IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 25, 2018
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

We’re getting closer and closer to Extreme Rules and that means we need to know who will be in the multi-man match for the right to face Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Other than that we have an Intercontinental Title match tonight as new champion Dolph Ziggler (Huh?) faces Seth Rollins in a rematch from last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Kurt Angle and Baron Corbin are in the ring, but first we have to hear a lengthy introduction for all of Corbin’s job titles. Angle talks about the upcoming #1 contenders match but shifts towards a recent Facebook post from Paul Heyman, saying no one was worthy of facing Lesnar. Before he can make an announcement though, here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Bobby Lashley interrupts as well, with Reigns not being able to get to say anything.

Lashley says he wants Lesnar and Reigns has had three years of chances. That means it’s time to move on, but Reigns says Lashley moved on ten years ago. About ten years ago, Lashley was in the main event of Wrestlemania (well, pretty much) but then he decided to go to MMA and become famous. What has Lashley done around here since then? Reigns is the guy who has been main eventing Wrestlemania four years in a row and it’s going to be five. Lashley tells him not to disrespect his background but he’s ready for anyone Angle throws at him.

Angle says there was a snag in the details and the multi-man match is off at Extreme Rules. Reigns goes on a rant about Lesnar not wanting to be here unless he gets paid, but Lashley thinks Lesnar just wants a real challenge and is sick of seeing Roman’s face. Lashley: “Just like all these people here.” A challenge is issued and they’re ready to fight, but Angle says he’s willing to take a singles match between the two of them under advisement. Cue the Revival again though and we’re having a rematch from last week.

Revival vs. Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley

Rematch from last week. Wilder gets sent outside to start and it’s a double shoulder to drop Dawson instead. A cheap shot from Wilder knocks Lashley into Reigns though and it’s Lashley, who loses the headband and reveals his rather large forehead, in trouble. More stomping in the corner doesn’t do much good for Revival as it’s quickly off to Reigns. That’s not very interesting to the announcers though so they read portions of Heyman’s Facebook post.

Reigns hits the apron boot on Wilder and we take a break. Back with Reigns in the same trouble Lashley was in earlier as Revival takes turns stomping away. The announcers talk about Lesnar some more as Wilder and Dawson talk trash and kick Reigns in the head. A Samoan drop gets Reigns out of trouble and it’s back to Lashley for that dreaded vertical suplex. It’s delayed and everything. Lashley loads up the spear but Reigns tags himself in for the Superman Punch to Wilder. Reigns loads up the spear but sidesteps a blind tag. Dawson’s charge hits Reigns but the distraction lets Wilder roll Reigns up at 13:03.

Rating: D+. Somehow, I’ll gladly take this, even if it might mean a third match next week and will mean nothing for the Revival because they’re not one of the featured tag teams at this point so they’re not going anywhere. Reigns and Lashley have some chemistry together as long as Lashley isn’t allowed to talk for very long, but their match might be a little rough.

Reigns and Lashley yell at each other.

Matt Hardy liked last week’s B Team parody, which he hasn’t seen done as well since he was sharing a tart with Bill Shakespeare. Bray Wyatt comes in and laughs about what the B Team did, promising consequences.

Matt Hardy vs. Curtis Axel

Before the match, the B Team parodies Matt and Bray again, this time choking on the smoke and lowering themselves with the lamp. They trade shots to the face to start with Matt putting him on the turnbuckle for more right hands to the jaw. A superplex doesn’t work for Matt as Curtis falls on top….for the pin at 1:54.

Post match Matt and Bray declare that a WONDERFUL win for the B Team.

Stills of last week’s Bayley vs. Sasha Banks incident.

The Authors of Pain (hey, they exist) shove a production guy and get talked down to by Titus Worldwide.

Bayley welcomes Alicia Fox back (uh, yay) but Angle comes in to tell Bayley that she and Sasha are teaming up again with Ember Moon against the Riott Squad. You can imagine Bayley’s reaction.

Authors of Pain vs. Rich Gibson/Rex Gibson

The Gibsons are in red and green, meaning the Authors are about to beat up some Christmas trees. They’re knocked/thrown to the floor in short order and the Last Chapter ends Rich at 1:03.

Titus Worldwide comes in to break up the post match beatdown.

Angle and Corbin are bickering in the back when Finn Balor and Braun Strowman come in. Braun talks about beating up Kevin Owens last week but now he wants to be his friend tonight. Therefore, it’s Braun/Owens vs. Balor/Corbin tonight. Yes they really are just taking the same people and shuffling them for different matches.

Long recap of Ronda Rousey going insane last week and beating down Angle and Alexa Bliss.

Here are Alexa and Mickie James to brag about Bliss getting the title back and laugh off the idea of Rousey being a threat. Now Bliss gets to face the big bully in Nia Jax, assuming Nia’s arm is healthy by then. Bliss talks about how the mean girl overcame the pretty and popular one because it works in Hollywood. This is the real world though and Bliss knows how to overcome obstacles. She’s overcome Jax and Rousey and is still champion so boo her all you want.

Cue Natalya to say the countdown is on because we’re 23 days away from Rousey returning to deal with Bliss. That earns Natalya a lecture about posting her whole life on social media, because that’s the appropriate response here. Natalya isn’t done though, because she gets to face Bliss right now.

Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya

Non-title and Natalya has Nia Jax in her corner. Joined in progress with Bliss holding her in a bodyscissors before the moonsault knees to the ribs get two. Some stomps to the back give Bliss two but both seconds offer failed interference. Natalya uses the distraction to hit a discus lariat, followed by the Sharpshooter for the tap at 4:07.

Rating: D. In theory this should go somewhere for Natalya, who is still sniffing around the Rousey story, which could be a good idea for Rousey down the line. I’m never a fan of the champing tapping clean like this but it’s such a common practice to have a champion lose these days that it’s not even worth getting upset about anymore.

We look back at Ziggler cheating Rollins out of the Intercontinental Title last week.

Rollins promises to get the title back tonight.

The Riott Squad takes over a Jinder Mahal photo shoot and break the camera.

Sasha Banks/Bayley/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

Banks starts fast with the Meteora to Logan so it’s off to Liv vs. Moon. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Squad bails to the floor, leaving Moon to dive onto Riott and Morgan. Back form a break with Banks coming back in to clean house with clotheslines but Riott cuts her off with a kick to the face. Bayley makes a save and everything breaks down with Moon elbowing Logan in the face. Banks rolls Riott up for two but has to knock Morgan off the apron, allowing Riott to small package Sasha for the pin at 7:02.

Rating: D+. So you remember all those time where Bayley and Sasha can’t get along and it’s been going on for about four months now? This is the latest version. They really, really need to go somewhere with this already because it’s gone on for so long already and the energy from the whole thing is gone.

Post match Bayley snaps and beats the heck out of Sasha as the fans want tables. Banks gets tossed into the steps twice and the fans cheer for Bayley. The announcers treat this like a heel turn but Bayley is loudly cheered and it’s the result of Banks stabbing her in the back over and over. That doesn’t sound heel turnish to me.

Owens is worried about teaming with Strowman but Angle tells him not to worry.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

Hang on though as Mojo doesn’t think much of having a rematch. You have to earn the right to come down the ramp to a WWE ring and neither Jose nor the conga line has done that yet. Mojo mocks a guy named Todd who is dressed like a cheeseburger, saying he’ll never get a WWE contract. We’re not having a match, but Mojo does deck Jose. No match, though Mojo continues to interest me.

Bayley tries to explain to Angle but gets sent to counseling next week instead. I rolled my eyes and sighed when I heard that, because it’s going to be bad.

Braun Strowman/Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor/Baron Corbin

Owens and Corbin start things off with Baron running him over without much effort. It’s off to Balor, who gets in one arm crank before Corbin tags himself back in. The chokebreaker is escaped and Owens tags Strowman in for a change. Corbin tries a kick to the ribs but gets punched in the face for his efforts. Strowman orders Owens to get back in and this time Balor gets to stay inside for more than a few seconds.

That means a quick chinlock on Balor but Corbin breaks up the Cannonball. Instead Strowman comes in and splashes Balor while Owens Cannonballs Corbin, sending us to a break. Back with Balor working on Owens’ arm until Corbin comes in for more of the same. Owens gets in a shot to the face and brings Strowman in, meaning things are going bad in a hurry. Strowman cleans house, including the forearm to Balor’s chest.

With Corbin and Balor on the floor, Strowman heads outside for the running shoulders, which he’s managed to get over quite well. Owens gets the tag and tries one of his own, only to have Corbin drop him with a clothesline. That’s not cool with Strowman, who sends Corbin into the barricade for ruining his fun. Back in and Corbin makes one too many blind tags, earning himself a kick to the head. Corbin breaks up Balor’s dive and they fight up the ramp for the countout at 11:41.

Rating: D+. The match was watchable, though swapping the people in and out isn’t the most thrilling thing in the world. It would be nice if these guys had something to fight over other than “well, they’ve been fighting for weeks”, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon because everything else (as in all two or three things they could fight over) are occupied. I’m sure we’ll see these guys together again soon.

Post match Owens celebrates with Strowman, who isn’t pleased. Strowman chases the terrified Owens off. Just announce Balor/Owens vs. Corbin/Strowman for next week already.

After a graphic for the Intercontinental Title match, Owens hides in a closet and Strowman interrogates people. Strowman: “THE GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE HE’S GOT A BOWLING BALL UNDER HIS SHIRT!”

Post break Owens has security escort him to the exist. Even as he leaves, he’s still looking for Owens but the valet doesn’t have his keys. Strowman beat him there of course….and has turned Owens’ car upside down.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is challenging and, after Big Match Intros, wastes no time in dropkicking Ziggler out to the floor. Some chops rock Ziggler and it’s off to an early armbar as they have about half an hour if not more. That’s broken up in a hurry and Ziggler hits his big jumping elbow for an early two. A headlock keeps Rollins in trouble and the pace slows a good bit. Rollins finally fights up and Ziggler bails to the floor, only to have McIntyre fail as a shield.

A staredown with McIntyre takes us to a break. Back with Rollins holding his knee and another chinlock keeping things slow. Rollins fights up and sends him into the corner for a breather and both guys are down. Ziggler backdrops him over the top to further the knee injury but Seth is back up for stereo crossbodies. Rollins’ knee is fine enough for a Sling Blade but McIntyre offers a distraction. That’s enough for an ejection, allowing Rollins to suicide dive onto both of them.

Back in and Ziggler crotches him on top for two and we take another break. We come back again with Rollins hitting the Ripcord Knee but Ziggler gets his foot on the rope. They fight to the apron where a DDT knocks Rollins senseless with the announcers declaring it over. Do they really think we buy lines like that anymore? Rollins knees him down again for a close two but gets caught on top.

Ziggler gets shoved down and the frog splash gets another close two and the fans are losing their minds. The Stomp and the Zig Zag both miss and Ziggler’s rollup with tights gets two. Now the Zig Zag connects for two and Ziggler is stunned. They head up top again and Rollins tries a superplex to the floor but has to settle for the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for an even closer two instead with McIntyre pulling the referee out for the DQ at 27:38.

Rating: B. And so, it’s going to continue, likely in some form of gimmick match at Extreme Rules. As usual, I would rather be seeing McIntyre in Ziggler’s spot but for some reason he’s just there as muscle and not even bothering to put him in the ring more often than not. As long as this leads to McIntyre dropping Ziggler and either winning the title or moving on to bigger and better things, everything will be fine. Just get Ziggler away from the spotlight already.

