Yes she needs to also.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-smile-darn-ya-smile/

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 1, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips

It’s a title night as we have the Miz’s first WWE Title defense against Bobby Lashley. This is an interesting one as it is hard to imagine Miz walking into Wrestlemania as champion, but at the same time they’re almost telegraphing the title change too hard. Drew McIntyre is back tonight too and that is likely to be a factor. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the setup of the title match.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to open things up. It has been a rough month for him and we’ll start with his issues with Sheamus. They were friends for twenty years until Sheamus turned on him, though Drew is still not sure why. Then two weeks ago at Elimination Chamber (it wasn’t two weeks ago), Drew defended his title inside the Chamber but got attacked by Bobby Lashley. That let the Miz cash in Money in the Bank, because THE FREAKING MIZ is WWE Champion. It’s cool though, because his mission is clear: get the title back and main event Wrestlemania. He didn’t come that far to lose here so get out here Sheamus, because you’re the first step.

Cue the Miz and John Morrison, with Miz demanding his big, special introduction, complete with pyro. Miz brags about winning Money in the Bank and saying it was a matter of time before he became WWE Champion. McIntyre agrees and wants a hug but Miz turns him down, knowing that McIntyre isn’t happy with this. The only person McIntyre can blame is….Bobby Lashley!

McIntyre isn’t buying it so Miz says that he himself is the real victim. He has a wife and two daughters and Lashley threatened him at Elimination Chamber. Miz had no choice but to make that deal and now Lashley has a title shot instead of McIntyre. So maybe Miz and McIntyre should join forces as the 3MBIGOS!

Cue MVP, now on a cane, to interrupt to ask if this is the beginning of a new business arrangement or just desperation to keep Miz’s title. McIntyre says he didn’t fall for that but MVP says he is here for a reason: Miz vs. Lashley begins promptly at 9pm, so Miz has less than an hour. Miz isn’t happy but here’s Sheamus to face McIntyre, who wants to fight instead of talk. The brawl is on in the aisle with McIntyre knocking him over the barricade and we take a break before the match starts. I can go for this “we’re doing X at Y time” as it’s so, so nice to have some kind of a structure around here.

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

It’s a brawl to start with McIntyre hammering away and elbowing him in the face. The referee has McIntyre back off and Sheamus knocks him down for a change, setting up a middle rope knee drop for two. McIntyre fights out of an armbar and stomps on the face before whipping Sheamus hard into the corner. Sheamus picks him up by the leg though and puts him down, only to get caught in the ropes for the ten forearms to the chest. You don’t rip off a signature move like that though so Sheamus puts him in the ropes for forearms to the chest and back.

The Brogue Kick puts McIntyre on the floor and we take a break. Back with Sheamus working on an armbar with a knee on McIntyre’s face. The Irish Curse gets two and we hit the reverse chinlock with a knee in McIntyre’s back. The comeback lets McIntyre get up and they fight to the floor, with Sheamus being suplexed onto the announcers’ table (Tom: “This is gnarly!”). McIntyre backdrops him onto the announcers’ table again and nails a top rope clothesline back inside.

Sheamus hits his own clothesline and goes up but McIntyre nips up. The Glasgow Kiss rocks Sheamus and a belly to belly superplex takes us to a break. Back with McIntyre hitting a spinebuster for two but getting kneed in the face for the same. White Noise gives Sheamus two more and he sends McIntyre face first into the buckle.

McIntyre is back up again though and it’s a super White Noise to plant Sheamus hard (with the referee immediately checking on him) for two. Sheamus is fine enough to catch him with an Alabama Slam out of the corner for his own two and they’re both down. It’s Sheamus up first so he loads up the Brogue Kick, only to have Drew Claymore him first for the pin at 23:05.

Rating: B+. These two beat the fire out of each other and it was all about two guys hitting each other really, really hard for a long time. You don’t see a Raw match get this time a lot of the time but they made it work really well. This was pay per view quality so seeing it on TV in a big time match made me smile a lot. I was worried they would have built this up for months and then not gone anywhere with it so well done on doing this here.

Post match we get the respectful staredown.

Nia Jax stares Naomi down in the back.

Naomi vs. Nia Jax

Lana and Shayna Baszler are here too. Nia runs her over to start and we’re already in the bearhug. With Naomi mostly done, the Samoan drop and powerbomb finish her off in a hurry at 2:20. Total and complete squash.

Rhea Ripley is coming.

Raw World Title: The Miz vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is challenging….but hang on because Miz has a rather bad stomach cramp and can’t see himself going to the ring right now. Adam Pearce doesn’t buy this but here’s Lashley to jump Miz. John Morrison: “SOMEBODY GET A TOWEL!” Lashley leaves him laying, but Pearce says Miz will defend the title at 10:00pm instead.

Here’s Braun Strowman for a chant before his match. He knows that Shane McMahon and Adam Pearce have a conspiracy against him. It started when he headbutted Pearce but then he wasn’t allowed in the Elimination Chamber, which sucked without him. Cue Shane and Pearce with Shane saying that he knows Braun is upset. This is all about conflict management though and the key is communication.

That’s why Strowman needs to know that it was Shane making this tag match tonight, because Pearce had nothing to do with it. Tonight, Strowman gets to team with WWE management, meaning Adam Pearce. They can do great things, and tonight they can win the Tag Team Titles! Strowman likes the idea but threatens Pearce with violence if he screws this up.

Tag Team Titles: Braun Strowman/Adam Pearce vs. Hurt Business

Strowman and Pearce are challenging and Strowman starts fast by cleaning house of the champs. Shelton Benjamin is crushed on the floor and Cedric Alexander is whipped hard into the corner. Strowman stands on Alexander’s chest and then sends him flying for a really big crash.

The running shoulder hits the post though (he’s really, really bad at that) and it’s Shelton coming in with a running knee to the face. Strowman fights off both champions without much effort though and there’s the running powerslam to Benjamin. Shane gets on the apron and demands Pearce get the tag (Pearce: “WHY??? IT’S OVER!”)…..so Shelton rolls Pearce up to retain at 3:14.

Rating: D+. This was one hundred percent an angle rather than a match and that’s ok. Pearce was only there to keep setting up Strowman vs. McMahon at Wrestlemania, which is not exactly the kind of match that is going to draw much interest. I’m rather glad they didn’t change the titles here and while it didn’t make the champs look great, it could have been worse.

Strowman is livid and storms to the back.

Elias and Jaxson Ryker come up to Damien Priest and Bad Bunny with a musical proposal. A collaboration is proposed because the two of them could be bigger than the Beatles. Bunny smirks a bit, which has Elias excited, but Priest translates to “that’s a no”.

Here are Elias and Jaxson Ryker for some music before Elias’ match, but Elias is not pleased with his lack of a Grammy nomination. That’s like Tom Brady not getting an ESPY nomination! Elias is ready to perform but gets cut off as usual.

Elias vs. Damien Priest

Jaxson Ryker and Grammy nominee Bad Bunny are here too. Priest powers him into the corner to start and grabs an armbar. The standing and seated version have Elias in trouble for a bit, followed by a spinwheel kick to make it worse. Elias bails to the floor to yell at Bunny and we take a break.

Back with Priest working on another armbar but Elias manages to send him throat first into the rope to escape. A running boot in the corner rocks Priest again and a running clothesline gives Elias two. Elias gets in a cheap shot from the floor and the chinlock goes on. Priest fights up again and strikes away, setting up the Broken Arrow for two of his own.

A rollup gives Priest two more but he gets kicked to the ropes, only to dive into a jumping knee to the face. Drift Away is countered but Elias fires off some forearms to the back. Priest doesn’t seem to mind as he kicks Elias in the head and Hit The Lights finishes for Priest at 15:20.

Rating: C-. This was far longer than it needed to be but Priest overcoming some cheating and winning in the end is all that matters. Priest is someone with a lot of potential and it seems that WWE is actually going with that for a change. Bad Bunny is the star for now, but Priest is the star for later and it is nice to see WWE doing something with that.

We look at the opening video on Miz vs. Lashley again and the first attempt at the match.

Randy Orton isn’t sure what is going on with the Fiend but knows Alexa Bliss is playing a part in it. After looking at what Bliss has been doing lately and talking about the Fiend returning, Bliss interrupts the interview and talks to a Jack-In-The Box about bringing the Fiend back. Before that though, there is something Orton should know. The screen goes nuts and a man in a hood comes up. That’s Orton, who talks to Randy (yes that’s right) and says this doesn’t end on his terms. Soon, Randy will come face to face with everything he has ever done. The real Orton starts coughing and the evil one stares at him. And moving on.

Raw World Title: The Miz vs. Bobby Lashley

Miz, with John Morrison, is defending and actually comes into the arena this time. Before the bell, Miz tries to talk Lashley into waiting for Wrestlemania but that isn’t happening. The bell rings, Miz drops to the floor, grabs the title and sprints to the back for the countout at 29 seconds. Well at least they didn’t waste time.

Post break Shane McMahon tells MVP and Lashley that there will be a title match tonight. MVP: “THIS IS BULL****!” If Miz tries something else, Shane will consider stripping Miz of the title.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat before her match (because everyone has something to say this week). She came back to be Asuka’s partner and didn’t want to be in the Raw Women’s Title picture. Asuka has worked so hard to be champion for the last six months, but Bianca Belair chose to face Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania. That leaves Asuka alone, so Charlotte wants the title shot. Asuka isn’t here though because Shayna Baszler kicked her tooth out last week. She knows Asuka will be back but here are Baszler and Nia Jax to interrupt.

Baszler laughs off the idea of hurting Asuka and Nia says no one likes Charlotte. She needs to understand that they are the real power around here. Charlotte knows everyone wants her gone but people don’t have to call her the best of all time. Instead, they just call her Charlotte.

Shayna Baszler vs. Charlotte

Charlotte starts swinging before the bell but Nia jumps her from behind. We take a break and come back joined in progress with Baszler hammering away in the corner. Charlotte comes back with the fall away slam and some chops but the Figure Four is broken up with a kick to the floor. Jax’s charge hits the steps and Charlotte counters the Kirifuda Clutch. Natural Selection finishes Baszler at 2:55.

So Charlotte got jumped before the match, shrugged it off, got rid of Jax, countered Baszler’s finisher and won clean in about seven minutes max (assuming the bell rang as soon as they went to a break) to survive the Tag Team Champions on her own. Yeah, it must be Wrestlemania season if Charlotte has the Supergirl cape on again. Oh and this is the second time these two have ever had a singles match (with the first ending in 56 seconds when Nia interfered). What a great way to have a dream match go down for the first time.

Shane McMahon confirms that Miz either has to fight or Lashley is the new champion.

Riddle/Lucha House Party vs. Retribution

T-Bar starts fast with a chokebreaker for two on Riddle ten seconds in. Mace comes in with Mass Effect for two, followed by another backbreaker from T-Bar for two. Riddle gets up and makes the hot tag off to Dorado to pick up the pace, setting up a very fast tag to Metalik. An elbow off of Dorado’s shoulders finishes T-Bar at 2:05 in another fast match.

Post match Mustafa Ali yells at Retribution and at Riddle, which means we’re not done yet.

Riddle vs. Mustafa Ali

Non-title and Ali starts fast by working on Riddle’s arm. A dropkick to the arm and a running neckbreaker gets two. It’s back to the arm with a Fujiwara armbar as we get another countdown to Lashley vs. Miz, telling you that this match isn’t lasting long. Riddle pulls him into a choke but gets reversed into a cradle for two. Back up and Riddle kicks him in the head, setting up the running forearms in the corner. The Broton gets two more on Ali but Slapjack gets on the apron for a distraction. Mace does the same and Ali hits kind of a reverse super X Factor for the pin at 3:17.

