Main Event – July 4, 2019: Smackdown Independence

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 4, 2019
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Renee Young

It’s a holiday edition of the show and that isn’t likely to matter as this is mainly an international show. Things got a lot more interesting this week on Raw and hopefully that carries over to here as well. Smackdown was its usual slog of a two hour show but it’s not like Smackdown means anything around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dana Brooke vs. Sarah Logan

It’s trilogy time and we even get a recap of their previous matches. Logan kicks her in the face to start and hits a few slams, setting up some howling. We’re already in the chinlock, drawing a rare DANA chant. Dana sends her outside for a cartwheel elbow to the face, followed by the Wade Barrett middle rope suplex into a suplex. A headscissors sets up a rollup for two on Logan, who is right back with the standing Texas Cloverleaf. That’s broken up as well so it’s the cartwheel splash for two on Logan. That’s fine though, as Logan hits a running knee to the back of the head for the pin at 5:48.

Rating: D. Well I’m glad they gave us the end to the feud and a definitive winner. This was on the same level they’ve been on since their first match and that’s not the best thing in the world. Brooke is trying to get somewhere and is better than she used to be but she’s a long, long way from being ready to be at the top levels.

From Raw.

Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman

Falls Count Anywhere. Lashley hits an early spear and they’re on the floor in a hurry. Strowman hits the big shoulder and drops a backsplash for two. A big tackle knocks Strowman into the timekeeper’s area for two more and they head into the crowd. It’s the walking around form of brawling until Lashley hits him in the back with a chair for two. They get into a clearing with Strowman hitting a heck of a charge to run Lashley over for two.

It’s up to the stage with Lashley getting in an impressive suplex for two of his own. A big spear sends Lashley through the set and it’s a BUNCH of explosions (Graves: “HOLY S***! Uncensored too.) with the screen’s lights going out. Both guys are sprayed with fire extinguishers and the referees call for EMTs as the match is of course thrown out at about 6:00.

Rating: C-. Oh yeah I’d say we have some new management now. This was All a bunch of killing time until we got to the big angle at the end and there’s nothing wrong with that. What matters most here is that they started with something different and fans are going to want to keep watching. It’s a different style and if that’s what we’re going to get, well done.

The medics look at both of them for a good while with no commentary. We even take a break and come back with the two of them being put into ambulances.

And from Smackdown.

We see a video from Lashley’s Twitter, saying Strowman got what he deserved. That had nothing to do with wrestling because they went into an unsafe area. Lashley could have been electrocuted or something worse but Strowman didn’t care. The next time Lashley sees that son of a b****, he’s sending him to the morgue.

From Smackdown again.

Here are Kofi Kingston and Samoa Joe for a face to face showdown. Joe talks about choking him out last night, which was an act of generosity. It seems that Kofi is always receiving some kind of act of generosity. Whenever New Day is given a singles match, it’s always Kofi getting the shot because he’s the New Day’s guy. Joe says they’re using the people just like he does and in a few years, Woods and Big E. can be the hype man and butler.

Kofi talks about everything he has done by himself while Joe lost the US Title to Ricochet. Joe is the one always jumping people from behind but Joe isn’t convinced. He knows Kofi always has a way out planned, like when he brought in his kids. Kofi calls Joe jealous but Joe offers a handshake in honor of choking Kofi out two weeks in a row.

If Kofi will shake his hand, Joe will promise the safety of everyone Kofi holds dear until Extreme Rules. There’s no handshake, so Joe gives him five seconds before he starts slapping Kofi around the ring. Instead Kofi flips him off (that feels WAY out of character for him) and hits Trouble in Paradise.

Video on Baron Corbin/Lacey Evans vs. Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch.

Extreme Rules rundown.

Robert Roode vs. Cedric Alexander

Roode headlocks him to start so Alexander is right back with some running shoulders and a hip swivel. We take a very abrupt break and come back with Alexander kicking him in the face. The suicide dive connects and Cedric’s springboard clothesline gets two. Roode snaps off the spinebuster for his own two but the Glorious DDT is countered into the Neuralizer for another near fall. Roode gets smart though and grabs a rollup with rope for the pin at 7:39.

Rating: C-. Better than you might have guessed here with Roode looking smooth in the ring but still lacking in any reason to take him seriously. I know the mustache is incredible but I need more than that. Alexander continues to be the same talented but unpushed guy that he always is, mainly because he has no character to speak of.

From Raw.

Here are Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre for a chat. After the long intro, Shane talks about having other responsibilities other than gracing us with his presence. We look back at McIntyre and Shane beating up Roman Reigns last week but cut it off before Undertaker appeared. Shane promises to destroy the Undertaker again at Extreme Rules and Drew says he will not be intimidated by Undertaker. Drew is ready to fight right now and wants Undertaker out here right now. The thunder rumbles and the lights go out. Lightning hits some turnbuckles and here’s Undertaker.

Shane and Drew bail into the crowd and Undertaker says Reigns never asked for his help. If you need to know what happened last week, Undertaker will explain. He has been the reaper of wayward souls for a long time and he is here to collect Shane and Drew’s. Shane had a little of Undertaker’s respect for awhile because of their match inside the Cell. Just like most mortals though, Shane fell victim to his greed and ego. Therefore, Undertaker is claiming his soul for all of eternity. The two of them will never rest in peace. Fine enough explanation for a one off match.