As for the match, it was much better after the second break but that first half was just filling time that the match really didn’t need to have. I would always prefer a hot seventeen minute match over a twenty seven minute match where about half of it feels like a waste of time. The ending didn’t help things either, but some of those near falls were great.

Post match the beatdown is on until Roman Reigns makes the save. A Superman Punch puts McIntyre back on the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I don’t know if it was the UK show earlier today wearing me down but this show felt like it was about 19 hours long with the especially long and not great main event not exactly helping things. I’m not sure where they’re heading with the major story, but I do appreciate the idea of a singles match instead of another multi-man match at the pay per view. Other than that, the show wasn’t too bad but it dragged a lot, which makes for a rough sit when there are two more shows tomorrow.

I’m worried about the lack of Lesnar though, as the entire rule book is thrown out the window when he’s involved. While I don’t think they’re crazy enough to just let him vacate the title and never come back, they’re dumb enough to go with something really bad at Summerslam that is nowhere near as good as it should be. In other words, just get the Lesnar vs. Reigns graphics back up again.

Results

Revival b. Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley – Rollup to Reigns

Curtis Axel b. Matt Hardy – Crossbody

Authors of Pain b. Rick Gibson/Rex Gibson – Last Chapter to Rich

Natalya b. Alexa Bliss – Sharpshooter

Riott Squad b. Bayley/Sasha Banks/Ember Moon – Small package to Banks

Kevin Owens/Braun Strowman b. Baron Corbin/Finn Balor via countout

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler via DQ when Drew McIntyre interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 21, 2018
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

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

This brings out Roman Reigns to say if Stephanie has something to say about him, say it to his face. Stephanie says if Reigns is going to continue letting this Samoan temper get the best of him, he can look for another line of work. Reigns wants more respect and says he’ll destroy everyone in the back if he doesn’t get it. Stephanie talks about managing revenue steams and not playing favorites so Roman brings up Lesnar again. It’s been taken under advisement but Reigns wants something a little less corporate.

Cue Kevin Owens to say everyone needs to appreciate Reigns more because he got Owens into the Money in the Bank ladder match. Owens puts his arm on Stephanie’s shoulder so she makes a match between the two right now. This has been your latest “Stephanie is awesome and don’t you dare forget that she runs this place. Now bask in her awesomeness and smile as she dances to her music.”

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Joined in progress with Reigns in control and shouldering the heck out of Owens to send him outside. Back in and Reigns punches him down, followed by another right hand to put Owens on the floor again. The apron dropkick misses and Owens gets in a superkick as we take a break.

Back with Owens up top and punching Reigns away, only to charge into a clothesline. The Superman Punch is countered and Owens scores with a superkick but the Cannonball is blocked with a Superman Punch for two. Owens bails to the floor to avoid a spear, only to get speared on the floor but here are Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh to jump Reigns for the DQ at 13:13.

Rating: D+. That would be another thirteen minutes of below average wrestling until we get to a run in finish to set up either another match tonight or to advance a pay per view match that may in fact set wrestling back 184 years. There is no interest in what Reigns is doing right now and you can see it getting worse and worse every single week. I don’t remember rolling my eyes more at the thought of another match between Reigns and Lesnar since the never ending Orton/Cena vs. HHH feuds. It’s not working and they’re crazy to keep trying it. I’d pencil it in for the late summer.

Post match the double beatdown is on until Seth Rollins makes the save. Just make the tag team main event now.

Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal

Or just make the first hour the Roman Reigns Show. Joined in progress again with Rollins hammering on Mahal and sending him to the floor for a slingshot dive. Roman comes in and gets kicked down by Owens, setting up a long chinlock. Back up and Reigns elbows him away but Jinder breaks up the tag attempt.

Roman fights out of a chinlock and makes the hot tag to Rollins, setting up a Sling Blade and the back to back suicide dives. Now notice the energy picking up and the fans caring. That’s because they’ve got something with Rollins and haven’t shoved him so far down our throats that he has an advanced degree in our spleens. Back in and Seth enziguris his way out of the Khallas but gets caught in Owens’ fireman’s carry gutbuster. A Vader Bomb elbow gets two with Reigns making the save and it’s the low superkick into the Stomp to finish Owens at 13:15.

Rating: C. Rollins helped here but it’s still death to have Reigns vs. Mahal, or almost anything Reigns is doing right now. Fans aren’t interested in hearing him whine about how he’s been mistreated or really about anything from him but that’s what we’re getting. Oh and throw in the ice cold Mahal because that’s the ticket to getting Reigns over. This time. Again. Before he beats Lesnar. For sure this time.

Post match Mahal lays Rollins and Reigns out with a chair as we’re nearly an hour into this show and have covered Stephanie is back and hasn’t changed a bit and Reigns vs. Mahal.

And now, the Lashley interview about his sisters being little rascals growing up.

Reigns vs. Mahal is confirmed for Money in the Bank.

Lashley finally comes out, grinning from ear to ear. He mocks the three sisters so Sami offers to Helluva Kick him in the face like the garbage Lashley’s family thinks he is. The big beatdown is on but Lashley fights back, even knocking the wigs off. A spank with a dress sets up a spinebuster, followed by a broomstick toss over the top. This is going into the list of dumbest ideas in Raw history.

We look back at Nia Jax challenging Rousey last week.

Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss

Before the match, Alexa talks about the fall of Rome and the Visigoths cheating to win. Next time, it’ll be a fair fight and Bliss will win. Bliss takes her down to start and we get some kind of a visual issue as Cole is calling stuff that the camera isn’t showing, including Moon nipping up. Moon did nip up, but she did so off camera and it was a really weird visual, to the point where I thought the audio and video were out of sync. Bliss gets sent outside and takes a headscissors onto the floor but manages to send Moon shoulder first into the steps.

Back from a break with Bliss staying on the arm as the announcers try to explain that the winner here has a step up on the others for the ladder match. It’s not true, but that’s what WWE goes with every year for this match. Moon fights back up so Mickie James comes in, earning herself a quick ejection. That’s enough of a distraction for Moo to kick Bliss down and hit the Eclipse for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: D. Such if life in the building momentum stage of Money in the Bank. Even after hearing the explanation for why this is supposed to help get ready, I still have no interest in seeing these singles matches for the next three weeks. But hey, WWE tells us this is building momentum for Moon so it’s totally important.

Stephanie is in her office with a fruit basket when Braun Strowman and Finn Balor come in. After Strowman accepts an apple, they ask for a rematch with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre tonight. Instead, Stephanie makes Finn vs. Strowman to help set up Money in the Bank. Strowman crushes the apple and says he likes competition. Balor is nervous.

No Way Jose vs. Baron Corbin

Jose starts fast and knocks Corbin to the floor for a slingshot dive. Some right hands have Jose in trouble though and Corbin sends him shoulder first into the post. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Jose fights up and sends him into the post to even things out. A fireman’s carry flapjack gives Jose two and a rollup gets the same. Corbin is right back with Deep Six, followed by End of Days for the pin at 4:13.

Rating: D+. That’s exactly how you would have expected it to go and should be it for this mini feud. I still like Jose but he shouldn’t be giving Corbin any more of a threat than he got right here. You can only get so far with a dancing gimmick and Jose isn’t getting much higher up than this. Still though, it could be worse for him as his size and look alone will keep him around.

Chad Gable comes in to see Kurt Angle, who is somewhere in the back of the building. Angle wanted to put him in the Money in the Bank qualifying match last week but he was outgunned by Stephanie. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler come in and mock Gable for sitting around waiting for a chance. Ziggler vs. Gable is made for later.

B Team vs. Breezango

Rematch from last week and Breezango likes the homemade shirts. Fandango ax handles Dallas to start and gyrates his way out of a sunset flip. Not that it matters as the belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker is good for the pin at 1:47. Axel being stunned at the idea of winning is good stuff and the best thing about these guys.

The B Team celebrates in the ring, even dancing with the referee and then taking over commentary. They steal a rolling chair and slide down the ramp in the biggest celebration in years.

Here’s Stephanie to emcee the contract signing. Nia comes out first and Stephanie talks about the personal issues between Nia and Bliss. Rousey is out now and asks Stephanie how her arm is feeling. After Stephanie asks Rousey about how it feels to jump over the women that Rousey has called more deserving, we hear about Rousey not being used to wrestling singles matches.

Stephanie continues her monologue, talking about how Rousey might leave WWE if she loses and accusing Nia of being lazy for taking so long to beat Bliss (Way to treat one of your best homegrown stars there Steph.). She talks about the armbar and Nia finally snaps, saying that Rousey can’t get the armbar on her.

Nia is tired of being called lazy and promises to make a name for herself at Money in the Bank. She signs and picks up the title with Rousey signing next. Rousey moves the table to the side and promises to take the title as they do the long handshake. She promises to take the arm too and a staredown ends things. Not bad, especially once Stephanie shut up for a few seconds.

Chad Gable vs. Dolph Ziggler

Joined in progress actually as Gable takes him to the mat with almost no effort and slaps on a front facelock with Ziggler not being able to roll out. Back up and a dropkick connects (close enough at least) for two on Gable and it’s off to the chinlock. A quick cradle gives Gable two but Ziggler grabs a neckbreaker to cut him off. Gable’s German suplex gets two more and Ziggler heads to the ropes. The referee won’t let Gable go after him there, allowing Ziggler to get in a headbutt and superkick for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C. This was kind of disjointed at times as they were doing some good stuff but there was nothing tying between the moves together. Instead it felt like they were trying to get going but had to rush so much that they didn’t have time to put something together. That’s to be expected on Raw though, and it’s a shame given what these two could probably do together.

Post match McIntyre hits Gable with the Claymore.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Dana Brooke vs. Natalya vs. Sarah Logan vs. Liv Morgan

It’s a brawl to start and Morgan gets two off a top rope faceplant to Natalya. Everyone gets in a running shot for two each until the Riott Squad double teams Natalya. Brooke comes back in for the save and breaks up Logan’s cover, only to be sent shoulder first into the post. Natalya is back up with the discus lariat and the Sharpshooter for the win at 4:28.

Rating: D. Another match where they had to rush the whole way, mainly because the first hour was the Roman Reigns Show. Natalya winning was the only pick here, mainly because she’s likely to cash in on her new friend Ronda Rousey and win the title. You know, because that’s how you make Rousey a bigger star: make her a former champion who couldn’t hold the title for five minutes.

Post match Natalya brags about her friend Ronda Rousey winning the title and promises to win the briefcase. Last week I said that someone would cash in MITB on the new champion Rousey because it would be the dumbest thing they could do. I hate being right about stuff like this.

Here’s Elias to take credit for the WWE stock being so high. He does a song about the fans loving Elias but makes it clear that he doesn’t feel the same about any of us. Bobby Roode cuts him off though and we’re ready to go.

Elias vs. Bobby Roode

Roode gets jumped but says start the match and throws the robe at Elias to get in a few right hands. A clothesline puts Elias on the floor and we take a break. Back with Elias grabbing a cobra clutch to keep things slow. Roode fights up and gets in a clothesline for two but gets crotched on top. Drift Away gives Elias the pin at 8:33.