Rating: C-. Well I’ll give them credit: they waited a full eight days before having the new champion take a pin. At least it wasn’t clean and Ali might be able to get a bit of a boost out of this, but I have no reason to believe Retribution is going anywhere out of this. Hopefully Riddle can rebound soon, because he needs to rebound eight days after becoming US Champion.

Miz comes in to see Shane McMahon and complain about what is happening. He wants to know what kind of match it is going to be, but Shane isn’t sure yet. That sends Miz further over the edge as he talks about everything he can do for the company, only to get this treatment. Shane says good luck, champ.

Raw World Title: The Miz vs. Bobby Lashley

Miz is defending and here’s Shane McMahon to make it a lumberjack match. The bell rings and Miz tries a belt shot but Lashley pulls it away. With Lashley looking ready to end him, Miz heads to the apron, only to come back in for a shot to the face. That sends Miz bailing to the floor and tries to bribe the lumberjacks but gets tossed back in.

Lashley blasts him with a clothesline and hits the shoulders in the corner before throwing Miz outside again. Retribution won’t help him but the Hurt Business will throw him back inside. A Downward Spiral sets up right hands to Miz’s head and Lashley presses him to the floor. Retribution throws him back in this time and there’s the spinebuster. The Hurt Lock makes Lashley champion at 3:04.

Rating: D. They didn’t have a choice here as it was either going to be here or at Fastlane. Lashley has been ready to be WWE Champion for the better part of twenty years now so finally giving him the title was the right call. You should know where this is going for Fastlane and Wrestlemania, but maybe now the freaking out over Miz winning the title can end.

Post match Lashley beats him down again and celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The opener was good and the title change was important, but that more or less ends the positives on the show. It was a bad night for champions (four losses in the last five matches) and some of the things the show did made me glare at the screen for longer than I should have needed to. This show was kind of a mess, but they got the important parts right. Now if only they could get the other stuff right too, they might be somewhere.

Results

Drew McIntyre b. Sheamus – Claymore

Nia Jax b. Naomi – Powerbomb

Hurt Business b. Adam Pearce/Braun Strowman – Small package to Pearce

Damien Priest b. Elias – Hit The Lights

Bobby Lashley b. The Miz via countout

Charlotte b. Shayna Baszler – Natural Selection

Riddle/Lucha House Party b. Retribution – Elbow drop to T-Bar

Mustafa Ali b. Riddle – Super head slam to the mat

Bobby Lashley b. The Miz – Hurt Lock

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: September 29, 2006
Location: Convention Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re less two weeks away from No Mercy and most of the card is set. That’s a good situation to be in as it means the next two weeks can be spent firming everything up and adding something here and there. This week is about the guest star though, as John Cena is here for a six man main event. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at King Booker’s Court invading Raw and making John Cena kiss Booker’s foot. Of course you know this means match.

Here’s Cena, with a banged up arm, to get things going. Before he gets into dealing with Booker and company, he is glad to be back on Smackdown because it’s like hosting Saturday Night Live. He’s the WWE Champion again and now he has a new movie coming out. Cena: “Go and see it a million times.”

Cena is glad to have the big fist and Tony Chimmel as the ring announcer. Then there’s JBL, who Cena remembers taking a beating the last time they saw him. Next to JBL is Michael Cole, the Whitney Houston to his Bobby Brown, and Cena has a gift for him. After handing Cole some balls, Cena talks about King Booker’s Court being here, but so are Batista and Bobby Lashley. Tonight, the odds are even.

Video on Vickie Guerrero joining forces with her nephew Chavo.

Rey Mysterio vs. Sylvester Terkay

Elijah Burke is here with Terkay….who tells Burke to take his place.

Rey Mysterio vs. Elijah Burke

Rey snaps off a headscissors to start as JBL goes into a rant about how Mysterio’s success in Mexico means nothing in the USA. Burke knocks him into the corner as we see the Guerreros being rather pleased in the back. That’s leg to in a hurry but Burke misses the top rope elbow. As JBL again called Terkay and Burke the best interracial team since the APA, Mysterio hits the spinning springboard crossbody to put Burke down. The 619 lets Rey Drop The Dime for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one other than Burke taking a loss that he probably didn’t need to lose. Terkay continues to be the star of the team, but that doesn’t mean his partner needs to be losing. Mysterio needed the boost on the way towards his match against Chavo at No Mercy, but I would think there is someone better to take the loss than Burke.

Post match Terkay jumps Mysterio from behind and lays him out with a Muscle Buster. We see the Guerreros seeming rather pleased in the back.

Ashley Massaro introduces a video on Brian Kendrick and Paul London.

Pit Bulls vs. KC James/Idol Stevens

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at No Mercy and Michelle McCool is here with James and Stevens. Stevens gets pounded down to start so it’s off to James to get taken into the wrong corner. A kick to the chest gets two on James as JBL gets on Cole for playing soccer. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Kash’s moonsault press gets two on James. A small package has James in trouble but McCool turns it over to give James the pin.

Rating: C. Again, not much time to go anywhere but it could have been a lot worse. The problem is we’ve already seen Kendrick and London beat both teams so there is only so much interest in watching either of them get another shot. The lack of time might be annoying, but it was the right move here.

Marine video. Just have the thing come out already.

Matt Hardy vs. Chavo Guerrero

They trade some standing switches to start until Hardy drops him with a right hand. Back up and Chavo pulls Matt off the middle rope for a crash and it’s off to a seated armbar. That’s broken up as well and Matt hits some clotheslines into a backdrop. The bulldog gets two and there’s the middle rope legdrop. Vickie Guerrero gets on the apron for a distraction though, allowing Gregory Helms to come in for the real distraction. That’s enough for Chavo to grab a tornado DDT into the frog splash for the pin.

Rating: C. Two talented guys getting to do their thing for a few minutes is almost always going to work and the interferences both made sense. Chavo is starting to feel like more of a player than Eddie’s sidekick and while I’m not sure how far up the ladder he can go, it’s nice to see someone as talented as he is finally getting a chance of his own outside of the Cruiserweight Title.

Post match, Helms hits Hardy with a Shining Wizard.

This Week In Wrestling History: Andre the Giant knocked out Gorilla Monsoon in a boxing match.

Here’s Mr. Kennedy to bid farewell to Undertaker. There is a black wreath in the ring as Kennedy talks about how this is a tribute. Undertaker has taken on and beaten some of the all time greats and we see a video package on his career. All of those accolades leave him with nothing to prove though, which makes Kennedy feel bad about No Mercy. He doesn’t want to end Undertaker’s legacy, so he certainly doesn’t want to face him at Wrestlemania.

Therefore, as a man of good conscience, he cannot wrestle Undertaker at No Mercy. Cue Undertaker and, after about a five minute entrance, he promises to show no mercy and make Kennedy rest in peace. Then Kennedy goes to hit him with the microphone but it blows up in his hand to send him running.

King Booker’s Court is ready to make John Cena, Batista and Bobby Lashley hail the king tonight.

Commercial for Eric Bischoff’s Controversy Creates Cash book.

Miz vs. Tatanka

Miz sings his version of Sexy Back on the way to the ring. JBL: “I hate him.” Tatanka whips him into the corner to start but Miz gets out to the apron. A slide between the legs lets Miz hit the warpath as JBL makes every Native American joke he can think of in the first minute. Miz’s Russian legsweep gets two but Tatanka is back with his own for one. Now it’s Tatanka going on the warpath but Miz rolls him up with trunks for the fast win.

Rating: D+. The best thing about the way they are pushing Miz is he is racking up wins while not overstaying his welcome. I don’t think any of his matches have gone more than about five minutes or so and he is out there almost every week. Keep him warm, give him something to do and build him up a bit. This isn’t rocket science and what they’re doing is working well for an early stage.

Teddy Long is proud about last week’s debut being the second highest viewed show among adults on Friday night. Next week, Bobby Lashley and King Booker will pick each other’s poisons and you can find out their picks over the weekend on WWE.com.

Jimmy Wang Yang is a redneck and ready to face Sylvan.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Sylvan

Yang has the Confederate flag on his vest (JBL: “Who is he sponsored by? George Wallace?”) and comes out to I Might Have To Punch Someone Tonight. Sylvan hits him in the face to start but walks into a headscissors into a dropkick. A toss sends Sylvan out to the floor for a crash as Cole compares Yang to Dick Murdoch to needle JBL in a funny bit.

JBL: “I hate you. I hate everyone in the ring. The referee is Canadian so I hate him too.” Yang jawbreaks his way out of a chinlock and hammers away, including a spinwheel kick. Sylvan catches a charge in the corner though and grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin.

Rating: C-. As has been the case tonight, not much in the way of a match but at least the JBL rants were funny. Yang losing doesn’t matter in the slightest as he is nothing more than a goofy one note character who was never going to be a big star. Sylvan isn’t either, but that reaction in Montreal last week probably earned him one more win, which is fine.

Vito says it’s the man that makes the dress.

MVP has signed with Smackdown and we get clips from his signing press conference. He debuts at No Mercy.

No Mercy rundown.

King Booker/Finlay/William Regal vs. John Cena/Batista/Bobby Lashley

This does feel like a big match and we see a clip of Cena getting beaten down on Raw during the entrances. It’s a big brawl in the aisle to start before the bell and we take a break. Joined in progress with Batista shouldering Regal in the corner and nailing the spinebuster, which draws Finlay in for an early save. Booker comes in to hammer away on Batista, who is right back with the Jackhammer.

It’s off to Lashley, who gets kicked in the face by Booker. That’s fine with Lashley as he counters a leapfrog into a powerslam to plant Booker for two. Finlay comes in and gets caught in a gorilla press gutbuster but Lashley misses a charge into the post. He’s fine enough to make the tag to Cena and everything breaks down with Cena cleaning house. The STF to Booker is broken up and the Leprechaun slips Finlay the Shillelagh to hit Cena in the bad arm.

We take a break and come back with Regal working on the arm as only Regal can do. The villains take turns working on the arm until Cena suplexes Finlay away. Finlay pops back up with a clothesline though and the armbar goes on again. Another clothesline gives Finlay two and it’s back to Booker, who (after a bit of mistiming) misses the side kick to hit the ropes. Lashley gets the hot tag to clean house as everything breaks down. Batista almost gets caught with the ax kick but Lashley spears Booker down for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty long match for a TV main event but it felt like it was something that mattered and that makes up for the problems. Above all else, the star power was here as you had this week’s version of the Super Best Friends against the top Smackdown villains and his cronies. That sounds like an important match and it worked out rather well, even if it was that long.

Post match Edge runs in to spear Cena to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Cena brought the star power to the main event and that’s what mattered the most here, but the rest of the show was a bunch of quick matches (similar to this week’s Raw but not that bad). That made it feel more like a show that wasn’t designed to be a big deal on its own but rather a way to build towards the future. That’s not a bad thing, but it doesn’t make for the most thrilling show.

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 22, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

Elimination Chamber has come and gone and that means some heads have exploded as Miz is the new WWE Champion. I’m not sure where this is going, but as a long time Mizfit, I’m rather pleased with everything that happened. If nothing else, it means that we are going to be free of the Money in the Bank briefcase for at least three months. Let’s get to it.

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last night’s main event with Drew McIntyre winning the Elimination Chamber and Miz cashing in to win the title.

It’s time for MizTV, Championship Edition, with all kinds of pyro and balloons. Miz is VERY pleased with having the title back because he is the star that stayed. Want to see Batista? Go watch a buddy cop movie. John Cena? He’s doing a commercial. Miz is a bigger star than all of them, including Edge. If Edge is playing high stakes poker, this title is Miz’s royal flush. Miz is holding this title because he deserves it….and here’s the Hurt Business (with Bobby Lashley in a light pink suit) to interrupt.