And from Raw again.

US Title: Ricochet vs. AJ Styles

Ricochet is defending. An early rollup gives Ricochet two and he knocks AJ down in a hurry. The springboard splash hits raised knees though and AJ takes over. The fans are split as Ricochet knocks him to the floor for the big flip dive. Back in and AJ knocks him backwards a few steps, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin and the title….despite Ricochet having his foot under the ropes at two. Cue a second referee as we find another way to not have action during a break.

Back with the match restarting and the Good Brothers at ringside. Ricochet hits an enziguri and a lifting swinging neckbreaker for two. The Phoenix splash misses so Ricochet sends him over the top and face first onto the apron. The big running flip dive misses but Ricochet lands on his feet. That’s fine with AJ, who hits another Phenomenal Forearm to the floor. Back in and the torture rack powerbomb gives AJ two but he gets caught on top. Ricochet knocks him down and grabs a spinning rollup for the pin to retain at 10:13.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to build up because of the spot in the middle. Is it that much to just have Styles vs. Ricochet in a straight ten minute match without the big part in the middle to change things up? It feels so unnecessary and doesn’t add anything more than a detail that doesn’t need to be there.

Post match they shake hands but the Good Brothers get on the apron. Ricochet is ready to fight but AJ decks him for the heel turn. The beatdown is on with a Magic Killer and a middle rope Styles Clash leaving Ricochet laying. AJ and the Good Brothers give the Too Sweet sign and Gallows says they’re back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This could have been a lot worse and I’ll certainly take what I can get here. The Raw stuff is far better than the Smackdown material but at least they were playing it smart by not having Smackdown get too much time. What we got here was a watchable enough show but as long as they keep up the good Raw stuff, they’ll be fine.

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – July 1, 2019: Feel The Bang

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 1, 2019
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

So depending on which version of WWE’s own story you believe, this may or may not be the first show under Paul Heyman’s control. It doesn’t seem to be the case, but at this point they certainly need something fresh. Tonight is likely going to be more about the amazing mixed tag, which is probably going to headline the pay per view to even less interest. Let’s get to it.

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

As the announcers talk about the show, the Street Profits (reigning NXT Tag Team Champions) are shown in the back for a split second in what seems like a technical glitch. This is not acknowledged by commentary.

Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman

The medics look at both of them for a good while with no commentary. We even take a break and come back with the two of them being put into ambulances.

War Raiders vs. New Day

Big E. runs over Erik to start and it’s the apron splash to make it even worse. Ivar comes in and runs Big E. over and then crushing him in the corner with an assist from Erik. The chinlock goes on but Big E. fights out….and here’s Samoa Joe to choke Woods out for the DQ at 2:40. That is the War Raiders’ first loss of any kind in NXT or WWE.

Post match Kofi Kingston runs out for the save and you know where this is going.

New Day vs. Viking Raiders/Samoa Joe

Kofi tries kicking away at Ivar to start before handing it off to Woods, who gets kicked in the face. Woods gets caught in the corner and some chops to Erik don’t work very well. Instead Erik muscles him up for a suplex and it’s back to Ivar. Erik gets slammed onto Woods and it’s off to Joe for the neck crank. A middle rope dropkick gets Woods out of trouble though and it’s Kofi coming in to clean house.

Kofi starts kicking away and hits the Boom Drop on Erik. Joe comes in and is immediately kneed back to the floor but Erik blasts Kofi with a knee. Big E. suplexes Erik and sends Ivar outside for the suicide dive but Ivar knees him instead. Woods hits a dropkick through the ropes and Ivar adds a big suicide dive. There’s Trouble in Paradise to Ivar but Joe grabs the Clutch on Kingston and Kofi is out at 7:13.

Rating: C+. Exciting match, furthers Joe vs. Kingston and keeps the Raiders strong. It’s a well put together match that hit on all cylinders while also being high quality. What more could you possibly ask for out of a match like this? Good stuff and I buy Joe as more of a threat than I did before.

We recap Drake Maverick losing the 24/7 Title at his wedding.

Maverick has brought his wife to Raw, though under the premise of taking her to the beach. She’s not happy when she finds out what’s going on but he chooses her over the title. R-Truth shows up and says he’s a sucker for love. Hey I went to Dallas for my honeymoon over Wrestlemania weekend and went to the same arena so I’m on Maverick’s side here.

The Good Brothers are talking when AJ Styles comes in. AJ doesn’t think much of the two of them losing to the Viking Raiders. They accuse AJ of not looking great last week and Anderson bets his hot Asian wife (his words) that AJ can’t beat Ricochet for the US Title. The best is on, but Anderson doesn’t like Gallows talking about his wife.

No Way Jose vs. Cesaro

Drake and his wife are now sitting in the front row with R-Truth as part of the conga line. Cue Titus O’Neil and Cedric Alexander to chase him off with Drake reluctantly staying in his seat. The chase is on and Cesaro Neutralizes Jose on the floor. No match.