Rating: D. A good bit of what we saw was that cobra clutch and, just like the rest of the show, that doesn’t make me think either of them is going to win Money in the Bank any more than anything else. On top of that, Roode is a natural heel and the fans want to cheer Elias. The solution: do the opposite and ignore the fans. Brilliant!

Post match Braun Strowman runs Elias over on the way to the ring for his match.

Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor

Balor kicks at the legs to start but gets thrown to the floor. A big kick to the ribs puts Balor on the floor and Strowman shouts a lot. With Braun shouting about how pretty Balor’s smile is, Finn gets forearmed down again. Some raised boots in the corner don’t get Balor very far as Strowman tosses him into the corner again.

They head outside with Balor’s apron kick to the chest not working so Strowman forearms him down a second time. Balor gets in a slap to the face and rolls outside, meaning it’s time for Strowman to get his running start. This time though Balor is ready for him with a Sling Blade, followed by a dropkick to knock Strowman over the barricade.

Strowman rises up again so Balor kicks him in the head for a breather. A running double stomp tot he back keeps Strowman down and a Coup de Grace from the barricade for an eight count. Back in and Strowman goes shoulder first into the post, setting up the Coup de Grace but Strowman catches him on top. The powerslam sets up another powerslam to pin Balor at 10:33.

Rating: B-. This felt like the short version of Lesnar vs. Styles from Survivor Series and that’s a high compliment. Balor was trying here and I believed that he could pull off a win like this. That being said, Strowman shouldn’t be losing any singles matches at this point so the ending was the only option they had.

Post match Strowman picks Balor up and puts him in the corner without attacking him to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was the show that I’ve been dreading for so long now: no effort put into most of the matches because all that matters is “building momentum”, which is code for winning a singles match a month before a ladder match, plus two other stories that range from boring as sin to a sin for existing. This show felt so long and boring and it’s going to be almost the exact same thing for the next three weeks, just with different names and maybe some tag matches thrown in. But hey, just three more weeks before two matches that might not matter for almost a year!

Results

Roman Reigns b. Kevin Owens via DQ when Jinder Mahal interfered

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins b. Jinder Mahal/Kevin Owens – Stomp to Owens

Ember Moon b. Alexa Bliss – Eclipse

Baron Corbin b. No Way Jose – End of Days

B Team b. Breezango – Belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to Fandango

Dolph Ziggler b. Chad Gable – Superkick

Natalya b. Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan and Dana Brooke – Sharpshooter to Logan

Elias b. Bobby Roode – Drift Away

Braun Strowman b. Finn Balor – Running powerslam

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 14, 2018
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Corey Graves, Booker T., Michael Cole

We’re over in England for a taped show as WWE’s never ending spring tour continues. It’s still the Money in the Bank qualifying season to go with one or two other stories. This time around that includes Seth Rollins defending the Intercontinental Title against Kevin Owens in an already answered open challenge. In addition to that though we have the fallout from Jinder Mahal attacking Roman Reigns and costing him a qualifying match last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the NBC Up Fronts today with Nia Jax challenging Ronda Rousey. More on this later.

Here’s Roman Reigns to get things going with some Wrestlemania sized booing. I know the UK crowd only gets to see him a few times a year so they have to get it all in (what a failing concept) while they can. Reigns says he got ripped off last week and this time it wasn’t because of WWE management. He wants Mahal out here right now to make up for last week but here’s Kurt Angle to interrupt.

Angle says Jinder won’t be coming out here right now and the fans are NOT happy. Reigns isn’t pleased and it’s made even worse when Angle says Jinder will be in a Money in the Bank qualifying triple threat tonight. That’s fine with Reigns as Angle can just make it a four way. That’s a no as well because Reigns isn’t getting another qualifying opportunity. Reigns gets that and goes to find Jinder himself, earning a Goodbye Song from the fans.

We cut to Reigns in the back (more booing) and he finds Mahal, who throws the Singh Brother at him like a projectile. The brawl is on with both guys being thrown into stuff and then fighting back into the arena. Reigns hits a Superman Punch on the stage but Angle and security break it up.

Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Rollins is defending. Owens goes with right hands to the ribs to start and pounds away in the corner. Some kicks to the ribs get Rollins out of trouble and put Owens on the floor for a suicide dive. Owens pulls it out of the air and tosses him into the post, setting up a backsplash for two inside.

Back from a break with Rollins escaping an apron powerbomb and hitting a Falcon Arrow on the apron (that’s a new one) to knock them both down on the floor. It’s Rollins up first with some suicide dives but his own ribs look a little banged up. Back in and the springboard clothesline drops Owens again but a hard DDT gives Owens two. A clothesline gets the same as Rollins is more surviving than hanging in there at this point.

The Swanton hits raised knees and there’s the low superkick. The Revolution knee gets two but Seth’s frog splash hits knees as well, allowing Owens to get two off a small package. Owens goes up with Rollins trying the running superplex into the Falcon Arrow, only to have Owens hit his swinging superplex instead. That’s quite the counter and the surprise worked well. As they come back in, Rollins scores with a Stomp out of nowhere to retain at 14:55.

Rating: B. They’re getting somewhere with the idea of Rollins defending against everyone and wearing himself out as it could go either way. You could have Rollins challenge for the Universal Title or have someone catch the exhausted Rollins and win the title to set up a nice feud. Either way, they have a wide open field to go with there and that’s a very nice situation to be in.

We go to the NBC Up Fronts with various WWE names, including an interview with Ronda Rousey. Nia Jax came up and challenged her at Money in the Bank, with Rousey accepting. The match is official. I mean, it’s also stupid to go this way, but it’s official.

Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel come into Angle’s office, dub themselves the B Team (Dallas: “The B stands for BEST!”), and ask for a title shot. Angle points out that they’ve never actually won a match. Dallas says the Miztourage hasn’t done very well but the B Team is undefeated. Angle gives them a match to prove themselves if they’ll leave him alone. Works for me, as they’re still funny together.

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

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

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

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

Owens wants a rematch with Rollins but Angle says no. That’s fine with Kevin, who pulls out his phone to call Stephanie McMahon. Angle goes in to see Jinder, who begs him to postpone the match. That can’t happen because tonight is the last night for qualifying matches on Raw, which doesn’t sit well with Mahal.

B Team vs. Breezango

B Team has homemade shirts, which are just white shirts with a B drawn in Sharpie. Bo rolls Breeze up for two to start and strikes a B TEAM pose. Breeze gets two off some rollups so the B Team takes a breather. Back in and Breezango hits a dropkick but Axel takes him down. Both Axel and Dallas take turns with elbows but a missed attempt allows the hot tag to Fandango. Booker complains about Fandango’s pants as he gets two off a powerslam to Axel. Bo comes back in and a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combo is good for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: D+. It’s not like the division doesn’t need extra teams so putting these two together as a couple of goofy putzes is a perfectly fine idea. The B thing is clever enough and could make for some funny lines (Dallas needs to call their next opponents Wanna-B’s). I could easily see them winning the titles and then losing to a much better team but for what they are, this was fine.

Post match the B Team can’t believe what just happened but promise to win the titles.

Sasha Banks/Natalya/Ember Moon vs. Riott Squad

Moon headscissors Logan to start but Sasha tags herself in from behind and gets two off the running knees. Sasha drops Logan again and it’s a big staredown as we take a break. Back with Morgan getting suplexed and Sasha working on a wristlock. Morgan gets in a middle rope faceplant to drop Sasha and we hit a cross arm choke.

Riott comes in but gets sent into the post, followed by a rollup for two on Morgan. The kickout sends Banks into the corner for the tag to Natalya and even more silence from the fans. Everything breaks down and Logan gets backdropped to the floor, followed by the running knees (now called the Meteora) from Sasha. Moon dives onto Riott, leaving Natalya to Sharpshooter Morgan for the tap at 14:23.

Rating: D+. Pretty long six woman tag here and that’s not the best thing in the world for these women. The fans weren’t really interested in what they had going on and really, can you blame them? Natalya is least charismatic veteran in years, Moon is just a big finisher and we’re waiting for Banks to fight Bayley after all these months. This felt like a way to pad out the show and that’s not the best idea, especially with Morgan getting a lot of the ring time.

Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler don’t like Finn Balor and Braun Strowman. Why not? Eh, they need something to do.

Revival vs. Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt

Non-title. Wilder armdrags Matt to start, which has Matt so flabbergasted that he declares it WONDERFUL, earning a standing ovation. Cole makes fun of the Woken deal as the B Team is watching in the back. Bray uppercuts Dawson to set up the backsplash, followed by a running headbutt/belly to back suplex combination for two. Wilder makes a blind tag and Revival starts in on the knee. A missed charge allows the hot tag to Wyatt and it’s a release Rock Bottom to plant Dawson. The Twist of Fate hits Wilder and the Kiss of Deletion (the double Downward Spiral) ends Dawson at 4:47.

Rating: C-. I feel so sorry for Revival but you had to know this was coming. They’re tailor made for the NXT style but they’re lucky to get five minutes on a show like Raw. There was nothing left for them to do in NXT though and this was as good as they’re going to get. Hardy and Wyatt are starting to get better as a team but you’re only going to get so much out of teaming together for a few months.

Here’s Sami Zayn to say that Prince Harry looks like him. That brings him to Bobby Lashley of all people, who is Mr. jacked up and intense. Lashley was gone for ten years and then made his return when Sami made his return to Raw. We see a still of Lashley’s delayed vertical suplex on Sami and that’s what gave him Vertigo. Sami busts out a doctor’s note (and reading glasses of course) which explains Vertigo to the fans. All of Sami’s recent issues have been because of that suplex and Sami can’t believe that Lashley is getting cheered.

We see a clip of the sitdown interview last week and Sami thinks Lashley wants to be him. The interview makes Sami think Lashley is hiding something so he got on Facebook to talk to Lashley’s sisters. They were nothing like what Lashley described and Lashley isn’t quite the person that he portrays himself to be either. Next week, the sisters will be here to show what Lashley really is.

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

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

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

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

We recap the opening segment.

Post break, Angle says the match must go on.

Finn Balor/Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler and Balor start things off with a basement dropkick putting Dolph down. McIntyre comes in and wants to face Strowman, who comes in for what could be a heck of a showdown. But of course he tags straight back out to Ziggler and we take a break. Back with Balor knocking Ziggler to the floor but getting tripped by McIntyre. A neckbreaker sets up a chinlock before it’s back to McIntyre for a hard knee to the ribs.

Finn gets over for the tag to Strowman so house can be cleaned, including the heavy forearm to Ziggler’s chest. A very hard charge sends Strowman shoulder first into the post so Balor tags himself back in. There’s a Sling Blade to set up the Shotgun dropkick, allowing Finn to go up top. McIntyre breaks it up so Strowman runs him over, leaving Ziggler to pull Balor down for the pin at 12:27.

Rating: C. So that happened. Strowman and Balor don’t have any kind of history together but it’s supposed to be a big deal that they lost as a team. McIntyre still looks like he could be ready to face anyone at any time but instead, we’re stuck with this tag team because WWE insists on trying to find something that Ziggler doesn’t drag down.

We see the Jax/Rousey segment again. I’m hoping this is some NBC mandate.

Angle is on the phone with Stephanie and has a replacement for Jinder. Someone has called her though and now they’re getting another opportunity.