MVP talks about how Miz omitted Lashley’s involvement but Miz says he was ready to get to that. That’s not good enough for MVP, because there was a deal last night: Miz gets the title and Lashley gets the first title shot. Miz says that’s true, but Miz never said when he gets the title shot. There just isn’t time right now, so Lashley grabs him by the tie and says Miz has one more hour. If Miz makes the wrong decision, he’s going to be in a new reality series called “How Bobby Lashley Sent Me To The Emergency Room.” Either way, Lashley is getting that title and it’s going to be awesome.

Riddle comes up to the Lucha House Party and thanks them for having his back to get to the title. They’re a bit worried about him facing John Morrison tonight but no worries because Riddle has….a scooter!

Back with a countdown clock giving Miz about 43 minutes to answer Lashley, because saying “until the top of the hour” was asking too much of Lashley.

Riddle vs. John Morrison

Non-title. Morrison starts fast with a leg lariat but gets pulled into a quickly broken figure four necklock. Morrison’s kick to the head is countered into an ankle lock but that’s broken up in a hurry as well. Riddle’s gutwrench suplex gets two but another kick to the head sends Riddle outside.

A corkscrew dive drops Riddle again, only to have him come back with a fisherman’s buster onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Riddle kicking him to the floor and hitting a springboard Floating Bro for the big crash. Back in and Morrison runs up the corner for a super Spanish Fly and a near fall. Riddle doesn’t seem to mind and hits the Bro Derek for the pin at 11:07.

Rating: C+. This was better than I was expecting with the two showing some nice chemistry. I’m not sure why they didn’t let this be a title match so Riddle could get a defense under his belt but it’s not like it matters very much. Riddle could be champion for a long time to come and this was a good way to get things started.

We look at Bad Bunny performing on Saturday Night Live with the 24/7 Title.

Bad Bunny and Damien Priest talk about how great things have been but see R-Truth hiding near a referee. Truth thinks that it’s Bugs Bunny and was just trying to get an autograph. Priest: “His name is BAD Bunny.” Truth: “Oh….my bad…..Bunny.” Truth runs off.

Miz appeals to Adam Pearce, who sympathizes but says the WWE Champion should be ready to face all challengers. The clock is ticking, so Miz pulls out his phone.

New Day vs. Retribution

Mace and T-Bar for the team here with Reckoning, Slapjack and Mustafa Ali in their corner. T-Bar hammers Woods down to start so it’s off to Kofi, who gets planted down with ease. It’s off to Mace for two off a big boot and Woods is knocked off the apron. A double sitout chokeslam crushes Kofi but Ali wants more. Woods manages to low bridge T-Bar and Trouble in Paradise sends Mace outside as well. Back in and another Trouble in Paradise finishes T-Bar at 2:50.

Post match Ali yells at Retribution and asks how much longer he has to deal with these failures. He carried the team on his back and they have failed over and over again. Ali storms off.

Here’s Adam Pearce to bring out Lashley (in gear) and MVP, followed by Miz (in his suit) and John Morrison. Miz says he needs more time to make a decision because so many people want their chance. MVP doesn’t want to hear it but Miz asks for a week. Cue Braun Strowman to say he deserves a shot but Pearce and Shane McMahon have something against him. He is far more “clarified” to face Miz than Lashley, which is all the opening Miz needs to try and stir the pot.

MVP isn’t having that but here’s Shane McMahon to interrupt. Shane says last night was about former WWE Champions rather than Universal Champions but Strowman says all of that sucks. He wants his match tonight but Shane thinks that idea sucks. Strowman says he wants to face Lashley tonight then, so Shane makes the match and let’s sweeten the pot a bit: if Strowman wins, next week’s title match is a triple threat. Reality sets in on Miz in a hurry but Strowman yells at Shane, allowing Lashley to take out Strowman’s knee.

Hurt Business vs. Lucha House Party

Non-title tornado tag with MVP on commentary. Shelton and Cedric take over to start, including a hard basement dropkick to Dorado’s back. Dorado gets knocked out of the air and then out to the floor, leaving Metalik to get double teamed. Metalik’s comeback is countered with a powerbomb for two as Dorado makes the save.

Dorado manages to get in some right hands to the face for a breaker and it’s a tornado DDT into a top rope splash for two on Alexander. MVP yells at Shelton as Alexander fights back a bit. Dorado catches him on top with a super hurricanrana but (after an unnecessary tag) Metalik misses a top rope double stomp. Alexander knees Dorado down though and Paydirt gives Shelton the pin at 5:53.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what the point of this one was as the Hurt Business didn’t give up much of anything save for a quick Lucha flurry. That being said, it was really nice to not have the champs not fighting among themselves for a change. I have no idea why they needed to have issues in advance so it was quite the relief to see it work for once.

We look back at Damien Priest helping Bad Bunny win the 24/7 Title last week.

Damien Priest vs. Angel Garza

Bad Bunny is here with Priest. Garza runs straight at him and gets his head taken off with a clothesline for two. Some strikes in the corner rock Garza but he’s back with his own clothesline. Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and yells at Bunny before slapping on a camel clutch. Priest fights up and elbows Garza’s right hand away, setting up a kick to the back of the head.

Another kick doesn’t get to launch as Garza collapses so Priest hits the running elbow in the corner. The Broken Arrow gets two but Garza is back with a hard running clothesline to the floor. Garza taunts Bunny so Priest kicks him in the face. The top rope spinwheel kick sets up Hit The Lights for the pin at 6:14.

Rating: C-. Kind of dull here but Priest got the win with his finisher. There’s a cool aura to Priest and WWE is smart to put him in such a high profile spot. Yes Bunny is the important part here, but Priest is likely to be around a lot longer and WWE is giving him a nice platform to get noticed.

Post match the menagerie of numskulls comes out to go after the 24/7 Title but Bunny sends Drew Gulak over the top.

Rhea Ripley is still coming.

Randy Orton says he has not failed very much in his career but lately he has not been able to shake the Fiend. Even after burning him alive at TLC (which we see), the Fiend and Alexa Bliss have been costing him, including last week when Bliss cost him the chance to be the last entrant in the Elimination Chamber. Orton has a Bliss problem and, after seeing her promising to bring back the Fiend last week…..he chokes on a bunch of black goo coming out of his mouth.

Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax vs. Asuka/Charlotte

Non-title. Asuka starts fast with an Octopus on Shayna, who reverses into a Stretch Muffler. That’s reversed into an armbar which is broken as well so it’s off to Charlotte to strike away at Jax. Everything breaks down with Jax and Baszler being knocked outside as we take a break. Back with Shayna kicking Asuka down and stepping on her face. The big stomp to the arm misses though and Asuka gets over for the tag to Charlotte. Everything breaks down and Charlotte gets to clean house with a big boot to Shayna but Jax powerbombs her down for two.

The chinlock goes on before Baszler comes in to work on the arm. That doesn’t last long so Jax comes back in, allowing Charlotte to hit a weird looking hurricanrana into the corner. The Figure Four has Baszler in trouble but Jax makes the save with the legdrop. Charlotte gets over to Asuka to start cleaning house but the Asuka Lock is broken up by Charlotte’s missed big boot. Jax drops the leg for the pin at 12:31.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one whatsoever as it was awkward in multiple parts and felt like they were in different books. I’m not sure why Charlotte kicking Asuka in the face by mistake is supposed to be some big moment, but WWE has a history of thinking Charlotte is a bit more important than most others do. Pretty off match and hopefully it’s the last time we have to see it.

Post match Asuka isn’t pleased and Charlotte walks off. That would seem to be a stake in the heart of the partnership after….uh….about two months.

Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy

Sheamus knocks him off the ropes to start and we hit the early armbar. That’s broken up with an armdrag to the floor and a dropkick through the ropes has Sheamus in trouble. Hardy hits a dive and we take a break. Back with Sheamus hitting a trio of Irish Curses for two and pounding the chest with forearms.

Hardy fights up and nails the Whisper in the Wind and a top rope splash (rather than the Swanton) gets two. There’s the Twist of Fate but Hardy takes a good while getting up top, meaning the Swanton can’t launch. White Noise is countered but Sheamus misses the Brogue Kick as well. The second one connects though and Hardy is done at 10:15.

Rating: C. The Sheamus push continues and I’m not sure where this is going at the moment. In theory he should be moving towards Sheamus getting to face Drew McIntyre in some big match but I’m not sure what that is going to be. Hopefully they do something with it, as the build has been pretty good so far.

Charlotte is with Ric Flair in the back and says she can’t do this anymore. She can’t keep focusing on Ric because it is affecting her career. Last week he was out there pretending the baby was his and it’s costing them their legacy. She tells him to go home but Ric says that he never said it was his baby and he saw potential in Lacey. Charlotte: “You see potential in a lot of blondes.”

Flair talks about how he had a bit of a hand in making Charlotte what she is today and wanting to expand their brand. Charlotte says Ric just wants to be the Nature Boy and all he cares about is himself, leaving him rather sad. I’m sick of this story, but they absolutely nailed the emotions here and Flair’s explanation did make sense.

Naomi/Lana vs. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke

Brooke gets whipped into a big boot to start and it’s quickly off to Mandy. Lana comes in for a few kicks and a double X Factor finishes for Naomi at 1:31. Is there a reason Mandy and Dana are a team other than to heat up the next thrown together #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles?

Ricochet vs. AJ Styles

AJ starts fast and blocks a kick in the corner to send Ricochet face first into the mat. Some kicks to the head look to set up the Styles Clash but Ricochet backdrops out. A kick to the head rocks AJ but he knees Ricochet hard in the face. The Styles Clash finishes Ricochet at 3:49.

Rating: C. This would be your “well that happened” moment of the show. I’m assuming this was a way to kill some time so Lashley vs. Strowman doesn’t have to go as long and also reheat AJ a bit after last night. I’m not sure how much reheating you need after finishing runner up to the WWE Champion inside the Elimination Chamber, but at least Ricochet got pinned again.

Post match Omos chokeslams Ricochet. Well chokedrops to be more accurate but close enough.

Braun Strowman scares Miz and John Morrison.

Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley

If Strowman wins, next week’s title match is a triple threat. Miz is on commentary as Strowman runs Lashley over to start. Lashley is sent outside but avoids a charge into the steps. Back in and Strowman counters the Hurt Lock and hits the running powerslam for a near fall. Lashley manages a heck of a spinebuster for two and then cuts Strowman down with the spear for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C. They were very smart to keep this short because these two could have gotten in trouble going long. I’m rather surprised by the result as it’s not often that the win and in stipulation doesn’t work. The title match next week should be good, if nothing else for seeing how many ways there are to go.

Overall Rating: C. This was a weird show as they had a lot of things going on but at the same time there was an energy here that helped a bit. You can tell that things are going to start happening in the near future and that’s a good thing. I’m curious to see where things are going and a lot of that is due to the lack of Drew McIntyre. You know he isn’t going to be gone long and there is a good chance he’ll be involved in the main event. I want to see where these things are going and that’s a nice feeling. Some of that is due to Miz Tonk Man and that’s a nice change of pace after some strong McIntyre reigns.

Results

Riddle b. John Morrison – Bro Derek

New Day b. Retribution – Trouble in Paradise to T-Bar

Hurt Business b. Lucha House Party – Paydirt to Dorado

Damien Priest b. Angel Garza – Hit The Lights

Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler b. Charlotte/Asuka – Legdrop to Asuka

Sheamus b. Jeff Hardy – Brogue Kick

AJ Styles b. Ricochet – Styles Clash

Naomi/Lana b. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke – Double X Factor to Rose

Bobby Lashley b. Braun Strowman – Spear

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

AND

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

Elimination Chamber 2021
Date: February 21, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

The long Road to Wrestlemania continues here as we have one of the two pay per views between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. This time around they are doing something a little different with the Elimination Chamber matches as the Raw World Title is on the line, but the winner of the Smackdown Chamber gets an immediate title shot. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Ricochet vs. John Morrison vs. Elias vs. Mustafa Ali

The winner replaces Keith Lee, who is out thanks to an attack by Bobby Lashley, in the US Title triple threat match. The rest of Retribution is here as well. Morrison and Elias are knocked to the floor to start so Ricochet can hammer away on Ali. The other two get back in and Elias chops Ricochet in the corner. Elias grabs a reverse DDT on Ricochet but Morrison grabs a reverse DDT on Elias, leaving Ali to neckbreaker Morrison and drive everyone down.