The Street Profits (Montez Ford/Angelo Dawkins) are introduced backstage and after Ford attempts a Rock promo, it’s a sip of the juice and dancing ensues, with Charly Caruso joining in.

We look back at the opening explosion.

Miz is ready to take care of Elias tonight. He blames himself for Shane dubbing himself the Best in the World but after tonight, Shane is going to need a replacement for Elias.

Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans are not worried about their mixed tag now being an Extreme Rules match. That plays into their hands and Baron doesn’t understand why Seth is willing to bet everything he has on his latest fling. Is she worth it? Lacey can’t wait to take the title from Evans and prove them wrong.

And now, Undertaker leaves.

Lacey Evans vs. Natalya

Corbin is at ringside. Lacey takes her down to start and some elbows to the back of the head make things even worse. A slingshot elbow gives Lacey two and it’s off to the chinlock. Natalya fights up but Corbin trips her from the floor. The Woman’s Right finishes Natalya at 3:31.

Rating: D. It’s amazing how much the energy goes out of the show when Corbin is on screen. The problem for Lacey is very simple: she’s already lost to Becky twice, so why would I want to see this happen again? She’s good at what she does, but we’ve covered this already and there’s no way to make it much better.

Ricochet thinks he could handle AJ Styles in a rematch. The Good Brothers come in and say AJ has Ricochet’s numbers. Threats are made but the two of them imply Ricochet should be worried about something else.

Post break AJ isn’t happy with the Good Brothers because he’s going to go talk to Ricochet. That’s not good enough for the two of them because the AJ they knew in Japan would slap Ricochet in the face. AJ walks off and finds Ricochet, who he accuses of running his mouth. Styles wants the title match tonight and Ricochet accepts. Ricochet extends his hand but gets slapped in the face. That earns AJ a slap right back.

Miz vs. Elias

2/3 falls. Miz jumps Elias before the bell and the beating is on with Elias saying he’s ready to go. The Skull Crushing Finale gives Miz the first fall at 12 seconds. Elias comes right back with a small package for two and Drift Away ties things up at 1:30. Back from a break with Elias hitting a sitout powerbomb for two and elbowing Miz in the face for one. The chinlock (with Corey offering some praise) goes on for a bit until Miz is back up with chops. Something like a Roll of the Dice gives Elias two but a running knee hits the post. Back in and Elias taps to the Figure Four at 8:57.

Rating: D-. It wasn’t going to be a very good match in the first place but the gimmick made it even worse. If they can trade falls in ninety seconds, why would I be interested in seeing them keep going for another seven minutes? I can appreciate the idea of wanting to keep the action on the air, but this is defeating the purpose in a bad way.

We look back at the main event of Stomping Grounds with Becky Lynch preventing Lacey Evans from costing Seth Rollins the Universal Title.

Lynch and Rollins don’t think agreeing to the match was impulsive and smile at each other quite a bit. Cue Maria Kanellis of all people, who doesn’t like them calling themselves the first couple of WWE. Maria: “I pushed an eight pound baby out of my uterus.” Mike Kanellis comes up and a mixed tag is made for later.

We look at the explosion again. Strowman may have suffered a ruptured spleen.

Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch vs. Mike Kanellis/Maria Kanellis

The men start with Mike bailing after getting kicked in the back. Maria tells him to get back in there so Seth elbows him in the face this time around. A pop up buckle bomb and the low superkick have Mike in more trouble so Seth takes him into the corner for the tag off to Maria, meaning it’s time to be afraid.

Becky comes in so Maria runs to the floor and grabs a mic, saying that Mike lied when he said he could mop the floor with Seth. Maria: “YOU CAN’T EVEN MOP THE FLOOR AT HOME!” Becky goes to hit her but Maria says she’s pregnant. Mike is stunned and asks how that could be true. Maria doesn’t know either because Mike isn’t man enough to do it. Becky pulls Mike back in and the Disarm-Her makes Mike tap at 3:33.

Rating: D. This was just an excuse for an angle and that’s fine. Mike and Maria aren’t interesting together but Maria being the evil witch that she can play very well is more than a good use for her. Sometimes you need someone to yell and rant and rave and she does it as well as anyone around.

Post match Becky and Seth leave as Maria rants about Mike somehow being the father of their child. She’s been waiting for him to be a man for months because the only man here tonight is Becky Lynch. Maybe next time, she’ll ask Becky to impregnate her.

Paul Heyman pops up in the back and threatens a Brock Lesnar cash-in. The Street Profits come in and Heyman looks mortified. They mess with his tie and Heyman leaves because he’s a busy man. The Profits talk about what just happened on live TV and Charly Caruso starts laughing. They then recite Rock A Bye Baby.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss with guest Nikki Cross. Bliss congratulates her for beating Bayley on Smackdown and Nikki thanks Alexa for taking her seriously. This brings out Carmella who asks why Nikki won but Bliss is getting the title shot. Bliss calls her out for being R-Truth’s sidekick and a match is set up.

Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss

Carmella wins with a rollup in 8 seconds.