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

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

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

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

Overall Rating: C-. Another passable yet completely flat show with Rollins being the lone highlight. The problem here is the same as it was last week: you have a bunch of matches designed to set up a match a month away, meaning this is another show where you don’t need to see any of this stuff because you can read the results and get everything you need t know. It’s not bad but it’s completely skippable, and that’s often a lot more annoying to get through.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Kevin Owens – Stomp

Bobby Roode b. Baron Corbin and No Way Jose – Glorious DDT to Jose

B Team b. Breezango – Belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to Fandango

Sasha Banks/Natalya/Ember Moon b. Riott Squad – Sharpshooter to Morgan

Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy b. Revival – Kiss of Deletion to Dawson

Alexa Bliss b. Mickie James and Bayley – DDT to Bayley

Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre b. Finn Balor/Braun Strowman – Slam off the top to Balor

Kevin Owens b. Bobby Lashley and Elias – Frog splash to Elias

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

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

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

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

A few weeks before Wrestlemania, rumors began to surface. A mass exodus from Impact Wrestling was on the horizon, with the piece de resistance being the potential WWE return of Bobby Lashley. When the rumors were proven to be true, it should have been enormous news, but there was a major problem.

Bobby Lashley had returned.

It’s now almost two months later and Lashley’s return has fallen flatter than Titus O’Neill on a ramp. Easy jokes aside, let’s take a look at why the return has been such a failure.

First off, we must look at the return itself. In the world of WWE, MMA is currently king. Brock Lesnar is Universal Champion, Shayna Bazler is NXT Women’s Champion, and Ronda Rousey is treated as the biggest coup to the women’s division ever. In Bobby Lashley, you have a man who has been successful in the world of MMA, to the tune of a 15-2 record in his career. He’s every bit the legitimate fighter that Brock Lesnar is, but in the two months he’s been back, I can’t think of one instance where his MMA background has been mentioned. Not one.

Without that MMA background, he’s just Bobby Lashley, a guy that hasn’t been seen in WWE for about a decade. What was he doing in the decade away, baking cookies?

Now, I might be able to look the other way on this glaring omission if the re-debut itself positioned Lashley in a positive way. It did not.

Perception is everything in wrestling. Think back to 1999. In WCW, Chris Jericho was in the cruiserweight division and everyone in that division was positioned as such that they were less than the “important” members of the roster. They were a side show, and they would always be the side show. Realizing this, Chris Jericho left WCW to join the WWE. Now, had WWE debuted Jericho in a segment with Taka Michinoku in their Light Heavyweight division, I’m sure he would have done ok in that role, but he again would be treated as someone that lacks importance. Instead, the WWE chose to debut him in a segment with their biggest star, The Rock. This told the audience right away that Jericho was important, not fodder.

Conversely, the returning Bobby Lashley returned as the latest guy to interrupt Elias, which, while fun, tells the audience that he’s just like everyone else. Midcarders galore had interrupted the former drifter, so those new to Lashley see him as just another guy annoyed by the midcard heel.

Imagine though, if instead, his return went something like this: Paul Heyman is gloating in the ring about how even WWE’s golden boy Roman Reigns couldn’t defeat Brock Lesnar. No WRESTLER can beat Brock Lesnar…….and cue Lashley’s music. Out he comes, with Michael Cole explaining how Lashley is back after a decade of dominating in MMA. He stands toe to toe with Lesnar and they fight with no one getting the upper hand. They are pulled apart and the segment ends.

In this scenario, Lashley looks like a killer and a savior, and you don’t even have to follow up on that segment for months. That feud is ready to go when you want, and Lashley in the meantime looks like an enormous deal and someone to fear.

Going back to reality, we got Lashley the former star and quite honestly, he didn’t look or seem any different than he was in 2008. That’s not a good thing, considering his run from that time period was largely mediocre due to his total lack of personality. To alter that perception, this past Monday WWE decided to air an interview with Lashley to show the fans “what he’s all about”. What we got was an awkward sit-down where Lashley showed no range of emotion and told stories about his sisters. I suppose this is supposed to make us see him as a “family man”, but this is another case of WWE not understanding what they have.

The presentation of a Bobby Lashley should be simple. He’s similar to Brock Lesnar in that he’s huge, a successful athlete, and powerful. He also sounds like a 12-year-old when he speaks, so limiting that is always for the best. All you need to do is show him killing people and give him reason to do so. For a good idea of how, see how TNA booked him (yes, I’m praising TNA. Enjoy it while it lasts because it won’t happen often).

As it stands, we have a musclebound midcarder who’s happy to be back after a long hiatus, and one who’s first run we can’t even talk about because he once wrestled on behalf of our current US President. This is fixable though with an eventual turn on Braun Strowman. Maybe then we’ll get the Bobby Lashley we all want to see. It certainly can’t be any worse than the flop of a run we’re getting now.

Eric Cordova is the host of the Mouth of the South Shore Radio Show which can be found and followed at:

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 30, 2018
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the fallout show from the Greatest Royal Rumble but also the go home show for Backlash. The pay per view’s card is starting to come together but you can imagine how fast they’ll be adding things tonight and tomorrow. It’s hard to say where we’re going from here but Money in the Bank is already on the horizon. Let’s get to it.

Here are the Greatest Royal Rumble results if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of the Greatest Royal Rumble. That’s impressive given how little happened there.

Here’s Roman Reigns to some of the loudest non-Wrestlemania booing I’ve ever heard for him. The announcers give the “we’re in Canada” disclaimer, even saying this crowd is like the one after Wrestlemania. Reigns says he’s not making any excuses and talks about a tweet from the referee who said he made a mistake at the end of the cage match last week. He should be the Universal Champion but he’s not, yet.

Reigns promises he’ll be champion one day but here’s Samoa Joe on the screen to disagree. Joe promises to put Reigns’ dead career to sleep and here’s Jinder Mahal of all people to say he was cheated out of the United States Title. On Sunday, Reigns will be put to sleep but tonight, he’s losing to the modern day Maharajah. Cue Sami Zayn to the loudest pop of his WWE career with the fans singing his song.

Zayn cites a case of vertigo for not being at the Greatest Royal Rumble but he’s feeling much better tonight. That’s why he’ll be the one to take on Roman Reigns, drawing a heck of a YES chant. Now it’s Kevin Owens coming out to another major face pop (the Fleur-de-Lis version of his KO shirt helps a lot). Owens speaks French and draw a OUI chant, which is made even louder when he says he should face Owens tonight.

The three of the all want to face Reigns so let’s flip a coin. Actually hang on because he doesn’t have a coin and a coin only has two sides. Instead we’ll make it a popularity contest, which seems to be won by Owens. The beatdown is on but here’s Bobby Lashley for the attempted save. Cue Braun Strowman for the real save and we’ve probably got a six man for later.

Here’s Elias for a song, but the fans won’t stop booing him this time around. He asks how many people here watched the Greatest Royal Rumble and the announcement is anemic. Elias calls for silence and goes into a song about how pathetic Bobby Roode and Montreal are but Roode’s music cuts him off.

Bobby Roode vs. Elias

Joined in progress with Roode fighting out of a chinlock and scoring with a Blockbuster. Elias rolls to the floor and snaps Roode’s throat across the top as it’s time to go after the neck and throat. We hit a chinlock and it’s time for another of those inset promos for Backlash. So those are now full time? I’m so happy.

Back to full screen with Elias kicking him in the chest for two as we take another break. We come back again with Roode getting two off a spinebuster but the Glorious DDT is countered. Elias gets in another shot to the throat and sends him chest/throat first into the rod connecting the buckle to the ring. Roode is writhing around on the floor with medics out to check on him. Elias declares himself the winner and we’ll say the match ends at 12:20.

Rating: D+. Elias winning is a good idea and I’m very happy to not see 50/50 booking again. They need to do something with Elias already (an Intercontinental Title feud would be nice) and Roode needed to turn heel like forever ago. The heel character isn’t much but that’s what we’re stuck with for whatever reason. The fans like his music I guess?

Roode walked off on his own during the break.

Authors of Pain vs. Jean-Paul/Francois

The jobbers talk about being proud French-Canadians and never back down from a fight. Rezar runs Paul over to start and it’s off to Francois, who gets crushed with a clothesline. The Super Collider and the Last Chapter is good for the pin at 1:05. Exactly what it needed to be.

Post match the Authors promise destruction.

Here’s Seth Rollins for a chat. He talks about defending the Intercontinental Title around the world and the fans cut him off with a loud and long OLE chant, followed by a bunch of cheering. Rollins thanks them in French and the fans go even harder. That was a long trip to Saudi Arabia but he doesn’t want to be the kind of champion that Brock Lesnar is because he wants to be out here every week. Cue Finn Balor to interrupt and introduce himself in French as well.

Balor says they’re 2-2 against each other so let’s have a title match tonight. Rollins talks about facing Miz on Sunday and lets the fans make the decision for him. That’s pretty one sided and the match is on. Cue the Miztourage to say they messed up last week, so this week they have a new idea: a group conversation, which means homemade shirts featuring Rollins and Balor’s faces. A brawl breaks out and Miztourage is cleared out. Balor hits an Eye of the Hurricane on Rollins to a mixed reception.

Ruby Riott vs. Sasha Banks

Before the match, Banks says Bayley isn’t in her corner tonight and that’s unfortunate, but this division still runs out Boss Power. Feeling out process to start with Banks glaring at Ruby, followed by the walk up the corner armdrag. It’s off to the armbar as a sad Bayley is watching in the back.

Sasha gets sent into the corner but comes back with some right hands and a choke in the corner. A forearm puts Banks on the floor and she has to beat up Sarah Logan without much effort. Back from a break with Ruby grabbing a chinlock until Banks makes the comeback. A dropkick allows Sasha to do some shouting but Ruby is right back with a takedown.

Riott goes to the middle rope for a falling backsplash, only to get caught in the Bank Statement. Cue Morgan for a distraction so Logan can make the save, earning Riott a knee to the head against the post. Morgan offers another distraction though, setting up the Riott Kick to give Ruby the pin at 12:32.

Rating: C-. They’re taking their time to set up Banks vs. Bayley, though I’m still not sure where the two of them are supposed to go after that. Either of them vs. Rousey could be interesting on a big stage, but I can’t imagine either of them going after Nia anytime soon. At least the big showdown should be fun.

In another Moment of Bliss, Alexa talks about going to Disney World with Nia Jax, who spent all day making fun of her height. She even asked if Bliss was tall enough for the tea cup ride. “It’s a cup. You sit in a cup!” Then at lunch, Nia made sure Bliss had a kids menu and laughed while holding a turkey leg in each hand. At Backlash, Nia isn’t getting away with all of her horrible tricks. This was hilarious, again.

Titus O’Neil looks at his now infamous fall at the Greatest Royal Rumble. He says it was all a plan and drops the act almost immediately. Titus: “I just fell.” Titus talks about how it’s about getting back up and is ready for what’s next. Baron Corbin comes in and laughs at him, saying that this interview should be with him. Corbin leaves and Titus says it’s cool.

Stills of Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt winning the Raw Tag Team Titles on Friday.

Matt says he and Bray have transcended time and space before screaming. We go to a series of pictures of the two of them at famous moments in history. Bray comes in to say they are the darkness. It will continue to consume anything and the Deleters of Worlds will dominate forever.

We look back at Mickie James attacking Natalya last week, drawing out Ronda Rousey for the save.