Back up and Elias’ running knee gets two on Ali with Slapjack making the save. Ricochet knocks Elias to the floor but walks into the Moonlight Drive to give Morrison two. Starship Pain misses though and all four are down in different corners. It’s Ricochet up first to knock everyone down, including a bridging half nelson suplex for two on Morrison. Ali is back up with his tornado DDT on Elias but Ricochet hits a 450, with Ali needing Retribution to make the save. Ricochet’s big flip dive is cut off though and a powerbomb sends him into the post, leaving Morrison to roll Ali up for the pin and the title shot at 7:00.

Rating: C. Fun match, though I’m more annoyed at the fact that it needed to happen. How WWE has managed to drop the ball with Keith Lee amazes me to no end yet I can’t say I’m surprised. Morrison works just fine as a replacement, but if WWE/Vince can’t stand Lee this much, just send him back to NXT where he can do a heck of a lot more for you.

The opening video focuses on the Elimination Chamber, talking about how it is an obstacle to the ultimate goal. Everyone looks nervous about getting in but the prize is worth it.

For those who keep track: Cole only calls the Thunderdome award winning, as it has lost its critical acclaim.

Jey Uso vs. Kevin Owens vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro vs. King Corbin vs. Sami Zayn

Inside the Chamber and the winner faces Roman Reigns for the Universal Title later in the night. Also of note: Cole says that HHH invented the Chamber but Eric Bischoff debuted the concept. New one on me, but are you really surprised? We get a video on the participants and Roman Reigns during the entrances. Cesaro is in at #1 and Bryan is in at #2, with Cesaro starting fast with a backbreaker for two. Bryan comes back with some uppercuts and strikes for two of his own but seems to tweak his knee. Owens: “HIS KNEE! HIS LEFT KNEE!”

Bryan tries to go after the arm but has to settle for some uppercuts. Cesaro shows him how to throw an uppercut but has to shake some feeling back into the arm. A delayed vertical suplex shows that the arm is just fine but it’s King Corbin in at #3 (Owens: “WHY HIM???”). Corbin takes both of them down, including cutting off Cesaro’s uppercut train with the Deep Six. Bryan is taken to the outside where Corbin rams the banged up knee into the pod. Owens: “NOW TAKE HIM INSIDE, PUT A HOLD ON HIM AND GET RID OF HIM!”

Instead Corbin punches Cesaro down and takes them both back inside. With Bryan knocked out again and Cesaro tied in the Tree of Woe, Sami Zayn is….well not in at #4 as he holds his pod door closed rather than fight Corbin. Bryan jumps Corbin but Cesaro comes in through the other side and drags Zayn out. Zayn sends Cesaro into the pod door but Bryan sends Zayn into the Chamber.

The Helluva Kick only hits pod and Zayn is down, leaving Corbin to crotch Bryan on top. Cesaro and Zayn climb up onto the pod with Cesaro uppercutting away, sending Zayn crawling horizontally away, because climbing down is too complicated. Cesaro gives chase and kicks him down before doing some pullups from the roof. After dropping down, Cesaro gets clotheslined by Corbin and there’s a chokeslam to Bryan.

Cesaro posts Corbin though and it’s a top rope corkscrew uppercut to set up the Swing. The Sharpshooter makes Corbin tap at 17:40 (Owens: “BYE!”) and it’s Kevin Owens in at #5 (at just over 18 minutes as the intervals are all over the place). Zayn says hold on a second and tries to get the old team back together one more time, earning himself a face first trip into the pod. Bryan gets German suplexed and it’s time for the exchange of uppercuts with Cesaro. An enziguri drops Cesaro but Bryan grabs a sleeper.

That’s broken up with a Backpack Stunner as the two land on Cesaro for a crash. Zayn gets superkicked and it’s time for a bunch of Cannonballs. It’s Zayn up first with the half nelson suplex to Owens, setting up a parade of finishers to put everyone down again. Owens’ pumphandle brainbuster onto the knee gets two on Bryan and Jey Uso is in at #6 (at 23:06, as they aren’t even trying with the intervals here). Owens sends him straight into the Chamber and hits the big flip dive onto the pile. The Stunner gets rid of Zayn at 25:20, leaving us with four.

Owens goes to throw Zayn out but Jey slams the door onto Owens’ arm, leaving Owens vulnerable to a bunch of superkicks. The Superfly (not frog Cole) Splash gets rid of Owens at 26:39. Cesaro uppercuts Uso and hits a top rope elbow for two, followed by some Swings into the Chamber. Bryan kicks Cesaro out of the air and grabs a backslide for two more. Another kick to the head gets another two and Bryan stomps away. The running knee is countered into the torture rack but Bryan slips out for another kick.

Cesaro uppercuts him off the top and a super gutbuster sets up a Swing, only on the bad leg for a great twist. Uso breaks it up with a superkick though and the Superfly Splash gets rid of Cesaro at 32:36. Another Superfly Splash gets two on Bryan but another one off the top of a pod hits raised knees. The running knee finishes Uso to give Bryan the title shot at 33:55.

Rating: B. The best thing here was I wasn’t sure who was winning until the end. That’s a great feeling to have as they really could have gone in about four directions and any of them would have worked. Bryan coming in as an underdog will work just fine and hopefully the match with Reigns will live up to even most of the hype. Rather good stuff here and Bryan winning was a pretty nice feel good moment as he hasn’t been in the main event as much of late.

And so much for waiting.

Smackdown World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan

Reigns is challenging and has Paul Heyman with him. Bryan says YES he can go and counters an early spear into the YES Lock but Reigns powers out. Some heavy right hands and forearms knock Bryan silly and the guillotine choke finishes him off to retain the title at 1:35.

Post match Edge spears Reigns down and we see the Wrestlemania sign, with pyro going off. Cole thinks this might be Edge’s decision, because only in WWE can the obvious need an official announcement for the obvious.

We look at Bad Bunny as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where he had the 24/7 Title.

Miz doesn’t like Bad Bunny being the guest when it should have been Miz and John Morrison. He asks Bunny why he’s here and slaps him in the face, earning a harder one from Bunny. Miz is ready to fight but runs into Damien Priest, who scares him off.

US Title: Riddle vs. John Morrison vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is defending and has MVP, on a crutch, with him. They start fast with Lashley cleaning house on both of them but Riddle grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up and Riddle is sent outside, allowing Morrison to hit a Flying Chuck to the champ. Morrison gets knocked outside and posted but Riddle dives off the steps onto Lashley. That earns him a nasty backdrop onto the floor, but at least the dive looked nice.

All three are back in and a double kick to the face rocks Lashley….who knocks them both to the floor. Riddle and Morrison try coming in from different sides but Lashley drops them again. MVP: “WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO!” Riddle avoids a charge to send Lashley to the floor and a kick from the apron staggers the champ. A pair of dives take Lashley down, leaving Riddle to hit a Pele to send Morrison into the corner. The t-bone suplex sets up the Broton into the Penalty Kick to rock Morrison again.

The bridging German suplex gets two but Lashley is back in, only to get taken down with the Final Flash. The Floating Bro mostly connects but Morrison knees Riddle in the head. Starship Pain barely grazes Lashley for two (MVP: “YOU REALLY THOUGHT THAT WAS GOING TO PIN THE ALMIGHTY??? Morrison: “Shut the h*** up!”) and Morrison is so annoyed that he grabs MVP’s crutch. Lashley slaps the Hurt Lock on Morrison but Riddle breaks the crutch over Lashley’s back. The Bro Derek gives Riddle the pin and the title at 8:40.

Rating: C+. I liked the story here and it gives Riddle the big win that he has been needing for a long time now. Above all else though, it gets the title off of Lashley and, in theory, should let him go after the World Title. What in the world is there left for him to do otherwise, save for maybe put Riddle over in a singles match? Also, and I have absolutely no idea if this is the case, but if that knee injury was faked (MVP denied some of the rumors about it) to set up that finish, well done indeed.

Wrestlemania is coming in 48 days, exclusively on Peacock. Maybe they’ll have announced the ticket information by then.

Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks are ready for the Women’s Tag Team Titles, with Reginald offering them some champagne after their win. Belair likes the idea of holding the title and toasting her Wrestlemania decision.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Bianca Belair/Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler

Jax and Baszler are defending and Jax starts with Belair. Some early charges miss to frustrate Jax, meaning it’s off to Banks. That’s fine with Jax, who throws her at Belair for a catch and toss back. Baszler comes in and is taken down for an early Meteora from Banks, who is sent to the apron for a standing splash from Jax. We settle down to Baszler taking Banks down by the arm and stomping away at said arm, which is cranked back hard.

A clothesline gives Baszler two and it’s time for more am cranking. Jax slams Banks down for two and we hit the cobra clutch. Banks fights up and rolls Baszler into the corner, only to knock Belair off the apron by mistake. A knee to Baszler’s face allows the tag to Belair but what looked to be a Glam Slam is countered into a not quite complete Glam Slam. Banks tags herself in and hits a frog splash for two on Baszler with Belair being stunned by the kickout.

The KOD hits Baszler and Belair makes sure to feed her leg back for Jax to pull her out at two (WWE can be really, really bad at telegraphing something like that). Everything breaks down and the Samoan drop hits Belair. Banks comes back in with the top rope Meteora but here’s Reginald with a bottle as the Bank Statement has Jax in trouble. The rope is grabbed so Reginald hands Banks the bottle, which she isn’t using. Instead Jax decks her from behind and hits the Samoan drop to retain at 9:35.

Rating: C-. To recap: one of the Women’s Champions, who is teaming with the Royal Rumble winner who can challenge either of the champions, just got pinned by another champion thanks to botched interference by the official wine person of a woman not involved in the story and who also pinned the champion who pinned the champion. I remember when Brisco and Funk did that same story back in 78 but they didn’t have the hair working as well. The match felt rushed, but at least Jax got her heat back after losing to the wine guy on Smackdown.

Miz and MVP have a chat we can’t hear.

Video on Drew McIntyre defending the Raw World Title in the Elimination Chamber.

Raw World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles vs. Drew McIntyre

Inside the Chamber with McIntyre defending, Omos is here with AJ, and Sheamus will enter last. Jeff Hardy is in at #1 and Randy Orton is in at #2 with Hardy knocking Orton outside. A thumb to the eye cuts Hardy off as Joe says “they say the Chamber is the providence of those who dare.” Since when are there Elimination Chamber philosophers? Back in and Orton knocks Hardy down, setting up some stomps to the ribs.

We hit the chinlock but Hardy is back up for the legdrop between the legs. The splash gives Hardy two but the Twist of Fate and RKO are both blocked. Drew McIntyre is in at #3 (at about 4:32, as the weird intervals have carried over). A belly to belly suplex takes Hardy down and there’s a neckbreaker to Orton. McIntyre launches Hardy face first into the pod wall, though he did make sure to tell the cameraman to move. McIntyre: “I told you to move!” Back in and Orton stomps McIntyre down in the corner and a neckbreaker gets two more.

The hanging DDT onto the Chamber floor connects and it’s Kofi Kingston in at #4. Kofi goes right after Orton….and rolls him up for the very fast elimination at 8:54. Orton lays Kofi out with an RKO so AJ orders Omos to get him out of here. Omos rips the Plexiglas off and runs in to cover Kofi for two. Adam Pearce comes out to eject Omos as AJ covers Hardy for two more. Kofi is back up with a tornado DDT to put AJ on the Chamber floor and everyone is down for a bit. Kofi and AJ slug it out on the Chamber floor with AJ getting monkey flipped into the wall.