Carmella vs. Nikki Cross

Yeah of course. Cross hits a running crossbody for two but a headscissors puts her on the floor. That earns her a trap in the ring skirt so Cross can hammer away for two more. Carmella is right back up with the Staten Island Shuffle into the Bronco Buster for her own two. Cross elbows her in the face though and adds a kick to the ribs, setting up the Purge for the pin at 2:46. Another way around a problem that causes a bigger problem here.

Cross is asked about fans saying she should get the title shot at Extreme Rules. Bliss says no comment and the two leave.

Maverick and his wife are trying to leave so they can have a proper honeymoon. She goes to freshen up but Maverick finds R-Truth and hits him with a suitcase to win the title. Maverick’s wife comes back in, with Drake saying they can do their honeymoon 24/7 now.

US Title: Ricochet vs. AJ Styles

Overall Rating: C+. I don’t know how much pull Heyman had with this show, but it felt almost entirely different than previous weeks. There are still issues abounding (the mixed tag being the top story at the pay per view is up there) but the key to the show was it did not feel boring. They were trying some fresh stuff here and while it might not all work, it felt like they were actually trying instead of just coasting through the summer until Summerslam.

They literally opened the show with a bang then got some popular acts out there to keep up the interest. Throw in the Kanellis angle, the Street Profits appearing and some of the established being stories being advanced and they had some good stuff going on. Now just get rid of the awfully executed No Wrestling During The Breaks policy and we could be getting somewhere. What mattered here was the effort, and if they can keep up even half of it, things will be trending up.

Results

Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman went to a no contest when Strowman speared Lashley through the set

New Day b. Viking Raiders via DQ when Samoa Joe interfered

Samoa Joe/Viking Raiders b. New Day – Koquina Clutch to Kingston

Lacey Evans b. Natalya – Woman’s Right

Miz b. Elias – Figure Four

Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch b. Mike Kanellis/Maria Kanellis – Disarm-Her to Mike

Carmella b. Alexa Bliss – Rollup

Nikki Cross b. Carmella – Purge

Ricochet b. AJ Styles – Bridging rollup

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – May 27, 2019: A Memorial Day Nightmare

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 27, 2019
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

This is going to be an interesting show but that might be the case without the show actually being interesting. It’s the first show after the rather great Double Or Nothing event, meaning WWE might be trying to show that they still have it. At the same time though it’s also Memorial Day, meaning the effort might not be there. On the third hand, there are only two shows left before Super ShowDown and some building could be useful. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the traditional long Memorial Day video.

Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar are here for the cash-in announcement, despite a four way #1 contenders match being announced for tonight.

Here’s Kofi Kingston to open things up, seemingly fine six days after the big beating from Dolph Ziggler, which we see in video form. Kofi is here because he’s a fighting champion but also because he wants to deal with Mr. Money In The Bank. He’ll fight anyone anytime and he wants Brock to cash in right here right now.

Instead he gets Seth Rollins (Seth: “I know I’m not Brock Lesnar. I’m better.”) to say he wants to know what Lesnar is doing with the briefcase too. The champs are here so get Lesnar out here right now. This brings out Lesnar, who has different music because he’s actually turned the briefcase into a boom box, complete with speakers and DANCING.

The box starts playing New Day music and Kofi is in but it switches over to Rollins’ music, complete with Heyman playing air guitar. Rollins leaves and the music stops with Heyman accusing Seth of ruining the Brock Party. Heyman and Lesnar leave and Ziggler comes out to jump Kofi, including a Zig Zag on the ramp. Xavier Woods runs out for the save as we’re already three fours of the way done with Wild Card entries tonight.

Post break Kofi is being helped out and Ziggler jumps him again, triggering another brawl with Woods. They fight into the crowd with Woods getting the better of it and throwing a trashcan at Ziggler. It heads back to ringside with Ziggler getting in some chair shots on the floor and in the ring. The chair is wrapped around Woods’ head but Kofi runs out with his own chair for the save.

Back from another break with Kofi and Woods still in the ring and Ziggler coming back out and saying he wants Kofi to enjoy the time he has left. Kofi is the best WWE Champion Ziggler can remember but it still should have been him. For years, Kofi has had two friends to help his popularity, but what happens when he loses the title? At Super ShowDown, Ziggler is taking the title.

There’s a Memorial Day party in the back with most of the lower card around and the Usos have brought in a DJ. First up though, Happy Birthday Natalya! Everybody is invited, aside from the Revival of course. More on this later I’m sure.

Shane McMahon comes out for a match….and then changes his mind.

Video on Randy Orton vs. HHH.

Here are Shane and Drew McIntyre (who were in the ring before the video played) to talk about the history of the McMahon Family vs. the Samoan dynasty, which has been going on since before either Roman Reigns or Shane were alive. It all comes down to respect though, which is not something that Reigns has shown.

Shane talks about the members of the Samoan wrestling family, but the Wild Samoans might have been the most insane of them all. Now Shane isn’t going to run down the Wild Samoans, but the reality is that Vince was always there to clean up their mistakes. Tonight, he’s facing a member of the Samoan dynasty, which seems to be an official name.