Bobby Lashley/Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal

Reigns and Mahal open things up and the fans just LOATHE Roman. Sami comes in before any contact and the fans are far more entertained. Owens gets the same treatment and it’s back to Sami again, who gets cheered just for kicking Reigns in the ribs. Roman hits a double apron dropkick to send us to a break.

Back with Reigns driving Mahal into the corner so Lashley can come in for some clotheslines. Lashley gets taken into the corner for a stomping from Sami but a neckbreaker gets him out of trouble in short order. Owens comes in to stomp away and prevent the tag and the fans are very pleased.

We hit the chinlock and another inset promo, this time about AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Back to full screen with the chinlock continuing until Lashley suplexes his way to freedom. Reigns comes in to such a quiet hot tag that I didn’t realize he had come in. Clotheslines in the corner abound and a shot to the face puts Sami in even more trouble. Owens kicks Reigns in the ribs and gets two off a DDT as we take another break.

Back again with Reigns still in trouble, including Owens’ Vader Bomb elbow connecting for two. It’s off to another chinlock for a bit until Reigns gets in a Superman Punch. Jinder decks Lashley off the apron but gets Samoan dropped. Strowman finally comes in and runs Owens over on the floor, just like last week. Sami gets the same treatment but Owens sidesteps a second attempt. That earns him a whip into the barricade, leaving Jinder to send Strowman shoulder first into the post. Reigns spears Mahal and Strowman is right back up to powerslam Owens for the pin at 20:56.

Rating: C. This was the long tag match that you would expect when they’re coming back off a long international tour and everyone (save for Sami) is worn out. At least they went with the most over guy on the team (most of the time at least) getting the pin. Owens and Zayn felt like stars here though and I could go for them as a top face team down the line. Good match here, but you can tell they’re all exhausted.

Video on the Greatest Royal Rumble.

Baron Corbin vs. No Way Jose

Corbin says in this business, no one can make money while being funny. Some fans boo but Corbin says it’s cool because they paid to see him. He’s sick of this No Way Jose nonsense and now it’s time to get rid of him once and for all. Jose hammers away to start and staggers Corbin, only to miss a high crossbody. Corbin sends him into the post though and here’s Titus Worldwide for the distraction. Titus starts running to the ring but has Apollo wipe down the spot where he slipped. This time he falls off the apron but the distraction lets Jose roll Corbin up for the pin at 2:40. So Titus’ fall is now costing Corbin matches?

Video on World Wish Day.

Mickie James vs. Natalya

Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey are the seconds. Mickie bails to the floor very quickly but comes back in to eat a basement dropkick for two. Natalya gets sent face first into the middle buckle for two but Mickie gets taken down into a Sharpshooter attempt. That means Alexa offering a distraction so Rousey chases her down, only to have Natalya grab a rollup for a pin at 3:05.

Rating: D+. This was more about the chase on the floor than the match and there’s nothing wrong with that. Integrating Rousey into the division like this is a good idea as you have people out there who can make things that much better if anything does wrong during a match. It’s also nice to have Rousey only get in the big matches too, as putting her in a match on TV like this would be a huge waste of time.

Post match Nia Jax comes out to stare at Bliss before staring Rousey and Natalya down….and then raising their hands.

We run down Sunday’s card.

Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre say they’re awesome and suggest that people run off to Smackdown.

Intercontinental Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is defending. They head outside in a hurry with Rollins nailing the suicide dive into the barricade as we take a very abrupt break. Back with Rollins holding a chinlock until Balor is up with the running forearm. Rollins scores with a Blockbuster but another suicide dive is blocked with a kick to the head. I love it when they learn during a match.

A DDT gives Balor two more and the Eye of the Hurricane is good for the same. Rollins is right back up with a jumping knee to the face but Balor kicks him down again. The Coup de Grace is broken up with another kick to the head and Rollins hits the superkick. Rollins’ superplex connects but Finn hits his own Falcon Arrow for a crazy close two.

With both guys spent and the crowd WAY into this, they trade kicks to the head with Rollins going to the floor. Balor adds a running flip dive, followed by the shotgun dropkick back inside. The Coup de Grace misses but so does the Stomp. Balor rolls him up for two and hits (mostly) a Sling Blade. Rollins is back up with a superkick though and the Stomp retains the title at 15:28.

Rating: B+. This took its time to get going but its last six or seven minutes were outstanding. I was thinking they would go with the title change here to set up another triple threat match. They’re doing something good with Rollins here and that could pay off very hard in the long run, especially when he gets back to the main event.

Overall Rating: C. You could tell the guys were tired here and it showed pretty badly. There’s only so much you can do when they’re as exhausted as these people must have been but at least we have a pay per view on Sunday that is being built up at the last second and looks like nothing compared to what we saw on Friday. The main event was very good and worth checking out but for the most part, this was a skippable night.

Results

Elias b. Bobby Roode via referee stoppage

Authors of Pain b. Jean-Paul/Francois – Last Chapter to Francois

Ruby Riott b. Sasha Banks – Riott Kick

Bobby Lashley/Braun Strowman/Roman Reigns b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Jinder Mahal – Running powerslam to Owens

No Way Jose b. Baron Corbin – Rollup

Natalya b. Mickie James – Small package

Seth Rollins b. Finn Balor – The Stomp

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 16, 2018
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

It’s time to change things up a lot with the first half of the Superstar Shakeup. In case you didn’t get enough new names last week, this time around we should be getting a bunch of Smackdown names heading over to the red show. How will the names be picked? Who might be coming? That’s not important enough to announce in advance so let’s get to it.

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

Here’s General Manager Kurt Angle to start things off. He gives us a quick introduction but here’s Sunil Singh to announce that Jinder Mahal is now on Raw. Jinder isn’t happy that he was brought here in an SUV because he only travels in a limousine with a motorcade. Angle doesn’t like some of this but wants to be treated like Brock Lesnar around here. Kurt suggests that Jinder email him his issues and gives Sunil his address: Kurt.Angle (which he has to spell) @ NOFREAKINGWAY.com. We settle things in the ring here so it’s time for a title match RIGHT NOW.

US Title: Jinder Mahal vs. Jeff Hardy

Mahal is defending. The fans are behind Hardy (because they have taste) as he slugs away in the corner. A dropkick to the back of the head and a clothesline off the apron rock Mahal and we take a break. Back with Jeff in a chinlock for a good while until a big right hand drops him on the apron. Jeff is fine enough to shove him off the top though and the Whisper in the Wind gets a breather.

Sunil gets dropkicked down (and hopefully shut up) and a basement dropkick gets two on his boss. Things are starting to pick up but a jumping knee to the face looks to set up the Khallas (which Cole calls a half nelson slam). Jeff slips out so a big boot to the face gives Mahal two more. A Twisting Stunner out of nowhere drops Mahal though and the Swanton gives Hardy the title at 11:27.

Rating: C-. Not a great match (to be fair, Mahal) but Jeff winning the title is a great way to get him back on the fast track (and to give hope to impaired drivers everywhere). Hopefully Mahal falls WAY down the ladder now, though I’m curious to see what happens to Orton’s title shot as a result. Just please not another triple threat. Is that too much to ask for?

Post break Jinder rants about being disrespected and wants his rematch at the Greatest Royal Rumble. No Way Jose with the Conga Line interrupts and takes Renee Young off with him.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

This is a grudge match after weeks of simmering tensions. Bayley slips off the middle rope but shrugs off a chop and throws Sasha out to the floor. A hurricanrana through the ropes drops Sasha and we take a break. Back with Sasha holding a chinlock until Bayley drives her into the corner for a break. That’s certainly a different one and I’ll take that over the traditional elbows to the ribs.

The Stunner over the middle rope keeps Sasha in trouble so she kicks Bayley in the head and sends her outside again. This isn’t exactly seething with hatred so far. Back in and the top rope double knees get two before it’s time for the trash talk. Sasha goes one step too far and slaps Bayley in the face, triggering what looks like a hockey fight. Sasha gets the better of it again and hits the running knees in the corner. Bayley tries a rollup but gets reversed into the Bank Statement. She’s in big trouble but here’s the Riott Squad for the no contest at 8:55.

Rating: C. This was cranked up from a five to a twelve in the last two minutes or so but I’m assuming they’ll save the big match for later. The Riott Squad to Raw makes sense as Absolution has no reason to stay together and the Iconics can be the villainous group over on Smackdown. I’m fine with everything here, including Bayley vs. Sasha once they turned it up.

Sasha and Bayley take another beating post match.

Heath Slater and Rhyno are ready for the Authors of Pain tonight.

Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Authors of Pain

Slater and Rhyno jump the Authors before the bell and actually take over. A top rope ax handle drops Akum but he shoves Slater away and brings in Rezar. Slater gets lifted up for a double gutbuster but slips out of a powerslam for the hot tag to Rhyno. A belly to belly gets two on Rezar but Slater gets sent HARD to the floor. The Last Chapter ends Rhyno at 2:37.

It’s time for MizTV with some special guests who will change Raw forever: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, who Cole flat out said COULD NOT be included in the Shakeup. Cole brings it up again here but Coach and Graves basically tell him to get over it. The five of them have a group hug with Miz saying this is better than the NWO and calls the team better than the Avengers. They won’t be held down by Shane McMahon or Kurt Angle, the latter of whom comes out with a rebuttal.

Apparently this can’t happen but Owens says plans have changed. There was an email sent out earlier tonight and Sami has printed it out. With his glasses on (that’s funny for some reason), Sami reads that Angle’s decision on Sami and Kevin’s status has been overturned because Stephanie McMahon thinks they proved themselves last week.

Owens is thrilled but Angle has some news: Miz is now going to Smackdown, as per Daniel Bryan’s request. Miz takes it in stride but gets even more bad news: the Miztourage is staying on Raw. For a going away present though, the five of them can face Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman and someone making their Raw debut.

Tag Team Title Eliminator Finals: Revival vs. Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt

The winners face the Bar, on commentary, for the titles in Saudi Arabia. Matt’s I WILL DELETE YOU now leads into Bray’s music for a combined entrance. Dawson and Hardy start things off with Scott not being able to do much with the odd Matt. It’s off to Bray and Wilder with Wyatt doing his spider bridge, allowing Matt to offer a distraction. A double back elbow (with Bray’s not quite connecting) puts Wilder down and Bray slams Scott on top of him. Matt: “That move was WONDERFUL!”

Back in and the Revival elbows Matt down with Scott grabbing a chinlock. Dawson draws Bray in to keep Matt in trouble, including a double headbutt. Matt gets in a Side Effect and the hot tag brings in Bray for the big right hands. A running corner splash and release Rock Bottom have Wilder in trouble. Everything breaks down and Sister Abigail plants Dawson, followed by an elevated Twist of Fate to end Dawson at 5:06.

Rating: C-. Nothing special here with the right team winning. Revival is in need of a change but there’s only so much you can do when the Bar is the top team on the show. They’re better off facing teams like the Usos and New Day, but the big power team on Smackdown doesn’t make things much better. In other words, it’s a bad time to be an old school tag team.

Video on the shows coming together for pay per views, in the form of both rosters coming together for a big song ala We Are The World. This is uh, overthinking things a bit.

Back from a break and the Bar runs into the Fashion Police. Fandango: “Do you have a permit for that mohawk?” The kilts are too much for them and the Bar gets tickets. They’re so mad that they yell as the Fashion Police leave.