McIntyre throws Kofi down without much trouble and then suplexes him into the Chamber wall, followed by a heck of a backdrop to Styles. That leaves McIntyre as the only one standing as Sheamus is in at #6 to complete the field (at 17:06, or about six minutes faster than it was completed in the first match). The slugout is in on a hurry with Sheamus getting the better of it and taking McIntyre outside. AJ and Kofi keep fighting as Hardy has been down for a pretty long time.

Kofi gets up and dives onto Sheamus and McIntyre. That’s enough for Kofi to climb a pod with Sheamus following him, only to get crotched down by McIntyre. With Sheamus up top, McIntyre loads up a superplex, which has Saxton wondering if Sheamus is thinking about a superplex. AJ and Hardy come in to make it a Tower of Doom (Hardy seems to be favoring his knee), setting up Kofi’s big Trust Fall onto everyone for a cover each.

Kofi hammers away on Sheamus but another Trust Fall is pulled out of the air. The Brogue Kick gets rid of Kofi at 23:47 and we’re down to four. Hardy is back up with a Twist of Fate each to the other three. A Whisper in the Wind takes out McIntyre and Sheamus, leaving AJ to take the Swanton. McIntyre is back in with the Claymore to eliminate Hardy at 25:33 and we’re down with three. The jumping knee gets two on McIntyre and there’s White Noise to put him down again.

AJ’s springboard…Swanton instead of a 450 (thanks to a bit of a slip) gets two on McIntyre. A full on 450 gets two but Sheamus comes off the top with a clothesline to drop Styles. McIntyre grabs the Future Shock on Sheamus but he’s right back up with the Brogue Kick. AJ hits a Phenomenal Forearm out of nowhere to get rid of Sheamus at 30:23 and we’re down to AJ vs. McIntyre. Another Phenomenal Forearm is loaded up but McIntyre Claymores it out of the air to retain at 31:12.

Rating: B. This was another good one as they had some options to win but the talent was a little better overall to make up for a few things. Granted it was annoying waiting around for Miz to run in and join the match but maybe they’re waiting for later on that. They gave it some time and the ending was a good way to go with the Claymore looking great. Sheamus vs. Drew could be fine as a Fastlane match but I’m not sure who that leaves for McIntyre at Wrestlemania.

Post match McIntyre celebrates….and Bobby Lashley jumps him from behind. The big beatdown is on and the Hurt Lock leaves McIntyre laying. Cue Miz with the referee and please let it be over.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. The Miz

Drew is defending and the cash in is on with Miz hitting a DDT for two. The Skull Crushing Finale gives Miz the title at 25 seconds. I know Miz has been annoying for a long time and he isn’t keeping the thing long……BUT THE MONEY IN THE BANK BRIEFCASE IS GONE AND I CAN BE HAPPY FOR LIKE THREE MONTHS!!!

Miz poses with the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s a really weird show as you have six matches with two of them adding up to be about two minutes long. The important thing here was some big stuff happened (to put it mildly) and the two Chamber matches were both rather good. Throw in the briefcase FINALLY going away and the Wrestlemania match being set and it’s hard to complain that much, especially for a two and a half hour show.

The one thing that might not be a good sign: they have how many people sitting at home but Morrison, Bryan and McIntyre all wrestle twice? With Bryan and McIntyre’s matches following the exact same formula? They might want to work on that a bit, but that has been the case for so long now that it’s not even worth getting annoyed over. Very good show, based entirely on two matches and the death of a briefcase.

Results

Daniel Bryan b. Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, King Corbin, Cesaro and Sami Zayn – Running knee to Uso

Roman Reigns b. Daniel Bryan – Guillotine choke

Riddle b. Bobby Lashley and John Morrison – Bro Derek to Morrison

Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler b. Bianca Belair/Sasha Banks – Samoan drop to Banks

Drew McIntyre b. AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Jeff Hardy and Kofi Kingston – Brogue Kick to Styles

Miz b. Drew McIntyre – Skull Crushing Finale

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: September 22, 2006
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Attendance: 13,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re now officially on the way to No Mercy and we even have a main event for the show. Last week Bobby Lashley became the new #1 contender to King Booker, but tonight Booker has to face Vito. That’s what we’re getting on a Season Premiere as the show moves to a new network with the CW. Let’s get to it.

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

King Booker and Queen Sharmell come in to see Teddy Long. They don’t like that Booker’s hands are going to be sullied by a match with Vito because everything they have is the finest. After a look at Sharmell’s gown, Teddy has good news for them: Vito has stepped aside and Undertaker will face him instead. The accents are dropped in a hurry and panic sets in. So why advertise Vito when you could advertise Undertaker?

New opening sequence, featuring the wrestlers turning into comic book style caricatures.

William Regal/Finlay vs. Batista/Bobby Lashley

Batista wants to start with Finlay but gets jumped by Regal instead. That goes as well as you would expect for Regal, who gets sent into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Finlay runs away from Batista on the floor so Batista settles for a spinebuster to Regal instead. Lashley comes in for a double delayed vertical suplex (not bad) and a snap suplex gets two on Regal. It’s off to Finlay, who gets caught in a torture rack dropped into a backbreaker but a low bridge puts Lashley on the floor.

Regal nails a clothesline and the villains (you know they’re villains because Regal’s trunks say “villain”) take over with Finlay dropping some elbows. It’s back to Finlay, who mocks Lashley for not being able to make the tag and kicks him in the ribs like an evil one would do. Regal’s t-bone suplex gets two as JBL talks about how much he can’t stand the French, Canadians or French Canadians. Regal jumps Batista on the apron so Batista comes in sans tag and cleans house. The Shillelagh is taken away from Regal so Lashley can nail the spear for the pin.

Rating: C. Nicely done here as they give Lashley a bit of a boost and let Batista vs. Finlay stay on the burner, likely for a showdown at No Mercy. They didn’t have much time here but the formula can work out well in short bursts too so this worked out fine. Good choice for an opener on the new network too, with a star like Batista and a hard hitting fight to give Lashley some nice exposure.

Here’s Layla, who promises to make Smackdown hot and dances a lot. Cue Krystal to say not so fast because she’s the hot one, meaning the brawl is on. Jillian Hall runs in for the save and rips off Krystal’s top. Then she rips off Layla’s top, followed by her own. And we move on.

Long video on Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero being friends/family and then splitting up over Chavo and Vickie Guerrero not liking Rey cashing in on the Guerrero name. Still a totally fair point.

Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms

Non-title. They go straight at it with Helms being backdropped out to the floor. Back in and Helms slips out of something off the top and snaps Hardy throat first across the top. A swinging neckbreaker gives Helms two and an elbow drop gets the same. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Helms hits what would eventually become the Codebreaker for two more.

Hardy jawbreaks his way out of another chinlock and grabs the Side Effect for two. A moonsault press gets two on more on Helms, who is right back with the Shining Wizard for the same. Helms goes for the turnbuckle pad so the referee puts it back on, allowing Hardy to hit a low blow into the rollup pin (ala Helms last week).

Rating: C. Hardy doing the same thing to Helms as the previous week was a nice touch, but I’m still not sure what the point of this feud is if Hardy can’t (and doesn’t seem interested in) win the Cruiserweight Title. The wrestling was fine enough, but it feels like we’re going in circles here. I know the title doesn’t mean anything, so why is it even a thing at this point?

Miz promises to win his next match.

Jimmy Wang Yang thought about debuting tonight but doesn’t feel very comfortable in Montreal. Not too many rednecks you see, so we’ll do it in Oklahoma next week.

Miz vs. Funaki

They fight over wrist control to start with Miz wristdragging him down. Another takedown sets up a suplex, followed by the Mizard of Oz (which lands in a reverse DDT this time instead of a neckbreaker) to keep Miz undefeated. Keeping Miz short is the right idea at the moment.

Rey Mysterio has had it with the Guerreros and today is the first day of the rest of his life.

Video on the Marine.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero

Vickie Guerrero is here with Chavo. They start fast again with Rey hammering away to take it to the floor. The fight goes into the crowd with Rey still getting the better of things until his hurricanrana is sent into the barricade. Things go back into the crowd and Rey sends him into the barricade over and over. Rey doesn’t seem to notice that the referee is telling him it’s over and they get back to ringside with Chavo getting kicked in the ribs. Vickie throws Chavo a chair, which Rey dropkicks off his face. Vickie’s interference doesn’t work as Rey hammers away again and referees come in to break it up. I’m not sure this was a match.

Rating: C. It wasn’t much of a match as it was much more of a brawl than anything else, but I want to see these two fight again, which is a lot more than I could say coming in. You could feel the anger and hatred here and that’s the best thing that could happen in a segment like this. Good stuff and I’m sure No Mercy waits for them.

Maryse welcomes us back to the show. I think you can get why she has a job.

Tag Team Titles: Brian Kendrick/Paul London vs. Pit Bulls vs. KC James/Idol Stevens

London and Kendrick are defending and Michelle McCool is here with James and Stevens. It’s a brawl to start with James, Kendrick and Noble getting things going. The Pitbulls beat on Stevens and Kash pounds him down for two. Stevens breaks that up and Kash gets knocked down into the corner, including a snapmare for two more.

Kendrick comes back and hammers away, allowing the hot tag off to London to pick the pace way up. A dropkick gets two on Stevens with the Pit Bulls making the save. Michelle gets on the apron for no apparent reason as Kash brainbusters London. Sliced Bread takes Kash down but Stevens hits a heck of a spinebuster on Kendrick. Noble sends him outside and rolls London up, only to get reversed into another rollup for the pin.

Rating: C+. As the champs tend to do, they got in and out without wasting time and had a high energy match. They really have become one of the most consistently entertaining things on Smackdown and this should be the blowoff to the three way feud. I’m sure it won’t be because there aren’t any other teams to come after them, but at least they had a nice match here.

Elijah Burke introduces Sylvester Terkay. Sylvester: “I’m Sylvester Terkay.” End of segment.

Video on Batista visiting the Philippines.

Here’s Sylvan to a crazy hero’s welcome and he seems fired up to be here. After saying something in French, we’re ready to go.

Sylvan vs. Tatanka

Sylvan chops away to start but Tatanka comes back with some right hands and is booed out of the building. A backbreaker sets up a chinlock but Sylvan is back with a spinebuster. There’s a dropkick to put Tatanka down again and a spinning belly to back slam gets two more. Tatanka tries a sunset flip but Sylvan sits down and grabs the rope for the pin.

Rating: D+. The wrestling was nothing to see here but WOW that crowd was behind Sylvan. That is the kind of thing that has never happened before and will probably never happen again, but thankfully WWE was smart enough to capitalize on it once. Let the fans have something to cheer and let a scrub like Tatanka take another loss. This was nice to see and I don’t get to say that very often.

John Cena visits Teddy Long and thanks him for the contract offer that was ready had Cena lost at Unforgiven. Long has an idea: Cena visits Smackdown next week and teams with Batista and Bobby Lashley against William Regal/Finlay/King Booker. Cena is in and leaves so Long dances in celebration.

No Mercy rundown with Batista vs. Finlay and Mysterio vs. Guerrero announced.

King Booker vs. Undertaker

Non-title, Sharmell is here with Booker and Mr. Kennedy is on commentary. Kennedy gets freaked out by Undertaker’s entrance and JBL isn’t much better. Undertaker strikes away to start and knocks Booker to the floor early on. We take a break and come back with Undertaker hammering away even more, setting up the knuckle lock lift to have Booker in more trouble. The arm is wrapped around the top rope but Old School is broken up.

A Sharmell distraction lets Booker grab a superplex and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Booker knocks him outside for a ram into the steps, followed by a DDT for two. The side kick misses though and Undertaker hits a jumping clothesline. Snake Eyes into the big boot gets two but Booker is back with the jumping kick to the face. Undertaker is right back to load up the Tombstone but Booker slips out and hits a low blow for the DQ.