Lance Anoa’i vs. Shane McMahon

Lance is a real member of the Anoa’i Family. Hang on though as Drew pulls Lance to the floor and drives him into the barricade and steps. Shane says that’s enough and Lance is thrown inside so the real beating can begin, with the first match of the night starting at 8:52. The fans declare this awful as Lance makes the comeback and hits a dropkick but the superkick is countered by an elbow to the face. The triangle choke makes Lance tap at 1:36.

Post match Drew knocks Lance out again and the choke goes on again, with Shane saying Lance screams like Sika. This finally draws out Roman Reigns, who gets his hands on Shane until Drew gets him out of trouble. Shane and Drew run through the back as Reigns helps Lance up.

Here are Lesnar and Heyman again because the announcement didn’t come earlier. There’s a referee out there this time too because Heyman says it’s time to make his announcement. Before that can go anywhere, here’s Rollins to cut him off. Rollins says the title is his life as Lesnar laughs about the briefcase. Lesnar makes a mockery out of the title because he’s a joke. Seth stomped Lesnar at Wrestlemania and he can do it again right now.

This is Lesnar’s chance so Seth implores him to cash it in. Heyman reads the contract to the referee but Lesnar covers the mic after hearing that he has a year. Brock: “I GOT A YEAR???” And he slaps Heyman with the contract. Heyman: “DIDN’T YOU KNOW?” Lesnar: “NO!” Lesnar actually takes the mic and says screw Rollins before walking away. Lesnar hitting him with the contract was funny, making it the only entetaining thing on the show so far.

As Rollins leaves, Carmella and R-Truth run in with the 24/7 Title and it’s time for the rollups as the mob can’t get out of their own way. The running continues.

AJ Styles, who is too injured to be in the four way #1 contenders match, has been replaced by Baron Corbin. That’s not cool with AJ, who injured his back at Money in the Bank. He isn’t taking anything away from Seth Rollins who won the match fair and square but AJ wanted one more shot at the title. Corbin comes in and hits Styles in the face for a knockout.

Becky Lynch/Nikki Cross vs. IIconics

Non-title because the IIconics never defend the things. Nikki gets all fired up to fight both IIconics so Peyton headlocks her down. A rollup gives Nikki two and it’s off to Billie as a lot of shouting ensues. Nikki crossbodies both of them from the apron and we take a break. Back with Kay kicking Becky’s hand away from a tag and missing a charge at Nikki in the corner.

Peyton can’t stop the hot tag to Becky so house can be cleaned. Becky’s middle rope legdrop gets two with Kay making the save, setting up the bulldog onto Billie’s knee for two. Peyton gets out of the Disarm-Her so it’s a Rock Bottom (the Man Handle Slam) to give Becky the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C-. At this point I’ll take a match that gets cut in half over everything else we’ve been saying. The Women’s Tag Team Titles already need to be retired as they’ve become less interesting than the 24/7 Title in just a few months. At least Becky and Nikki didn’t take the fall, though I doubt this leads anywhere.

Post match Lacey Evans comes out for her old school cameo.

Back to the party with Naomi hugging Tamina when the Revival comes up to argue with the Usos. Naomi invited them to end this and there’s a tense handshake, with Naomi suggesting hot dogs.

Ricochet vs. Cesaro

Rematch from last week. Ricochet starts fast with a hurricanrana but a knee to the ribs cuts him off. An enziguri sends Cesaro tot he floor and it’s the big twisting flip dive to take us to a break. Back with Cesaro hitting a choke suplex for two, followed by a double stomp for two. Ricochet flips out of the corner and nails a superkick that seems to open Cesaro’s sinuses. A springboard clothesline into a standing shooting star press gets two but Cesaro uppercuts him on top.

Ricochet knees his way out of a superplex attempt though but the 630 misses. One heck of a running uppercut sends Ricochet bouncing out of the corner but the Neutralizer is countered. Cesaro sends him to the floor but makes the mistake of laying against the ropes, allowing Ricochet to flip forward from the floor to the apron into a hurricanrana driver (as in he basically got a running start and did a 450 from the floor into the ring) for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C+. If I had a pen in my hand for that finish, I’d have thrown it in the air and been at a loss. That’s the kind of video game special move that some programmer comes up with because a normal human shouldn’t be able to do it. Ricochet is scary athletic and I’m glad he got to win a match for a change.

The Usos and the Revival play cornhole.

Miz talks about how he used to think he deserved to be Universal Champion but things have changed since then. Now he wants to earn it, and that’s going to be awesome.

Braun Strowman promises to give everyone these hands. Oh and congratulations to Miz for expecting another baby girl.

The Miz vs. Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Baron Corbin

Elimination rules and the winner gets Rollins at Super ShowDown. It’s a brawl to start with Lashley and Strowman quickly clearing the ring to set up their big staredown. Lashley leapfrogs him but gets caught by the throat. That’s powered away but Strowman gets the grip back on his throat, only to have Corbin make the save. Miz comes back in and kicks Lashley and Corbin down, only to miss the big one of course.

Corbin belly to back suplexes Miz for two but a superplex attempt is broken up. Naturally that sets up the Tower of Doom with Strowman powerbombing everyone down and getting a bunch of two counts. Everyone heads outside with Lashley breaking up Strowman’s running shoulder around the ring. Strowman gets suplexed onto the ramp and we take a break. Back with all four still in and Miz getting double teamed this time around. Lashley chokes on the rope but Miz fights back, only to get caught in Deep Six for two.