Recap of everyone who came to Raw both last week and tonight.

We recap Ronda Rousey attacking Stephanie McMahon last week and hurting her arm even worse.

Rousey is in the back with Angle when the debuting Natalya comes in. It turns out that she and Rousey are old training partners and Natalya seems happy. Nothing else happens in a kind of odd segment, though you can probably bet on Natalya vs. Rousey at Backlash.

Ember Moon vs. Mickie James

Nia Jax is on commentary and Bliss, who isn’t here, is supposed to be. Mickie grabs a headscissors to start before forearming the heck out of Ember. We hit the chinlock and go split screen to hear from Nia…..whose reaction we see instead of the match. Basically Alexa calls Nia a bully and won’t give her the satisfaction of being out here. Moon fights up but gets dropped again with a neckbreaker for two. A suplex serves her a bit better and the flipping forearm in the corner rocks Mickie. The Eclipse (with Mickie flipping over like Rock taking a Stunner) gives Ember the pin at 4:37.

Rating: D+. Kind of a dull match but the Eclipse is all that matters with Moon. There’s a good chance that she’ll wind up facing Nia for the title one day soon and that could make for a nice brawl. Moon might not be the best choice in the world but she’s a shot in the arm for the division, which is needed with Nia in charge.

Owens and Zayn are worried about the ten man tag when Miz comes in to ask how Shane is at the moment. Sami doesn’t want to hear about it right now because they have bigger things to worry about tonight. The Miztourage is talking about something else but Miz calls them over, saying mourn tomorrow and focus today. This is Miz’s Raw finale so it needs to be must see. It seems like he has an idea.

Dolph Ziggler is back on Monday Night Raw and talks about how great he is. Cue Titus Worldwide to offer him a spot on the team. Ziggler doesn’t think so, but he’s also not on Raw alone. Cue Drew McIntyre, now a heel, and apparently aligned with Ziggler. The big beatdown is on and a Claymore/Zig Zag combo drops Apollo. The fans seem very pleased with McIntyre being back, but don’t worry: Ziggler will suck the life out of that as soon as possible.

Here’s Roman Reigns to talk about how he’s here again tonight, unlike Brock Lesnar. He’ll win the title in Saudi Arabia and bring it back here full time. Cue Samoa Joe to say Reigns is a great talker but never talks about getting the job done. I remember him doing plenty of jobs. Joe talks about how Reigns can never put him away and at Backlash, he’ll put Reigns to sleep again.

We see a video of Lesnar destroying Reigns at Wrestlemania so Reigns wants to fight now. Joe comes down the ramp twice before walking away, as expected. Again: if they want Reigns as a big deal, DON’T PUT HIM OUT THERE WITH PEOPLE WHO SLAUGHTER HIM ON THE MIC!

Mandy Rose vs. Natalya

Absolution still comes out to Paige’s music. Natalya gets a rollup for two but a Sonya Deville distraction lets Mandy get in a jumping knee to the face. Back in and we hit an abdominal stretch to keep Natalya in trouble but a quick Sharpshooter makes Mandy tap at 2:49.

Post match Sonya comes in for the beatdown but Ronda Rousey (awkwardly) walks down the ramp for the save. Deville actually wants to fight so Rousey gives her a look as if to say “seriously?” Rousey knocks Deville out in all of five seconds, hitting about ten punches and a legsweep to send Deville packing.

Baron Corbin is coming to Raw. Is anyone left on Smackdown?

Breezango vs. The Bar

Fandango steals Cesaro’s jacket to start and throws it on, followed by a hip swivel while blocking a sunset flip. Breeze comes in and eats Swiss Death to change control in a hurry. We hit the chinlock from Cesaro, followed by one from Sheamus to really mix things up. Cesaro gets two off a Demolition Decapitator but Fandango pulls Sheamus off the apron, allowing Breeze to get a sunset flip for the pin on Cesaro at 3:49.

Rating: D+. So we have two options here: a triple threat at Greatest Royal Rumble or ignoring this match for the sake of illogical booking. Breezango has potential to be a very nice team but for some reason they’ve lost a lot of steam. That might change here with no Usos or New Day to outshine them and I heartily appreciate this.

Elias isn’t playing tonight and doesn’t think much of Lashley. A lot has changed since Lashley was last here so he should go sit in the stands and worship Elias like everyone else. If Lashley interrupts him again, he’ll learn that WWE stands for Walk With Elias. Elias won’t perform for the people, but he might for Renee in a private concert. All she has to do is hold her applause and silence her cell phone. She says we don’t have time so he starts playing, only to be cut off to throw it back to Cole.

Seth Rollins/Bobby Lashley/Braun Strowman/Finn Balor/??? vs. The Miz/Miztourage/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Back again with Owens hammering on Rollins and putting on that unbreakable chinlock. Miz grabs the short DDT and busts out the YES Kicks one more time before going over to Smackdown. Everything breaks down with Strowman shoving around Owens and Zayn before Roode takes over on Axel. A chop block cuts Roode down but he counters the Figure Four into a small package for two. The hot tag brings in Strowman to clean house, including a chokeslam to Miz.

Strowman runs into Dallas in the corner, which is called him hitting the post for reasons of bad timing. Seth dives onto Axel and the Glorious DDT drops Sami. The parade of finishers begins until we’re down to Miz vs. Strowman with the running dropkicks actually staggering the big man. Strowman comes back with a dropkick of his own and the Miztourage walks out on Miz, leaving Strowman to powerslam him for the pin at 22:11.

Rating: C+. Nice main event tag to wrap things up, especially with the Miztourage turning on Miz, as they should. Miz is the kind of guy who can take a loss like this and then regroup on Smackdown without missing a beat. Just give him Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin as the new Miztourage (like they have anything better to do) and he’ll be fine. Lashley looked great here, but the rest were kind of lost in the shuffle. Not a bad way to end the show though, as we needed a longer match for a change.

Overall Rating: B-. I was mostly liking the show, though I liked the original version last week a little bit better. This felt very similar to the post Wrestlemania show and again shows why this needed to be done around Summerslam instead of a week after Wrestlemania. They had a bunch of big names come over to Raw but they need several going to Smackdown to balance this out again. Right now Smackdown is looking barren and some fresh talent could help them out a lot. I liked this show well enough though and it worked well in almost every area it needed to.

Results

Jeff Hardy b. Jinder Mahal – Swanton Bomb

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley went to a no contest when the Riott Squad interfered

Authors of Pain b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Last Chapter to Rhyno

Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt b. Revival – Elevated Twist of Fate to Wilder

Ember Moon b. Mickie James – Eclipse

Natalya b. Mandy Rose – Sharpshooter

Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins/Finn Balor/Bobby Lashley/Bobby Roode b. The Miz/Miztourage/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens – Running powerslam to Miz

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 5, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sonjay Dutt, Josh Matthews

Things continue to change around here as many names seem to be either debuting or departing. There’s a lot going on at the moment, including the build to the first regular pay per view in about six months. It’s time to really start the build towards Redemption and a lot of that could take place tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Brian Cage beating Bobby Lashley in a big upset with the rematch taking place tonight. Austin Aries vs. Alberto El Patron gets some focus as well.

Opening sequence.

Here’s an annoyed Bobby Lashley to rant about everyone wanting to prove themselves against him. He’s not going to have Cage out here saying he proved something by winning once on a fluke. Come out here and do it again.

Bobby Lashley vs. Brian Cage

Lashley knocks Cage off the apron before a bell and hammers away without taking off his hat and shirt. Cage shrugs it off and gets two off an F5 but Lashley hides behind the referee to avoid the discus lariat. A low blow gets two on Cage and Lashley hammers away in the corner while Dutt mocks Josh for losing his title last week.

Cage grabs a German suplex and a Death Valley Driver for two more, followed by the apron superplex to drop Lashley again. Lashley gets in a superplex of his own for two and the spear is good for the same. Instead it’s the Drill Claw to put Lashley away at 8:06 for Cage’s second straight win over him.

Rating: C+. Nice power match here and another good way to make Cage look like the new monster now that Lashley is on his way out. There’s a good chance that this is Lashley’s last match with the company and that’s probably the best all around. There’s nothing left for him to do around here so go back to WWE and see what you can do there.

The announcers preview the show.

Here’s Allie for a chat. Allie isn’t afraid of Su Yung and ACTUALLY SWEARS as she demands that Yung come out here for a fight.

Allie vs. Su Yung

Non-title. Allie hammers away to start but the superkick is blocked with a kick to the ribs. Back from a very early break with Allie getting stomped down in the corner. Yung brings in the kendo stick but Allie knocks it away. A running dropkick sends Yung into the corner but here’s Braxton Sutter to beg Allie’s forgiveness. Allie doesn’t care and gets two off a Codebreaker but Yung hits her with the kendo stick for the DQ at 7:44.

Rating: D. Not a good match but clearly just there to advance us to the likely title match at Redemption. Yung is a more sinister Rosemary and that’s a good way to play off of Allie. She can be a good first title defense as Allie needs to get away from being Gail Kim’s fangirl for a long time. There’s potential in Allie, but she needs some big wins.

Rosemary wants to face Taya next week and finish this once and for all.

Matt Sydal and Josh Matthews rant about Austin Aries and want to get rid of him once and for all. Sydal is ready for Petey Williams at Redemption but next week, Josh will face Petey himself. Egads.

KM sends Richard Justice to the ring for a match.

Post break, KM comes to the ring and berates Justice for being a fat embarrassment to wrestling. Well yeah. After some more fat jokes, Justice starts crying. KM: “I’m sorry I have to say this to your face. I would have said it behind your back but my car only has a half a tank of gas.” Fallah Bahh comes in with Josh saying fat shaming is bad. The Cult of Lee comes in and beats down Bahh, bringing in Tyrus for the real save. A six man is likely for next week.

Eli Drake is ready to win the other briefcase so tonight he can swim in gold like Scrooge McDuck.

Taiji Ishimori vs. Johnny Impact

They fight over wristlocks to start until Johnny takes over with a headlock and front facelock. A dropkick puts Impact on the floor as the announcers try to dub him Johnny Gorgeous. Ishimori’s middle rope moonsault to the floor puts Johnny down again and they’re both a bit winded.

Back in and Johnny wins a slugout before taking Ishimori down without too much trouble. A standing shooting star gives Johnny two but his sunset bomb is countered into a hurricanrana for two. Not that it matters as Impact is right back with a running knee to the face, followed by Starship Pain for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C+. Not bad here but the hyping of “FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER” was a bit of a stretch here. They’re both good, but I need something a bit stronger for that to be the match’s selling point. Johnny winning helps set him up for Kongo Kong, because Impact Wrestling is the kind of promotion where you have Alberto El Patron fighting for the World Title and Kongo Kong feuding with Johnny Impact.

Post match here are Jimmy Jacobs and Kong to destroy Impact. Johnny fights back and hits a dive to clear out the villains.

Long video on Aries vs. El Patron. Aries recently returned and won the World Title after fighting to get where he is. Alberto talks about being from Mexico and having to fight for his one shot. He was stripped of the World Title and needs a chance to get it back on his own (this is talked about with shots of the domestic violence headlines shown).

They both know they can’t get in the other’s head and they both need to be ready for the fight of their lives. Aries knows he can’t intimidate Alberto because he’s been on the biggest stage so he’ll just have to beat him. It’s about redemption for both of them. This ran nearly eight minutes and was really good stuff as there’s actually a story there.