Rating: C. As has been the case almost all night, this was all about making an appearance rather than the match itself. Undertaker being in the ring is still a treat and it was a good idea to have him on a special show. These two haven’t always had the best chemistry but they weren’t out there very long and it’s not like the bad finish came after a pay per view title match.

Post match here’s Bobby Lashley to throw Booker back inside, meaning it’s a chokeslam and Tombstone. Undertaker stares down at Kennedy to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where the wrestling did not really matter but the presentation was very good. For a season premiere on a new network, they did a great job of keeping things moving and having all of the big names come in and out throughout the show. They set up things both for the pay per view and next week so some fans might want to come back again. I don’t get impressed by WWE very often but they did a rather nice job here and that’s great to see.

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

AND

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

We’re on the Road To Wrestlemania and since WWE likes to have a few extra events these days, we have two pay per views before we can get there. This time around that includes Elimination Chamber, which does have something interesting with the show’s namesake matches. They’re doing something different with the two World Title matches this time around so maybe they’ll have something. Let’s get to it.

US Title: Bobby Lashley(c) vs. Keith Lee vs. Riddle

Lashley is on a heck of a roll as US Champion but I’m not sure if he is going to hang onto the title here. They have done a nice job of setting up the match but that’s assuming you ignore the absence of Lee, who was not even on the go home Raw. I’m not sure if that is going to be a big deal, but at the same time, it could give them an out to retain the title because WWE doesn’t mind having Lee lose quite often.

I’ll go with Lashley retaining the title, though I’m not sure how much longer he’ll be champion. In theory he should be on the way to challenging for the World Title sooner rather than later but he’ll need to lose the US Title first. I’ll take Lashley beating Lee here though, as Riddle continues to get close to winning the title but never actually gets there. I’m not sure he’ll notice though and he’ll still be just fine anyway.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Bianca Belair/Sasha Banks

My goodness these titles continue to find new ways to feel completely worthless. How many times in a row can the challengers be another thrown together team who have almost no time together as partners? That’s where we are again here, but at least Belair and Banks have a story together. I mean, of course they have the chance to have a story together because they totally haven’t made it clear that Belair is challenging Banks at Wrestlemania.

Anyway I’ll take Belair and Banks winning the title here, as there is no reason to keep the titles on Jax and Baszler. I don’t like the champions who feud with each other, but at least it could give them a chance to transition the titles to Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai in NXT where they belong. Just go with what makes sense for the titles for once. It might be nice for a change.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre(c) vs. Sheamus vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston

I have no idea where they are going with the WWE Title right now. Everything on paper says it should be McIntyre vs. Sheamus in a one or two match program for the title but unless Sheamus wins the belt here and they go to Fastlane where McIntyre gets it back and then moves on to Wrestlemania, I’m not sure what else there is to do. That somehow leaves them with few options and a lot of options, which is quite the situation.

In what is rarely a good idea, I’ll go with the logical way and say Sheamus leaves as champion here, setting up the showdown with McIntyre at Fastlane. I’ll also ignore the Money in the Bank briefcase because I can’t manage to care that much less about Miz and the contract. But yeah, we’ll go with Sheamus winning here, probably eliminating McIntyre last to get the title.

Jey Uso vs. Kevin Owens vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro vs. King Corbin vs. Sami Zayn

Now we have a match with even more options to win because it’s kind of obvious what is coming after this match is over. This time around, the winner of the Elimination Chamber gets to challenge Roman Reigns immediately thereafter, making this kind of the consolation prize for the winner due to reasons of impending destruction. That doesn’t mean it is going to be a bad match, but it kind of weakens the impact.

I know the easy answers are either Cesaro or Owens….so I’ll go with Owens, hopefully allowing him to wrap up the feud with Reigns once and for all in another pretty awesome match. The match has a lot of potential and could go several different ways, but having the Chamber as a #1 contenders match never set all that right with me. It should be good though, and that’s all it needs to be.

Smackdown World Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. ???

So yeah I don’t think there is going to be that much drama to this one. Unless they have some kind of screwy finish to the Chamber where the winner is only in the ring for about ten seconds and comes into the title match fresh, this is about as much of a layup as you’re going to find. There is a good chance that Reigns is still champion going into Wrestlemania next year so I can’t imagine him dropping it here.

I think I’ve made it clear enough but just for the sake of completion, Reigns retains here and should do it pretty easily. Above all else, this continues the theme of Paul Heyman being smart enough to keep Reigns from having to work that much a lot of the time, and that is a great use for him. It fits everything they’re doing and Reigns has to do nothing but hold out his hand and take the title, because he knows he’s good enough to get away with it.

Note that I’m leaving off Asuka vs. Lacey Evans, which isn’t going to happen because WWE isn’t that crazy, despite it still being listed on the WWE.com preview as of early Sunday morning. Granted WWE.com also says that the show starts at both 7pm (Network schedule) and 8pm (show’s official page) so maybe I’m thinking too much into this.

Overall Thoughts

Overall….I’m really not sure what to expect from this one and that’s a nice thing to be able to say. Above all else, either Chamber match could go in a few different directions and I’ll absolutely take that over last year where Shayna Baszler was the biggest lock to win in the history of the match. It shouldn’t be so difficult to write a story that leaves you with multiple options but since WWE does not have the best track record in that area, it’s rather nice to have that kind of a feeling for this show.

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: September 15, 2006
Location: DCU Arena, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re on the way to getting ready for No Mercy and the big story coming out of last week was Finlay attacking Batista to cost him the World Title. The post match beatdown would suggest a hoss fight between Finlay and Batista, which could make for one heck of a brawl. I’m not sure what else to expect from this one so let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Finlay, with the Leprechaun (under a sheet), to get things going. Finlay reminds us that he loves to fight and we see a clip of the end of last week’s show with Batista being left bloodied. Back in the arena, Finlay talks about taking Batista’s manhood…but here’s Bobby Lashley to interrupt. What Finlay did last week was an act of cowardice and the luck of the Irish has just run out. Cue Teddy Long to make the main event with the winner facing King Booker at No Mercy for the title. The brawl is nearly on with the Leprechaun attacking Finlay by mistake. Finlay throws him to the floor.

Post break, William Regal fires up Finlay before the main event.

Gregory Helms vs. Matt Hardy

Non-title and Matt comes in through the crowd to jump Helms from behind. The Side Effect sends Helms out to the floor but he’s right back in with an elbow to the face. Matt is bleeding from the nose as a result and Helms grabs a half crab. That’s enough to make Matt crawl over to the rope so the chinlock goes on. Matt suplexes his way to freedom and hits the middle rope legdrop for two. The referee gets bumped off the kickout though and Helms hits Hardy low for the DQ.

Rating: C-. I’m glad to see the champ actually win a match but I’m not sure where this is going to go. I don’t need to see Hardy feuding with the Cruiserweight Champion when he isn’t a cruiserweight, but who else is supposed to feud with Helms for the title at this point? The match was fine, though I’m not sure where Helms is going next.

Rey Mysterio and his rather young son Dominik are here. Dean Malenko says hi.

Jimmy Wang Yang is tired of the “Orientals” straight off the boat not being able to pronounce things. He’s a real redneck from Georgia though.

The Miz vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Scotty knocks him down to start but Miz is back up with a running shoulder. Miz flips out of a hiptoss and snaps off a good armdrag. The stomping ensues in the corner and a neckbreaker lets Miz choke. JBL freaks out over Cole comparing him to Miz, especially when Cole lists off Miz’s reality shows as accomplishments. JBL: “SO WAS HULK HOGAN’S SON NICK!” Scotty fights up with a flying forearm and the Worm is loaded up but Miz bails to the apron before Scotty…..whatever it is that he does. Miz snaps his neck across the top and hits a swinging neckbreaker (the Mizard of Oz) for the pin.

Rating: D+. I know it’s not that big of a deal but Miz got in a few moves here and looked a bit more polished than usual. Miz has a very long way to go but there is a charisma to him that makes me want to keep watching him. If nothing else, hearing JBL lose his mind over everything Miz does is worth a laugh.

Remember John Cena being in the Marine? He’s still in it.

Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash vs. Idol Stevens

Paul London, Ashley, KC James, Michelle McCool and Jamie Noble are all at ringside. Kash and Stevens slug it out to start but commentary ignores the match to talk about King Booker being invited to ECW next week. Kash and Stevens start double teaming Kendrick but get in the required fight over the cover. Kendrick fights up and dropkicks them both down but Kash’s release suplex cuts him off. Stevens is sent outside though and it’s a tornado DDT to give Kendrick the pin on Kash.

Rating: C. It was a short match but the time was spent on nothing but action, which is all you can hope for in a match like this. Kendrick and London continue looking good and it’s nice to have a few teams challenging them for a change. I’m not sure I can imagine them losing the titles, but it’s nice to have something going on instead of having the champions floating around.

William Regal is talking to King Booker and Queen Sharmell. Finlay comes in and Booker wants to talk about the #1 contenders match. The Court cannot be shaken up but Finlay is fighting tonight.

Rey Mysterio leaves Dominik in the locker room to watch his match. Oh Rey, you glorious moron.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mr. Kennedy

Non-title. During Rey’s entrance, Chavo and Vickie Guerrero go into the locker room to watch the match with Dominik. Kennedy takes him to the mat and grabs a chinlock as Cole goes into a rant about the Guerreros. Rey’s springboard crossbody is broken up and Kennedy slams him down, setting up a reverse chinlock. Back up and a hard whip into the corner gives Kennedy two more, followed by a spinebuster to cut Rey off again.

Kennedy keeps mixing things up (thank you) with a seated abdominal stretch. Mysterio gets up again and this time it’s the wheelbarrow bulld….actually a DDT for a change, followed by a kick to the head for two. Back up and Kennedy catapults him chest first into the buckle (which Cole sees as head first into the post, despite the foot and a half between the two). Rey is right back with the 619 to send Kennedy outside and a springboard corkscrew dive takes Kennedy down again.

We take a break and come back with Kennedy stomping away in the corner. Rey’s back is sent hard into the corner with his back bending around the post for a nasty landing. The standing abdominal stretch goes on this time as JBL explodes about dealing with problems while in the ring and yells at Cole for defending Mysterio. Those rants are still great. Kennedy puts Rey down but misses the Kenton Bomb, allowing Mysterio to get two off a springboard seated senton. Cue the Guerreros with Dominik for a distraction though and Kennedy grabs the rollup pin.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a weird one as they were building to a good match but it was pretty clear that something was going to happen with the Guerreros and Dominik. That’s what should have happened but I was into the match and the ending is a bit annoying. Still though, good stuff here as they continue the idea of Rey being distracted and don’t have a champion lose.

We get a special message pair for by MVP’s worldwide fan base.

MVP talks about how he is not scared to sign a contract with Smackdown. Teddy Long needs to bring the check and sign him up.

Vito vs. William Regal

Regal is so angry at Vito’s actions last week that he dropped the lawsuit to set up this match. Vito grabs a headlock so Regal rolls him up, meaning it’s time for the blurry censoring. JBL loses it again over what he is having to watch as Regal forearms Vito down without much effort. JBL: “WHY CAN HE NOT KEEP HIS DRESS DOWN??? HE’S LIKE HALF OF OUR DIVAS!” Vito makes the comeback and pulls the dress up, only to get taken down into a hammerlock. Back up and Vito sends him outside so Regal tries a sunset flip, only to have Vito sit down on it (with the dress going over Regal’s face) for the pin.

Rating: D. Regal and JBL made this a lot easier to sit through and I guess it’s an upgrade over having Vito beat up jobbers in the same way over and over again. At least he’s sticking with the lower level stuff and it’s not like this is taking up any serious time week to week. It’s not funny, but it could be a heck of a lot worse.