Strowman is back in and hits the running splashes to Corbin and Lashley and it’s time to go outside. Lashley dives onto Strowman to take him out and they fight into the crowd. Corbin comes back in but gets sunset flipped to give Miz two. Miz fires off the kicks but charges into the End of Days for the pin at 16:14….which gives Corbin the win and the title shot because Strowman and Lashley were eliminated when they went into the crowd? Sure why not.

Rating: D+. They bring this stuff on themselves. WWE went out of their way to announce that this was a four way match and then mentioned there were no countouts or disqualifications. Apparently there is however an out of bounds rule, which has just never been mentioned until now. All you have to do to avoid this is not make it elimination rules, but apparently that’s too much to ask. I don’t understand this, but I’m sure the answer is “what difference does it make”.

Scott Dawson cheats at cornhole but here’s R-Truth before anything else can happen. Rollups ensue and the mob chases him off.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray holding up a paper plate mask. He finds it hard to be brave sometimes but when he hides behind the mask, everything is ok. Abby asks why Bray is a sicko but Bray insists that it’s not true. Is Bray a doctor now? A light bulb literally goes off about his head and Bray is now in a doctor’s outfit so he can diagnose Abby as a bully. Abby doesn’t want to be stuck in this limbo anymore….so Bray breaks out a limbo pole and spider walks underneath it while saying his catchphrase.

And now, here’s Sami Zayn to sit in an electric chair to answer questions from the audience. First up: when is your retirement date. Sami asks if the fan’s parents are related. A kid asks if Sami misses the Ginger Snaps from Mixed Match Challenge. Sami says the kid’s parents have failed at their jobs.

Third: how does it feel when Braun Strowman destroys you? Sami threatens to beat up the fan but since we’re in America, he won’t do it for fear of getting sued. Sami is amazed that the questions are this stupid and laughs off a question about not winning the Universal Championship. He could win the title any time he wants but he’s not interested in doing so right now. Sami: “You could have asked me about anything. You could have asked me about AEW.” As the fans gasp, here’s Seth Rollins again and let’s have an impromptu main event.

Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn

Non-title. They don’t waste time in getting to the floor with Rollins sending him into the barricade to take over. Back in and Rollins gets distracted for a second, allowing Sami to punch him in the face. A drop down onto Rollins’ back sets up the chinlock with forearms to Rollins’ jaw. Some rapid fire kicks to the face keep Rollins rocked and a clothesline gets two.

Rollins gets in a jumping knee to the back to send Sami outside but Sami posts him as we take a break. Back with Rollins escaping a suplex and nailing a superkick for a double knockdown. The Sling Blade connects and Sami bails to the floor, meaning it’s time for the suicide dives. Seth tweaks his knee on the second though and Sami goes after it, including a Figure Four.

Rollins turns it over for the break but the damage has been done. The knee is fine enough for an enziguri but the ripcord knee is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Sami’s superplex attempt is broken up and Seth tries the frog splash, which hits raised knees. Rollins pops back up and hits a quick Stomp but can’t follow up. A second stomp is good for the pin at 20:13.

Rating: B. That’s one of the better matches from both guys in a nice little while but after the show that came before it, it’s not like that means much. Rollins fighting through the injury was a good story and the action was the usual nice stuff, though it’s not like this is anything more than just another match for both of them.

Despite being shown to still be here, Lesnar does not appear again to end the show.

Overall Rating: T. People keep talking about how WWE is becoming more and more like WCW every single day and I can’t see that being the case. What I can see though is the company becoming more and more like TNA every day. TNA used to run these miserable shows with barely any wrestling for the first three quarters and then one good match to try and make up for it. That was the case here and the show was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.

This was far from the worst show WWE has ever run and it’s not even close to being in that discussion. There was some good action and storylines were advanced so it certainly accomplished things and had some moments, so it’s certainly out of the race for all time worst or even a complete waste of a show. The first hour was all time levels of bad but after that it got a lot better, bringing it all the way up to adequate.

What I saw tonight was WWE throwing out stuff and not caring if it made for a good show or not. We had more Shane, more Corbin, more Ziggler and two more bait and switches (Lesnar not making his decision and Corbin replacing AJ) while there was a big party in the back that only served as a backdrop for the 24/7 Title segment, followed by Sami sitting in an electric chair so he could take scripted questions from the audience.

We’re coming up on the second major event since Wrestlemania and it feels like they’re still stumbling around trying to figure out what to do next. After Super ShowDown, it’s Stomping Grounds, which isn’t likely to be anything more than a one or two match show either. It feels like they’re lost and can’t figure out what to do so they started running random stories and hoped people would keep watching.

Raw and Smackdown (to a lesser extent) just feel like a bunch of stuff that happens week to week with some unfocused bigger stories on top. Next Friday we get Reigns vs. Shane, Corbin vs. Rollins and Ziggler vs. Kingston in three of the main singles matches. So we have the boss’ son, a middle management goon and a guy who hasn’t wrestled in four months as the major villains. That’s really the best they can do for this show? Or for any show for that matter?