Moose would love to win another briefcase.

Classic Clip: Kurt Angle vs. Jay Lethal from No Surrender 2007. That’s still a great job of putting someone over and I’m sure Angle had something to do with the decision.

LAX doesn’t care who leaves with the briefcase.

Moose vs. Eli Drake

Winner gets both briefcases. Moose wastes no time in dropkicking Drake outside and then lawn darting him onto the apron. Drake posts him though and we take a break. Back with Drake hitting a guillotine legdrop and hitting a powerslam. The E-LI-DRAKE elbow gets two and we hit the chinlock.

Drake gets the same off a neckbreaker but misses a charge and gets caught with a buckle bomb. The Game Changer hits the referee (erg) so here’s OVE to take out Moose. Cue Eddie Edwards for the save and Jake Crist takes a powerbomb from Moose. Drake picks up the bat and hits Moose in the face for two, followed by the Gravy Train for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: C. I’m so over OVE. They’re not entertaining, they’re not very good, and their whole thing is hitting someone in the face with a bat, which apparently doesn’t work very well. The match was just a match until the ending, when things got a little stupid. I like Drake winning though as he’s the more interesting of the two (better promo at least) and thankfully they’re leaving him in the main event at least for now.

Overall Rating: C+. Nice show this week with some good wrestling and story advancement as they’re getting ready for what should be a solid pay per view. They also got some stuff ready for next week, which is always a welcome addition to any show. Just deliver on what you’ve set up and things will be fine.

Results

Brian Cage b. Bobby Lashley – Drill Claw

Allie b. Su Yung via DQ when Yung used a kendo stick

Johnny Impact b. Taiji Ishimori – Starship Pain

Eli Drake b. Moose – Gravy Train

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 29, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Sonjay Dutt

We’re about a month away from the next pay per view (with the well thought out REDEMPTION moniker) and that means it’s time to start filling in the card. Last week saw the Feast or Fired briefcases opened up, meaning we could be having title matches soon. Let’s get to it.

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

Austin Aries arrived earlier today and ran into Josh Matthews and Matt Sydal. Aries applauds them for their title wins and Sydal can feel Aries’ energy in the X-Division Title. Option C is mentioned and Aries is willing to give Sydal a shot in a title for title match. As in the World Title against the Grand Championship. Josh freaks out but no one says no.

Petey Williams vs. Suicide vs. Rohit Raju vs. Taiji Ishimori

One fall to a finish. Suicide and Raju head outside so Ishimori spins Petey around by the wrist. All four are back in with Suicide atomic dropping Raju onto Petey’s back, followed by a running bulldog to take the two of them down. Ishimori 619s Suicide into a missile dropkick but Petey grabs a Sharpshooter.

Raju makes the save and dives onto Suicide and Petey as this is all over the place so far. Ishimori moonsaults onto all three and a series of rollups gets a series of near falls. Petey’s slingshot Codebreaker rocks Raju and Ishimori’s springboard senton drops Suicide. The Canadian Destroyer is broken up and Ishimori gets in the 450 for two. A second Destroyer attempt is enough to put Suicide away and give Petey the pin at 8:11.

Rating: C. The match was fun, albeit nothing that we haven’t seen before. What continues to drive me nuts though is Impact throwing Raju out there and saying he’s part of the Desi Hit Squad without explaining ANYTHING about them. I’ve only heard about the stable through news sites. I’m assuming there are videos and information about the group on Impact’s site but it’s not my job to go read outside resources to know what the heck is going on. Just give them a thirty second promo or let them show up for a match and everything is fine. But nah, just assume fans know what the heck you’re talking about.

Post match, Petey says he’s cashing in the briefcase at Redemption.

Eli Drake isn’t happy with having the Tag Team Title briefcase because he’s a one man show and should be World Champion. But never mind, because he has an idea.

The announcers have their weekly chat. Tonight: two matches from different promotions!

Eddie Edwards has gone to Dayton, Ohio to find OVE. Maybe he can leave his wife behind when a group of psychotic stalkers follow her to her hotel.

Su Yung vs. Amber Nova

Braxton Sutter introduces Su and looks very proud. Yung jumps her to start and the spinning Samoan Driver (Pain Switch) is good for the pin at 42 seconds.

Johnny Impact still wants to be World Champion when Jimmy Jacobs interrupts. Jimmy promises to burst Johnny’s bubble and makes Kongo Kong threats.

Taya Valkyrie is in the back but Rosemary walks atop some offices and throws a trashcan down, hitting her right in the face. The fight is on, in the overproduced way that Impact likes to shoot these things. Richard Justice tries to intervene but Rosemary dives onto everyone and Taya appears to be busted open.

From WrestlePro in Brooklyn.

KM vs. Fallah Bahh

Yes, this is seriously what we’re watching. Bahh knocks him away with the power of the belly and the rolling splash. A running clothesline drops Bahh and we’re clipped to another Bahh kickout as KM kicks away at the ribs. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Bahh fights up with a Samoan drop. A Banzai Drop misses and KM puts his feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:12.

Rating: D. Sacre bleu, what a waste of their time. I know that they’re trying to stretch things out, but a guy as lame as KM getting a pin over a fairly popular act like Bahh is really the best that they can do? Good grief the classic clips are better than this. And it still looks like they’re in front of about 200 people in some nothing indy promotion. That’s not the presentation you want as even Ring of Honor looks better than this.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Bobby Lashley. Cage is the new monster on the block and Lashley didn’t like his help a few weeks ago. Tonight, a match.

Brian Cage vs. Bobby Lashley

They waste no time with the power lockup and neither can get much of anywhere. A hurricanrana sends Lashley down and a clothesline puts him on the floor as Cage gets the early advantage. Back in and Lashley gets two off a clothesline, followed by a neckbreaker for the same. Cage powers back up and sends him outside for a running flip dive. They both jump from the apron the floor but it’s Cage scoring with a series of kicks. Lashley slams him off the top though and we hit the chinlock.

That goes nowhere so Cage fights up and hits a springboard tornado DDT of all things. Josh: “HE SHOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DO THAT!” I can’t believe I’m saying this but Josh is absolutely right. Back up and Cage gets two off a floatover spinebuster but Lashley is right back with a running powerslam for two. Cage misses a discus lariat and gets speared to the floor for a delayed near fall. The second attempt at the discus lariat connects to give Cage the big upset at 11:03.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun as Cage looks like the new beast on the block, which is exactly the point of this match. Cage pinning Lashley clean is a big deal for him and not something that happens very often. Lashley is on his way out so putting someone over clean like this is a great parting gift.

Gail Kim (WHY IS SHE STILL HERE??? She retired like five months ago and it seems like she’s barely ever missed a show) is doing her makeup when Allie comes in to ask for some advice. Gail tells her to go be the champion.

Classic Clip: AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin in Ultimate X from Final Resolution 2005.

Eli Drake offers to trade his case with Moose for the sake of winning two belts instead of one. That’s not happening, but for some reason Moose does agree to a case for case match next week.

Eddie Edwards invades a show in Ohio and goes after OVE and Sami Callihan with a kendo stick. The numbers start to get the better of him but Eddie takes Callihan’s baseball bat and cleans house. Since beating guys up with a baseball bat doesn’t work very well, Eddie gets beaten down again and a spike Tombstone leaves him laying.

Sami promises to destroy Eddie.

Video on Aries vs. Sydal.

Impact Wrestling World Title/Grand Championship: Austin Aries vs. Matt Sydal

Title for title with both guys defending. Aries has all four belts with him and has to make sure he holds up the right one. They fight over wristlocks to start (must have been watching WWE) as Alberto El Patron is watching the match in the back and enjoying a steak (Leftovers from his restaurant?). Matt bails to the floor and Aries lays over the top, followed by a basement dropkick to take us to a break.

Back with Aries holding a stump puller and firing off some kicks to the back and chest. The middle rope elbow to the back gets two as Sonjay continues to shine on commentary. Sydal comes back with a spinwheel kick and starts in on the leg. That goes nowhere so Sydal fires off some kicks but a springboard is cut off. Aries’ neckbreaker across the rope is broken up and the brainbuster is blocked as well.

Something like an Eye of the Hurricane with a leg instead of the arm drops Aries. A bridging German suplex gives Sydal two and Aries has to kick Matthews away. Now the neckbreaker works just fine and here’s Petey to scare Josh off. That leaves things one on one and it’s a running corner dropkick into the brainbuster to give Aries the Grand Championship at 20:35.

Rating: B. Pretty standard “big time” Impact main event here and that’s all well and good. Aries collecting (and hopefully retiring) another belt is the right call and it’s not like Sydal takes a huge hit when the World Champion pins him. Odds are we’ll get a tag match out of this soon enough with El Patron and Sydal against Williams and Aries, which should be a nice way to go.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was good and Lashley vs. Cage was a heck of a fight, making this a better show than usual. The Bahh vs. KM match, while stupid, was at least short and didn’t hurt things too much. Other than that, the show went by fast enough and set up some things for the future, including a few things for Redemption. Nice night overall.

Results

Petey Williams b. Suicide, Rohit Raju and Taiji Ishimori – Canadian Destroyer to Suicide

Su Yung b. Amber Nova – Pain Switch

KM b. Fallah Bahh – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Brian Cage b. Bobby Lashley – Discus lariat

Austin Aries b. Matt Sydal – Brainbuster

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Wrestlemania XXIII
Date: April 1, 2007
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 80,103
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, John Bradshaw Layfield, Joey Styles

Pre-Show: Carlito/Ric Flair vs. Gregory Helms/Chavo Guerrero

Helms slowly pounds Carlito down until a botched hurricanrana allows for the tag to Flair. The lumberjacks keep slapping the mat and it sounds like bubble wrap popping. Chops and backdrops abound but Helms saves Chavo from the Figure Four. Everything breaks down and Chavo misses the frog splash, allowing the tag to Carlito for a quick Backstabber to pin Chavo at 6:37.

Jeff Hardy vs. King Booker vs. Finlay vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge

Batista is All Grown Up. These videos will be on all night long with different people starting as kids and then becoming what they are today and narrating about what it means to them.

Great Khali vs. Kane

Khali chokes him with the chain post match.

The Divas are All Grown Up.

Reverend Slick comes in to join the party (now with a disco ball) but Dusty Rhodes takes over instead. This brings in Sgt. Slaughter, Jimmy Hart, IRS, Gerald Brisco and finally Ricky Steamboat in karate gear. Ron Simmons comes in for his one word catchphrase (a bad word beginning with D) to cap the whole thing off, as was his custom. Funny stuff here as usual and always entertaining.

US Title: MVP vs. Chris Benoit

Undertaker is All Grown Up.

Hall of Fame recap from last night. The speeches about Mr. Perfect were rough to sit through. Actor William Shatner inducted Jerry Lawler, even though Lawler specifically asked for longtime Memphis announcer Lance Russell to do it. WWE said no because Shatner had more star power. True, but how many people watched the ceremony because William Shatner was making a speech?

Attendance record announcement.

Time for the Hall of Fame presentation (why do the attendance in the middle?): Jim Ross, Mr. Perfect (represented by his father, which is always sad), Jerry Lawler (he had to go in with JR), Nick Bockwinkel (classy as always), Mr. Fuji (who looks about 90), the Wild Samoans, the Original Sheik (represented by his wife) and Dusty Rhodes. No one really got a bigger reaction than anyone else but the acoustics are weird in a place this big.