Regal’s stunned face makes up for a lot of this.

Raw Rebound.

King Booker isn’t happy with Teddy Long, who isn’t overly worried. Booker promises to beat everyone but here’s Vito to interrupt. That doesn’t please Booker, so Vito says try him. Teddy makes the match for next week so Vito raises the dress. So much for everything I said a few minutes ago.

Sylvester Terkay vs. Todd Smith

Smith grabs a headlock to start and gets shoved down for his efforts. Terkay knees him in the ribs as we hear about how awesome Terkay is at everything. A belly to back suplex puts Smith down for some forearms to the face (JBL on Terkay and Elijah Burke: “We have not seen an interracial team as good as this since the APA.”) and an armbar makes Smith tap. Smith would do a bit better when he bulked up, grew a heck of a beard and changed his name to Ivar.

Fit Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner gets King Booker, on commentary with Queen Sharmell (and William Regal off headset), for the title at No Mercy. They take their time to start with Lashley backing him into the corner. A shoulder puts Finlay down and the cover sends him bailing out to the floor. Back in and Finlay sends him outside for a change but gets run over again.

We take a break and come back with Finlay working on the leg, which he damaged during the break. The leg is sent into the post and we hit the half crab as Cole accuses Booker of sweating Crisco. For some reason this is deemed racist so we’ll cut back to Lashley kicking Finlay in the face to start the comeback. A clothesline to the back of the head gives Lashley two and a torture rack goes on.

Lashley drops down into a backbreaker for two so Regal throws in a chair for a distraction. Finlay grabs the Shillelagh but can’t swing it, as Lashley gorilla presses him instead. Regal offers another distraction so the Leprechaun throws Finlay the Shillelagh again but this time the referee sees him hit Lashley for the DQ.

Rating: C. These two know each other rather well and they had a nice match here, as Finlay stays strong and Lashley gets to move on to something bigger and more important. What we got here did its job well enough and could set up some issues with Booker and Finlay going forward, even if it’s a little early to consider breaking up the Court so far.

Post match the beatdown is on but here’s Batista (from his car in the parking lot, with his music playing) with a pipe to go after Finlay. Lashley spears Booker to the floor (Booker: “I’M GONNA BUST YO A**!”) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s more of the same from Smackdown as there are enough things going on around here to make me like the show but at the same time, a lot of the stuff just makes me want to move to anything else. The show was far from terrible, but at the same time, the lower card still has some major holes. Fix those things up and this is probably the best show going at the moment, assuming it isn’t already.

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 1, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and that means we only have two more pay per views to go before Wrestlemania because Elimination Chamber and Fastlane both need to be things. Edge won the men’s Royal Rumble and has a decision to make, which very well may come tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to get things going. Drew talks about how we are on the road to Wrestlemania and goes over how great each match was last night. Cue Edge to interrupt him though and McIntyre praises him for everything Edge did for him over the years. Drew was here when Edge had to retire and then he was in the Rumble last year when Edge returned.

Edge says he likes Drew but what is wrong with him? Winning the Rumble last night means that Edge can challenge Drew for the title. So why isn’t Drew kicking his head off right now? Cue Sheamus to interrupt and ask Edge who he is to question Drew. Edge has been sitting at home while Drew carried this company all year. Drew may take the high road but that’s not what Sheamus is going to do.

Edge won last night, so he can make a decision or Drew can do it for him. That isn’t happening tonight, but everyone will know when he makes his decision. Either way though, Edge is walking out of Wrestlemania SA champion. Edge leaves, and Sheamus Brogue Kicks McIntyre, likely setting up the Elimination Chamber title match.

Post break, Sheamus says he and Drew aren’t friends anymore and he wants the WWE Title. Drew Gulak is waiting with Sheamus’ bags and Sheamus leaves.

US Title: Riddle vs. Bobby Lashley

Riddle is challenging and MVP is here with Lashley. They start fast with Riddle getting caught in a delayed suplex but managing a hurricanrana to the floor. There’s the Floating Bro from the apron and Lashley is in more trouble. Back in and Lashley grabs the Hurt Lock over the ropes but Lashley doesn’t break for the DQ at 1:48 (Riddle seemed to tap anyway).

Post match Lashley grabs the Hurt Lock again to knock Riddle out, with MVP telling Lashley that he went too far. Lashley grabs it for a third time and drops Riddle onto the barricade.

We look back at Asuka and Charlotte losing the Women’s Tag Team Titles to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax last night.

Bad Bunny is here.

Back from a break and Riddle doesn’t even remember who he was facing.

Randy Orton can’t believe Edge pulled it off last night but the bigger problem is Edge made Orton look like a liar. See, Orton had promised that Edge wouldn’t be back but here he is again. Orton beat Edge up time after time because he loves him like a brother and tried to get him out of this business. Edge isn’t going to main event Wrestlemania because tonight there will be no mercy or compassion. They meet tonight.

Kofi Kingston is here with Xavier Woods tonight when Woods faces Ali and Retribution again.

Mustafa Ali vs. Xavier Woods

Retribution and Kofi Kingston are here too. Ali punches him down to start but gets clotheslined out to the floor for his efforts. Back in and Ali grabs a running neckbreaker, followed by a running neckbreaker for two more. Woods fights back up and strikes away before swinging into a Russian legsweep to drop Ali again. Ali is right back up but can’t hit the tornado DDT. T-Bar breaks up a pin attempt so Kofi goes after him, allowing Woods to grab a crucifix to pin Ali at 4:07.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here as Retribution takes another loss after going on a nice mini winning streak. I know this is leading to Kofi vs. Ali at some point, but it might be nice to build Ali up a little bit rather than tearing down any minor thing he builds up. The match was fine and at least the finish wasn’t entirely clean, but let Ali have a winning streak.

Damian Priest and Bad Bunny are chatting in the back.

We look back at the opening sequence.

Here are Miz and John Morrison for MizTV. They get straight to the point this week and bring out Bad Bunny as the guest. We look at Bad Bunny’s performance last night, plus Miz and Morrison getting on his nerves, causing him to dive on them in the Royal Rumble. Back in the ring Bunny confirms that he wants to be a wrestler, so Miz talks about mentoring Daniel Bryan to all of their success.

They’ll help Bunny get into wrestling if he helps them record an album. Miz: “We get Grammys and you get Slammys.” Morrison samples a bit of their Spanish rapping abilities but Bunny isn’t interested. Miz goes on a rant about how this is their ring but Bunny says he’s only here because his friend wants to be a guest. Cue Damian Priest to take out Miz and Morrison and we have a match.

Damian Priest vs. The Miz

Priest wastes no time in knocking Miz to the floor for the step up flip dive to take out both Miz and Morrison. Back in and Miz fights back but Priest isn’t having that and hits the running elbow in the corner. The Broken Arrow gets two but a Morrison distraction lets Miz get in a cheap shot. Miz goes for the briefcase but Bunny takes it away. Bunny hands it to Morrison and hits him with the microphone. The Reckoning finishes Miz at 4:26.

Rating: C. This was about establishing Priest and if having Bad Bunny as his friend helps that along then so be it. I don’t know anything about Bunny but he seems to be quite the big deal in the music world at the moment. If that helps Priest along then great, because Priest is the kind of guy who could be a heck of a star on Raw. A good debut helps that and it worked out well enough here.

Long video on Alexa Bliss going all evil.

Tag Team Titles: Hurt Business vs. Lucha House Party

The Hurt Business is defending and MVP is on commentary. MVP ignores a question about Lashley to talk about Bad Bunny before saying he has never seen Lashley go that far before (MVP: “But I like it.”). Shelton throws Dorado around to start but gets kicked in the face. Metalik comes in off of Dorado’s shoulders and (eventually) gets in a hurricanrana to take Benjamin over. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the House Party knocks the champs to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Shelton hitting a gutbuster for two on Dorado, with MVP shouting “GO BACK TO THE RIBS”. Some knees in the corner keep Dorado in trouble but he finally knocks Shelton down long enough to get over for the tag to Metalik. The pace picks up with a rope walk hurricanrana to Alexander. Dorado dives onto Shelton, who catches him out of the air, meaning Metalik has to dive onto both of them. Back in and Metalik rolls Alexander up for two but Alexander runs him over. Shelton tags himself in again though and Paydirt finishes Metalik to retain the titles at 11:13.

Rating: C. Hey, did you know that Alexander and Benjamin are champions who don’t get along? I’m not sure if WWE has pounded that into your head well enough by doing the same thing every single week since they won the belts in the first place. Throw in MVP questioning Lashley earlier in the night and I’m a bit scared about the Hurt Business’ future.

We look at Charlotte and Asuka losing the Tag Team Titles again.

Charlotte is focused on winning the Tag Team Titles and takes the blame for getting distracted by Ric Flair and Lacey Evans. Asuka is frustrated over the loss because she was ready last night. Charlotte says it’s time to get the titles back.

Charlotte/Asuka vs. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke vs. Naomi/Lana

The winners get a future Tag Team Title shot. We get an inset promo from Lana and Naomi, with Lana giving one of the most scripted, forced, unnatural statements ever about how they’re a team. Naomi isn’t much better, but that Lana one was as rigid as I can remember in a long time. Charlotte runs Naomi over to start so Mandy and Asuka tag themselves in. Both of them try dropkicks so Mandy grabs a rollup for two.

Lana and Dana tag themselves in and oh dear. Lana misses a few kicks to the face and gets sent into the corner for the handspring elbow. Mandy and Brooke clear the ring and we take an early break. Back with Charlotte grabbing the Figure Four necklock and rolling Dana over for a tag off to Mandy. Charlotte gets taken into the corner but escapes a double suplex without much effort. Asuka comes in for the running hip attack to Rose in the corner, followed by the Shining Wizard for two.

It’s quickly back to Charlotte to run Lana over for a few near falls but Lana reverses a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Naomi gets the hot tag and starts to clean house before it’s back to Lana, who is promptly kicked in the face. Everything breaks down with a parade of shots to the head. Natural Selection drops Dana….and here are Ric Flair and Lacey Evans for another distraction. Charlotte goes after them so Naomi hits the Rear View to finish Asuka at 11:10.

Rating: C-. Well at least Mandy and Dana didn’t take another fall, and since the idea of Charlotte taking back to back falls is horrible and atrocious, Asuka was the only other sacrificial lamb. Thank goodness we’re picking up the Lana vs. Jax feud again though, because that needed to keep going after the six week break. Otherwise we might have left dozens of people waiting for the big culmination.

A sad Drew McIntyre talks about his ten year friendship with Sheamus, including the two of them spending Christmas together in a diner because they had no one else. If Sheamus wants the match, he has it. No date given.

Video on Carlito.

Jaxson Ryker/Elias vs. Jeff Hardy/Carlito

Carlito takes Elias down to start and it’s off to Hardy to go after the arm. It’s off to Ryker for two off a suplex and Elias comes back in to elbow Hardy in the back. Carlito gets knocked off the apron to keep him angry as Elias hits a sitout chokeslam for two on Hardy. Ryker misses a middle rope splash though and it’s back to Carlito to start cleaning house. A faceplant cuts that off so Elias comes back in and rolls Carlito up for two. Carlito flips out of a suplex though and hits the Backstabber, setting up Hardy’s Swanton to finish Elias at 5:53.

Rating: C. I was never a big Carlito fan but he looks a heck of a lot better this time around, at least physically. If he can put in the effort and try to make another run work, WWE might have picked up a hidden gem. He looked pretty good here, though that was in a rather small dose. Not bad though, and that’s a fine way to start your run back.

Long video on Edge’s retirement, return and feud with Randy Orton setting up last night’s Royal Rumble win.

Edge talks about how great it was to come back last night and get this far, but there has always been a black cloud hanging over both himself and his family. That black cloud is Randy Orton and tonight he is going to deal with it so he can go back to Wrestlemania and get back a title he never lost. Tonight he gets closure on why he can’t carry his daughters to bed or play soccer with them because he’s finishing things with Orton.