WWE needs to fix some of these things in a hurry. Maybe it’s time to go back to the very basics or restart things (AGAIN), but what they’re doing isn’t working. Pushing Shane and Corbin hasn’t exactly been inspiring and there isn’t much on either show worth seeing. It’s like they’re trying to go in too many directions without having a direction and it’s overwhelming them. I don’t know how to fix it, but something needs to change in a hurry.

Results

Shane McMahon b. Lance Anoa’i – Triangle choke

Becky Lynch/Nikki Cross b. IIconics – Man Handle Slam to Royce

Ricochet b. Cesaro – Hurricanrana driver

Baron Corbin b. The Miz, Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman – End of Days to Miz

Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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Main Event – May 16, 2019: Don’t Be Blue

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: May 16, 2019
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Renee Young, Vic Joseph

It’s the final show from the two day mini marathon in London and that means a lot of highlights from the week. Thankfully that’s a little better than what we usually get this week, despite the issues with counting in the Wild Card Rule. Hopefully it’s just not that bad this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Titus O’Neil vs. EC3

Titus shoves him down without much effort and the overhand chops just cause pain. EC3 gets an elbow up in the corner though and it’s time to choke on the ropes, which somehow works by pulling Titus’ throat away from the ropes. The chinlock goes on, followed by a middle rope dropkick to give EC3 two. There’s the EC3 Elbow but Titus isn’t about to be suplexed. The running splash in the corner sets up the Clash of the Titus to finish EC3 at 5:35.

Rating: D+. What else is there even to say here? The match was inconsequential to the fact that EC3, the guy who looks carved out of stone, has a ton of charisma and success elsewhere was called up to the main roster to job to Titus O’Freaking Neil. Send him back to NXT or something at this point as whatever he’s doing here isn’t worth it either in the long or short run.

We get the long video from Raw, comparing Seth Rollins and AJ Styles’ paths to the main event. It’s a good video with some cool highlights, but I’m still not feeling the title match.

From Raw.

And now for the show’s centerpiece: a double contract signing! Lacey Evans, Charlotte (that’s five) and Becky Lynch all come out for the signings with the fans being behind the champ. Becky talks about how great it is to be back in London before promising that Lacey will crumble under the pressure of the Man being on her neck.

Charlotte talks about Becky’s big mouth getting her in trouble again and how it’s always been her issues. Lacey complains about Becky not wearing the proper clothing to such a formal occasions. This isn’t a fight in a barn. Who wears a camisole and leather pants to a barn fight? Becky laughs it off and signs, leaving Charlotte to talk over the BECKY TWO BELTS chants. She finds this hilarious and Becky’s confidence can’t hide her jealousy. On Sunday, Becky will bow down to the Queen.

Charlotte signs and Lacey says the WWE needs a lady to show them the way. Lacey says Becky can “continue to pretend to swing around something that she doesn’t have” and it’s not going to be enough to take out two real ladies. Becky offers her a free shot as Becky signs. The table is shoved aside and the fight is on with Lacey getting caught in the Disarm-Her. Charlotte breaks it up with a big boot and a double powerbomb puts Becky through the table. Both titles are held up for a pretty good visual.

That’s the second contract signing in three weeks. Is that really the best thing that they can come up with? It’s not like it’s some brilliant trope that you never see anywhere else. They’re just sitting there trading shots at each other. Do they really have nothing better to do than the contract signing? Just have them yell at each other on stage or something for the save of a little change of pace.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House but Bray is nowhere to be seen but pops up from behind a table. Rabbity is seen in a chair with a bandage over his eye as Bray talks about having a secret. It’s almost time to show the world what he has been working on, but he’s going to need the help of all his Fireflies.

The cheering warms his soul, but there is still a lot of darkness in his noggin. This time though, he has learned how to control it. Bray gets a lot more sinister and asks if we want to see his secret. He turns to the door and we cut to some rather creepy images of what looks like a bunch of toys, and Bray morphs into something like an evil clown with his hair down. Bray, in a dark voice: “Yeowy wowwy.” Well that worked. I’m not sure how well it’s going to work in an arena, but the vignettes are the highlight of the show.

Revival vs. Lucha House Party

It’s certainly better than the humiliation stuff and Gran Metalik is the odd Lucha out here. Kalisto rolls away from Wilder to start and kicks him in the head before snapping off a headscissors to Dawson. Dorado adds the splash for two and a standing Lionsault drops Dawson and Dash, sending them outside. Back from a break with Wilder suplexing the heck out of Kalisto to take over as the announcers talk about the Usos being rather rude as of late.

Wilder slaps on a Gory Stretch but Kalisto slips out without much trouble and it’s back to Dorado for a double high crossbody. A triple moonsault gets two on Dawson with Wilder making the save and dragging Dawson back to the corner. Everything breaks down and Kalisto’s suicide dive doesn’t work so Dorado hits a big dive onto Revival. Back in and the Shatter Machine takes care of Dorado at 10:40.

