sky attacking Bayley until officials break it up. Naomi kicks her into the corner to start but Sky slugs her way out of trouble, setting up a middle rope hurricanrana. A middle rope spinning kick to the face drops Sky though and something like a 619 bulldog gives Naomi two.

We take a break and come back with Sky being sent into the buckle, setting up a high crossbody. Something like a splits Banzai Drop (that’s a new one) gets two on Sky but she’s right back with the running Meteora in the corner. Naomi is fine enough to catch her on top for a superplex and they slug it out from their knees. Sky gets knocked down again and Naomi goes up, only to be distracted by Damage CTRL. That’s enough for Sky to pull her down and hit Over the Moonsault for the pin at 8:56.

Rating: B-. It’s always a good sign when a match ends and I want to see them do more, which was the case here. They were having a good match and Naomi was doing the more unique offense that makes her stand out. She’s been lacking that kind of a match since she returned to the company and it’s good to see her doing it again. On the other hand, Sky gets a nice win on the way to Wrestlemania, where Bayley is pretty clearly going to need some friends.

Post match the beatdown is on, including the mist, but Bianca Belair runs in for the save. The numbers game takes Belair down though and the villains stand tall.

Jade Cargill is officially on Smackdown with her first official

Post break Naomi is getting her eyes cleaned out when Tiffany Stratton comes in to say that’s a good look for her.

Kevin Owens is yelling at Nick Aldis when Pretty Deadly interrupts. Owens doesn’t like the interruption and wants a tag match next week, with Randy Orton popping up to be the partner (Pretty Deadly jumping when he appeared was great). Aldis makes the match and Owens punches both of Pretty Deadly at once to continue his running joke (Owens: “Hey Randy look I did it!”).

We see a video from AJ Styles’ house when LA Knight showed up for a brawl. The cops arrived and Knight was arrested, complete with footage from the police car as he’s taken away. Styles declined to press charges and Knight has been released.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Match: Street Profits vs. AOP

The winners face Grayson Waller/Austin Theory next week for a spot in the Wrestlemania ladder match. All of their respective associates come out with them but only Paul Ellering sticks around. Dawkins goes after them to start but gets caught in the wrong corner. Akam fires off some knees but Dawkins is up with a dropkick to the floor. Ford tries a big flip dive but gets pulled out of the air and powerbombed into Dawkins as we take a break.

Back with Rezar hammering on Ford with some double stomping in the corner making it worse. Rezar comes back in but gets enziguried, allowing the diving tag off to Dawkins. The pace picks way up and the Silencer hits Akam but he slips out of a Doomsday Device. The Final Chapter connects but Dawkins makes the save. Ford gets out of the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination and small packages Rezar for the pin at 8:33.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t quite power vs. speed but the Profits had to keep things moving to take out the monsters. I’m a bit surprised that the AOP took a clean loss so soon after their return but the Profits are hardly some makeshift team. Ice match here and I wasn’t sure who was going to win, which is always a nice feeling.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here is Roman Reigns, with Paul Heyman, for his big showdown with Cody Rhodes, with promises that everyone else will leave them alone. Reigns reiterates said promises, has the fans acknowledge him, and then brings out Rhodes, albeit after a break. With Rhodes here, Reigns gets right to the point by calling Rhodes a fool for aligning himself with various people.

Reigns talks about how Seth Rollins promised to be Rhodes’ shield, but they were in the Shield together. They might not have done good guy things, but they had a bond. Rhodes asks if Reigns remembers the first team to beat the Shield, offering a hint of their last names (he says Rhodes, which is a weird way of saying “Orton, Kane and Bryan”). Rhodes gets to the point and asks if he can trust Rollins. Instead though, he asks if Reigns can trust the Rock. Is the Tribal Chief in charge, or is it the Final Boss?

Reigns says Rhodes asked Rock the same thing because it’s all he has. Rhodes may be great but he’s the greatest #2 of all time, while Reigns is #1. Rhodes talks about how Reigns was raised in this business, just like him, and Reigns probably grew up wanting to be the next big star. Even if he’s the best #2, Rhodes is the one, so good luck at Wrestlemania.

Reigns isn’t going to accept a handshake and goes to leave, but snaps his fingers. Cue the Bloodline but before they get in the ring, here are Jey Uso and Seth Rollins to cut them off. A big staredown ends the show. They’re in a weird place with this feud as the story is ready to go and they have to fill in two more weeks before we get there. That doesn’t leave them much to do other than have these big talking segments. While it worked, we’re at the point where they need to have the match, which could make for some tricky matches over the next two weeks.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was about the big talking segment, plus a few other things, which went well enough. Most of the focus was on the Women’s Title match plus the double Damage CTRL stories. Those stories needed the time, but this wasn’t a show you really needed to see. It kept the stories moving forward but lacked any big, important moment. We’re in that weird lull before Wrestlemania where you know what you are going to see at the show and we just have to get there. That can lead to some slightly lesser shows, but it could have been a lot worse.

Results
Santos Escobar b. Rey Mysterio – Phantom Driver
Grayson Waller/Austin Theory b. OC – Rollup with feet on the ropes to Gallows
Iyo Sky b. Naomi – Over The Moonsault
Street Profits b. AOP – Small package to Rezar

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.