Nikki Cross vs. Alexa Bliss

Cross asks Bliss what she wants from her and takes her down with a headlock. Bliss slips out and smiles at Cross, who runs her over with a crossbody. Back up and Bliss pops her with a right hand, meaning it’s a bit of a cheer before Bliss gets two. After a “well shucks/fiddlesticks” look from Bliss, she steps on Cross’ back and then sends her face first into the mat a few times.

A bit of hopscotch into a kick to the ribs gets two more and we hit a bodyscissors. Back up and Sister Abigail is broken up….and then Bliss turns back into the Goddess. Bliss says it’s her and offers a hug but gets kicked in the ribs, followed by a clothesline. Then it’s back into Funhouse Bliss so the smiles are on again. Sister Abigail into a DDT finishes Cross at 6:43.

Rating: D. Remember when Mick Foley had the Three Faces Of Foley and would transform from one personality to another when he was pushed too far or became comfortable enough that another could come out? Well screw all of that because what one of the most creative gimmicks of all time really needed was magic that let him change his look, style and gear in the blink of an eye. I’m a bigger Bliss fan than most but egads this is getting really, really annoying. Bring crowds back just to get rid of this nonsense.

Bliss goes to leave post match but runs into Randy Orton on the way to the ring for the main event.

Randy Orton vs. Edge

Edge goes straight at him to start and hammers away, setting up the standing choke that he used back in April. Orton breaks that up and chokes him down in the corner, followed by more choking on the rope. Edge snaps off a quick Edgecution for two but the spear is countered into a scoop powerslam. They take it outside with Orton sending him into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Edge in trouble but hitting a clothesline out of the corner. The RKO is countered into the Edge O Matic for two and Edge knocks him off the apron into the barricade. Edge follows and gets poked in the eye, allowing Orton to drop him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Orton sends him throat first into the bottom rope, followed by the hanging DDT. And now Alex Bliss is on the top rope with black fluid spilling out of her mouth. The spear finishes Orton at 16:02.

Rating: C+. These two always work well together and that was the case again here, even with whatever Bray Wyatt’s latest idea with Bliss is, even if no one but him has any idea what is going on. Edge is going on to something bigger and better at Wrestlemania so it’s nice that he can put the Orton thing behind him rather than having some other big pay per view match between them. I wouldn’t be shocked to see that happen again, but at least they gave Edge the win here.

Overall Rating: C-. This show wasn’t great, but it was still one of the best Raw’s in a long time due to cutting out a lot of the nonsense and having something to build towards over the next few weeks. Throw in Miz and Morrison being confined to the midcard where they belong at the moment and WAY less of the Bliss/Orton shenanigans and it was a lot easier to watch. Not a good show, but by comparison, it worked wonders (in other words, Smackdown on Monday).

Results

Riddle b. Bobby Lashley via DQ when Lashley would not let go of the Hurt Lock in the ropes

Xavier Woods b. Mustafa Ali – Crucifix

Damien Priest b. The Miz – Reckoning

Hurt Business b. Lucha House Party – Paydirt to Metalik

Naomi/Lana b. Dana Brooke/Mandy Rose and Charlotte/Asuka – Rear View to Asuka

Carlito/Jeff Hardy b. Elias/Jaxson Ryker – Swanton to Elias

Alexa Bliss b. Nikki Cross – Sister Abigail DDT

Edge b. Randy Orton – Spear

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: September 1, 2006
Location: Sovereign Center, Reading, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We are a long way off from No Mercy but it seems that we are going to be moving towards Batista vs. King Booker II for the World Title. I’m not sure how much interest there is going to be in seeing that match again. Other than that….uh…..well last week was the post Summerslam show so we don’t have much to build towards. Does Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero count? Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Vickie Guerrero officially joining forces with Chavo Guerrero (I guess it does count) and helping him in the beatdown of Rey Mysterio last week.

Opening sequence.

Here’s is an upset Rey Mysterio for a chat. Rey apologizes for not being himself but he doesn’t understand what Vickie did last week. Maybe he doesn’t want to know why but he wants Vickie and Chavo out here right now. Cue Vickie sans Chavo to say Rey is one of the people who cause her to cry every day.

It’s time she thought of herself, even though Eddie Guerrero saw Rey as his brother. She sees Rey as part of her past, so he isn’t included going forward. From now on, she is going to be Chavo’s business manager, which draws the required EDDIE chant. Vickie slaps Rey in the mask to cut off said chants and storms up the aisle. Chavo joins her on stage for the posing.

Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms

Non-title. Matt shoulders him down and grabs a headlock takeover but has to fight out of a cross armbreaker attempt. Back up and Helms sends him into the corner but gets pulled out into a sitout powerbomb for two. Matt goes up top so Helms catches him with a kick to the ribs, meaning it’s a crash out to the floor.

Back in and a swinging neckbreaker drops Matt again so we hit the chinlock. Make that a figure four necklock but Matt fights up again, only to get driven into the corner. A heck of a clothesline drops Helms and the Side Effect gives Matt two. There’s a middle rope elbow to the top of the head but Matt misses the moonsault press. Instead Matt ducks a title shot to the head and grabs a jackknife rollup for the pin.

Rating: C-. The match was fine enough, but I’m not sure what the point is in having a feud like this when Matt isn’t even a cruiserweight. What exactly is this building towards other than making the Cruiserweight Champion look weaker? Matt winning by avoiding some cheating was fine, but the title has been weak for a long time and now it is getting worse.

Mr. Kennedy asks Finlay for a US Title shot and Teddy Long is willing to make the match. He wants it to be bigger though, so Finlay says let’s make it a cage match. Kennedy says let’s make it a barbed wire steel cage match. Finlay: “How about I take you out back and beat the h*** out of you right now?” The match is on for later tonight.

Miz vs. Tatanka

This is Miz’s debut, sending JBL into a rant over his weird shorts. After a quick intro from Miz, he drives Tatanka into the corner but spends too much time HOO-RAHing, allowing Tatanka to switch places with him. Granted Tatanka doesn’t do anything to follow up, but he does switch places. Miz hits the stereotypical war dance for this week’s mockery so Tatanka chops him down.

The arm work begins, but JBL thinks he has it worse for having to watch Miz. Tatanka goes shoulder first into the post and Miz’s belly to back suplex gets two. The cobra clutch goes on so Tatanka is up in a hurry to slug away. Now the war dance sets up more chops to keep Miz down, including one to the floor. Back in and Miz sends Tatanka into the referee and grabs a backslide, with feet on the ropes, for the win.

Rating: D. This is one of those moments that kind of blows your mind when you know what it is going to mean. If nothing else, the idea of hearing JBL’s reaction to knowing where Miz’s career would go is hilarious. Miz wouldn’t get good in the ring for a LONG time, but he has a weird charisma that makes me want to see more of him.

John Cena is in the Marine.

US Title: Mr. Kennedy vs. Finlay

Kennedy is challenging….but hang on because here’s Teddy Long to make it a triple threat (Pla…..actually that doesn’t work here so we’ll move on.).

US Title: Mr. Kennedy vs. Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

Finlay is defending but it’s Kennedy trying to get an alliance going, earning himself a belly to belly from Lashley. Kennedy and Finlay do get together to beat Lashley down but Kennedy sends Finlay shoulder first into the post. The Kenton Bomb gets two on Lashley so Finlay puts Kennedy in the Boston crab. That’s broken up again so Finlay kicks Kennedy outside to brawl with Lashley.

Finlay gets sent outside in a hurry though so Lashley throws Kennedy inside instead. A suplex gets two on Kennedy with Finlay making the save. Lashley hits a gorilla press gutbuster to drop Finlay again, only to get jumped by Kennedy. Finlay sends Kennedy throat first into the bottom rope and pulls Lashley outside. Kennedy gets caught in the ring skirt so Finlay can pummel away but Lashley breaks that up. A delayed vertical suplex drops Kennedy on the floor but the Leprechaun pokes his head out from underneath the ring.

We take a break and come back with Lashley getting double teamed in the corner, with the alliance lasting all of thirty seconds. Finlay shoves Kennedy down so Kennedy punches him in the face, allowing Lashley to come back, only to get stomped down in the corner. The double teaming has Lashley in more trouble but Finlay turns on Kennedy again, which makes me chuckle for a change.

Cue the Leprechaun to beat up Kennedy as well, allowing Finlay to get two on Kennedy back inside. Lashley is back up and cleans house on Finlay, who can’t even get in a Shillelagh shot. The running powerslam connects for Lashley but Kennedy sneaks back in and rolls Lashley up with trunks to win the title.

Rating: C. They went a bit longer on this one than they needed to and I’m not wild on the stolen ending pin, but it makes sense to get the title on Kennedy. WWE has treated him like a big deal for a long time now so putting the title on him is one of those things that had to be done. Putting Lashley in there was a good idea as they needed to keep Finlay strong and they got the ending right, so well done.

We look at King Booker escaping Summerslam with the World Title over Batista.

Raw Rebound.

MVP, surrounded by his women, come to their ringside seats.

Vito vs. William Regal

Regal (rocking the red white and blue robe) looks disturbed by Vito, and says King Booker wants Vito to know that he isn’t the toughest man to ever wear a dress. Some shoulders put Regal down to start so Vito pulls the dress up to scare the heck out of him. That earns Vito some shots to the back of the head but Vito fights up again. The dress goes over Regal’s head so Regal, looking TERRIFIED, bails for the countout.

Jimmy Wang Yang is enjoying some ribs and doesn’t like being asked about Japanese restaurants. I’m kind of liking these things.

Michael Cole talks to MVP, who insists that he is not hiding behind his agent and would gladly beat up Batista and Bobby Lashley. He’s a world class athlete and no one here deserves to be in his presence.

Pitbulls vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London

Non-title and the Pitbulls jump the champs from behind to start. Some double dropkicks put Jamie Noble on the floor and it’s time to start in on Kid Kash’s arm. A top rope double stomp to Kash’s standing back gives London two and he knocks Noble off the apron for a bonus. Noble pulls London outside though and hammers away, allowing Kash to hit a release vertical suplex for two.

A double clothesline drops London again and they even draw Kendrick in to keep up the beating. Noble gets in some trash talk in the corner but London manages to send him face first into the buckle. That’s enough for the tag off to Kendrick and the pace picks up in a hurry. Everything breaks down and London shoves Kash off the top, leaving Kendrick to roll Noble up for the pin.

Rating: C. Hokey smoke the champs won a match! I know they’re smaller guys but they have some really good chemistry and look like a team who are thinking as one out there. The young high fliers are always going to work as a concept and that is what we have here. The Pitbulls work well in the ring too but they have a lot of size issues to overcome due to the style they’re using. It works, but it could go south rather easily.

Post match here are KC James and Idol Stevens to drop the champs and stare the Pitbulls down.

The Boogeyman is still coming.

Here is Teddy Long to call out King Booker (with Sharmell) and Batista to sign the contract for their rematch next week. They both come out (Batista can always rock a suit) and Booker thanks Thaddeus (JBL: “Thaddeus?”) before saying Batista couldn’t beat him at the Summerslam Games.

A King shouldn’t be breathing the same air as a peasant like him. Batista says Booker (Booker: “THAT’S KING BOOKER!”) kept the title via a technicality so Booker calls him a peasant again. They both sign but Booker takes a swing, earning a spinebuster….ok not quite through the table, but the second one puts him through it to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a pretty flat show and the wrestling didn’t help things very much. I’m a bit surprised at the title match taking place next week instead of at No Mercy but at least they aren’t stretching it out far longer than they should. I’m liking the pushes/debuted of Miz, MVP and Kennedy, as it’s nice to see a new generation coming together. There is something of a future coming together, but it’s still kind of off in the distance at the moment.

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

AND

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