Smackdown World Title: Undertaker vs. Batista

Batista is defending and Smackdown GM Teddy Long is announcing for some reason. Both guys are faces coming in so this could be interesting. Of course we have the druids and torches which never get old. Batista spears him down at the bell and the fans instantly boo. Right hands put Batista into the corner but Undertaker stops to glare at the referee, allowing Batista to come back with a big clothesline.

Now, say it with me: Batista pounds away in the corner and gets caught in the Last Ride. Man he deserves that crash landing for being so stupid. Batista comes back with a spinebuster but walks into a chokeslam for two. The Tombstone is countered and another spear sets up the Batista Bomb for a VERY close two and a roar from the crowd. Back up and Batista tries a Tombstone (moron!) but Undertaker slips out and hits the real thing to win the title at 15:48.

Bobby Lashley is All Grown Up.

ECW Originals vs. New Breed

Originals: Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Sabu

New Breed: Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker, Kevin Thorn

Steve Austin is All Grown Up. A kid who looks like Austin slams milk together to drink it like Austin does beer. Were he and Kurt Angle switched at birth?

Wrestlemania XXIV is in Orlando, somehow the first time the show took place in Florida.

Video on celebrities saying they want to see Trump get his head shaved. Only Rock wants Vince to get shaved.

Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga

They slug it out to start as this is power vs. power. Lashley takes over to start and drops Estrada with a right hand, followed by low bridging a charging Umaga to the floor. Back in and Lashley misses a charge of his own, setting up a splash from Umaga for two. Trump is WAY into this on the floor, which is all you would expect from him here.

Post match Austin Stuns Shane as Vince runs. Lashley chases him down (“TIME TO GET BALD!”) and feeds him to Austin for a Stunner, followed by the big shaving. Lashley and Trump do the honors while Austin holds Vince in place be he had to be involved somehow. This would lead to a long feud between Vince and Lashley with Vince becoming ECW Champion to kill the belt once and for all.

John Cena is All Grown Up.

Clips of the dark match to give them time to clean the ring.

The good lumberjills clean house post match.

Shawn Michaels is All Grown Up.

Cena is favored to retain the title 59% to 41%.

We recap Cena vs. Michaels. Shawn came in second in the 2007 Royal Rumble and then won a triple threat to earn the title match. Cena and Michaels then became partners, but Cena was reminded that Michaels would turn on every partner he had no matter what. They wound up winning the Raw Tag Team Titles and hold them coming into this match with Shawn still promising to turn on Cena soon.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels

Back in and Shawn punches Cena in the knee for a target and wraps it around the post. Cena has to hop around the ring on one leg so Shawn bends the bad one around the ropes and chop blocks the champ down. It works so well that Shawn wraps it around the ropes again but Cena punches his way out of trouble. When all else fails, hit the other guy in the face. Shawn misses a charge and goes head first into the post to draw some blood. Oh yeah now we should get going.

Cena cries after the match and the highlights end the show.

Ratings Comparison

CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Finlay vs. Randy Orton vs. King Booker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Booker T vs. Edge

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

Great Khali vs. Kane

Original: D

2013 Redo: D-

2015 Redo: D

Chris Benoit vs. MVP

Original: B

2013 Redo: C

2015 Redo: C-

Undertaker vs. Batista

Original: B+

2013 Redo: A

2015 Redo: A-

ECW Originals vs. New Breed

Original: D+

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D

Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga

Original: C-

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: C-

Melina vs. Ashley

Original: F

2013 Redo: M (for Mickie James)

2015 Redo: F

John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A

2013 Redo: A-

2015 Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: B

2013 Redo: B+

2015 Redo: B+

This one is famous for one match and I’m leaving it at that.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/30/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-23-over-80000-people/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/04/01/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxiii-shawn-is-better-than-hhh/

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 8, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Sonjay Dutt

It’s a big show tonight with Crossroads. The name doesn’t really mean anything but it’s a stacked card with Austin Aries defending the World Title against Johnny Impact as the main event. Last week’s show saw Sami Callihan crush Eddie Edwards’ face with a baseball bat so you can almost guarantee some fallout there. Let’s get to it.

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

In the studio, Dutt and Matthews run down the card and talk about how important tonight is.

We recap LAX vs. the Cult of Lee, which boils down to “LAX needs challengers and the Cult of Lee is all we have”.

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Cult of Lee

LAX is defending and jumps the Cult before the bell. They slug it out on the floor with Caleb Konley throwing Ortiz into the steps to take over. We finally settle down to Santana and Konley in the ring with a Lionsault/legdrop combination crushing Caleb as we take a break. Back with Santana hitting a running kick to the face to put Lee down. The hot tag brings in Ortiz for some running ax handles and a backdrop.

The champs start their double teaming, followed by the barrage of flip dives. Back in and some hard forearms into a superkick rock LAX, followed by a Samoan Driver for two on Santana. Ortiz hits a quick suplex into a Stunner but Lee breaks up the Street Sweeper. Konnan offers a quick distraction though and now the Street Sweeper puts Konley away at 13:00.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t interesting coming in but the action more than made up for it. The problem of course is where do the champs go from here, but odds are it’s going to be a long series of rematches with the Cult. Hopefully they’re like this though as it was a lot of fun and better than I ever would have expected.

Bobby Lashley doesn’t have a partner tonight but is ready to face OVE on his own tonight.

Classic clip: Monty Brown vs. Christian.

We recap Taiji Ishimori vs. Matt Sydal in a title for title match. Grand Champion Sydal has been following the advice of his spirit guide and won the title as a result. Now the guide has told him to go win the X-Division Title as well.

X-Division Title/Grand Championship: Taiji Ishimori vs. Matt Sydal

Title for title. I didn’t hear a bell ring but it’s a feeling out process to start with Sydal taking him up against the ropes and saying PEACE twice in a row. Ishimori spins out of a wristlock as the announcers make fun of internet reports. Sydal takes him up top but gets shoved down, followed by a jumping Codebreaker as we take a break.

Back with Ishimori holding a chinlock but getting slammed head first into the mat for the break. A half crab keeps Ishimori down and a reverse Muta Lock makes things even worse. Ishimori fights up and hits a running kick to the chest, followed by a Vader Bomb double stomp (I still don’t get how that doesn’t crack a rib) for two. A modified TKO (Sydal’s back was against the back of Ishimori’s head) gets two more but Sydal snaps off a middle rope hurricanrana to get things to even.

Sydal is sent outside and Ishimori gets a running start down the ramp for a hurricanrana. Back in and they exchange near falls until Sydal’s jumping knee t the face drops Ishimori. The shooting star misses and Ishimori’s Tombstone gutbuster puts him down. The 450 hits knees though and Sydal hits the shooting star for the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here with both guys hitting each other with everything they had. The clean ending is kind of surprising but hopefully this leads to the end of the Grand Championship. This show just doesn’t need that many titles floating around, especially when the Grand Championship is just a standard midcard title anymore.

Allie is ready to win the Knockouts Title back because she’s grown as a Knockout. She’ll dedicate the win to Gail Kim. WELL OF COURSE SHE WILL!

We recap Allie vs. Laurel Van Ness. Laurel is all crazy and such but Allie is growing up and immune to her mind games.

Knockouts Title: Laurel Van Ness vs. Allie

Laurel is defending and Allie jumps her in the aisle to start. They head inside with Laurel hammering away and pounding Allie in the face on the mat. Laurel misses a dive off the top though and walks into a Codebreaker for a double knockdown. Allie suplexes her into the corner and takes Laurel outside where the champ is sat in a chair.

A running elbow drops Laurel but she grabs an Unprettier onto the floor to knock Allie silly. That’s only good for nine so Laurel stomps away back inside and a curb stomp sends Allie face first into the buckle. Laurel grabs the belt but walks into a Death Valley Driver. A superkick is enough to give Allie the title back at 8:40.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to really go anywhere but Allie getting the title back should have happened about a year ago. It’s nice to have her FINALLY get to do something positive instead of being a glorified joke. Good enough match here too, but it’s really just a way to get the title off of Laurel before she leaves the promotion.

Post break, Gail congratulates Allie. Good, now go away.

Austin Aries is sore from carrying the world on his back. Tonight, he’s ready to defeat Johnny Impact because he doesn’t take nights off.

We recap OVE vs. Lashley. OVE decided to go after a big prize like Lashley but Eddie Edwards came to Lashley’s aide. Then Sami Callihan crushed Eddie’s face with a baseball bat, making this a handicap match.

Lashley vs. OVE

Lashley clotheslines them down on the ramp and then suplexes both of them inside. Some kicks to the ribs take Lashley down though and we take an early break. Back with Lashley still in trouble but here’s Brian Cage to tag himself in and start cleaning house. Dave is sent to the floor so Sami comes in with the baseball bat. That earns him a spear though and Cage Drill Claws Jake for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: D. This was more of an angle than a match and really, that’s fine. It’s not like there was a ton of motivation from OVE in the first place so having them lost (in dominant fashion) to Cage was a good idea. Not a good match or anything, but it’s fun to see Cage destroy people as he’s exceptionally good at doing so.

Post match Cage won’t shake Lashley’s hand.

Johnny Impact has more names than Aries has titles but he doesn’t call himself the greatest man that ever lived. He’s not that insecure and only wants the Impact World Title. Tonight is his night.

Feast or Fired is back next week.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries vs. Johnny Impact

Johnny is challenging. Feeling out process to start with Aries rolling into the corner for a standoff. Aries jumps over him in the corner and snaps off an armdrag into an armbar. That’s broken up so Aries settles for a basement dropkick instead. Back from a break with Johnny hitting a jumping fall away slam and grabbing a cobra clutch with a body scissors. Johnny lets go but Aries breaks up a springboard by knocking the legs out.

Aries follows him to the floor with an ax handle and a middle rope elbow to the back gets two. The sliding German suplex gets Johnny out of trouble and a double springboard Flying Chuck gives him a near fall of his own. A leg lariat and the standing shooting star give Johnny two more but Aries is right back with the Last Chancery.

Johnny gets a foot on the ropes for the break and manages to catch Aries on top with a Spanish Fly. That’s not enough for the Countdown to Impact as Aries blasts him in the face and pulls Johnny to the apron. A Death Valley Driver on the apron knocks Johnny silly, followed by the brainbuster to retain the title at 18:11.

Rating: B+. These two know how to have a big match against each other and that’s what we got here. I could have used a story between them but that’s just not the way Impact does big time matches like this. Aries winning is another big deal for him and whenever he loses, the new champion is going to look like a big deal, which is very important for a reign like this.

Alberto El Patron comes out to applaud Aries to end the show. Well where would we be without Alberto getting a title shot?

Overall Rating: A-. Heck of a show here, as is usually the case with these specials. They don’t try to be anything more than a bunch of very good matches and that’s what we got here. The problem of course is going back to the storytelling episodes, which are rarely the strongest things in the world. Impact knows how to do something like this very well though and they did it again here.

Results

LAX b. Cult of Lee – Street Sweeper to Konley

Matt Sydal b. Taiji Ishimori – Shooting star press

Allie b. Laurel Van Ness – Superkick

Austin Aries b. Johnny Impact – Brainbuster

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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