Rating: C+. Matches like this just make me cringe even more about what Revival has been doing on Raw. They can have a good match, yet we can’t get the titles off of Hawkins/Ryder and the big feud on Raw at the moment is over Usy Hot and back shaving. And WWE doesn’t understand why the fans are leaving.

Money in the Bank rundown.

We see the end of Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman from Raw, with Sami winning Braun’s Money in the Bank spot. So yeah, no Smackdown this week.

Overall Rating: D+. A nice Revival match isn’t bad, but what in the world are we supposed to get when Smackdown doesn’t exist? I get that they were focusing a bit more on Money in the Bank this week but I could go for a little more than a DOUBLE CONTRACT SIGNING to get my interest up. It’s not a terrible show, but not one single thing from Smackdown? How is that even possible?

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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Monday Night Raw – May 13, 2019: Count Along With Me

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 13, 2019
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Renee Young, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re over in England this week for a taped show, which happens to be the go home show for Money in the Bank. I’m not sure what we’re going to be seeing this week but odds are we’ll be getting a match between the people involved in Sunday’s ladder matches. Oh and at least four people from Smackdown, because the Wild Card Rule is a mess. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Miz for MizTV top open things up. He talks about how important Money in the Bank is for the future but there is something else we need to get out of the way. That would be Miz’s match with Shane McMahon, when they will be locked in a cage. Miz promises to win and then brings out Roman Reigns as his guest. Reigns doesn’t think much of his Money in the Bank opponent Elias, who has never actually done anything in this company. That sounds good to Miz, who talks about Reigns’ movie career and suggests a buddy comedy.

Reigns doesn’t like it because that sounds like the old Miz. He wants to talk to the new Miz, who chased Shane McMahon and Elias out of the arena with a chair last week. After seeing a clip of that chase, Miz talks about getting some respect after thirteen years around here. Last week he brought the fight, which is what he is going to do to the daddy’s boy on Sunday. Shane is going to go down faster than his dad did to a Superman Punch.

This brings out Shane to say that he is still the boss and therefore, MizTV is over. Cue Bobby Lashley and Elias to attack from behind and join Shane in the aisle. Actually let’s get a referee out here, as the show opens with a fifteen minute talking segment, Shane McMahon, and an impromptu match.

Elias/Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns/The Miz

Shane is at ringside. Miz hammers on Elias to start and gets two off an early Reality Check. It’s off to Reigns, sending Elias bailing to the floor. Back in and the good guys clean house, with Miz hitting alternating YES Kicks to both of them. Lashley picks Miz up and tries a powerbomb but settles for a Downward Spiral.

We take a break and come back with Shane choking Miz on the ropes, allowing Elias to hit an Old School Meteora for two. Lashley’s delayed vertical suplex has Miz in more trouble but he DDTs Elias to get a breather. The hot tag is cut off by Lashley though and Miz is still down. Lashley misses a charge into the post but Shane pulls Reigns off the apron and sends him into the steps for the DQ at 11:08.

Rating: D+. Just a tag match here though at least they kept it a little shorter than they did before. That being said, just having Reigns around isn’t going to be enough to fix the ratings woes as this was the same main event style tag match that they run ever week, albeit with Shane interfering. It was watchable, but nothing that they haven’t before.

Post match the brawl is on until Miz cleans house with a chair.

We get a long video on Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles, looking at a comparison of the two paths they took to get here. Rollins rose up the ranks and has been successful everywhere he has gone. Styles on the other hand started in the dying days of WCW, then did something else for a long time, and was in WWE to show how great he really was. Seth defeating Brock Lesnar while AJ failed is the big difference, with AJ wanting to prove that he can win the big one on Raw.

We look at Braun Strowman nearly murdering Sami Zayn last week. How Sami survived that and appeared on Smackdown the next night still hasn’t been explained.

Strowman says he regrets that the trash compactor didn’t turn Sami into a cube. No one can stop him from becoming the Monster in the Bank again. An assistant comes in to say Shane wants to talk to Strowman. Did Strowman just admit to attempted murder?

Post break, Sami is pleading his case to Shane when Strowman comes in. Sami thinks he deserves something for what happened last week, like Strowman’s Money in the Bank spot. He’ll even fight for it tonight. That sounds good to Shane, who removes Strowman from his match against Drew McIntyre and makes it Sami vs. Strowman, falls count anywhere, for the spot in the ladder match. Strowman promises to eat Sami alive and fear sets in.

Mojo Rawley vs. Apollo Crews

Crews would be your fourth Smackdown name, assuming you count Shane (Vince had to write him off as part of the Wild Card Rule last week and his profile on WWE.com says Smackdown so I’d think he counts.). Some stomping in the corner has Rawley in trouble to start but a flip from Crews tweaks his knee. Crews says he can go and gets his leg taken out, allowing Rawley to yell a lot. The running right hand in the corner sets up the Alabama Slam to give Rawley the pin at 1:13. So he screams a lot and paints his face. That’s the best they can come up with?

Alexa Bliss complains about her luggage being lost because she’s a celebrity. Nikki Cross, now sounding completely sane, comes up to ask if anything is wrong. Bliss doesn’t know how Cross grew up in a place like this and could use someone to talk to. Cross didn’t think anyone had noticed her being here in four weeks so Bliss spills her guts about her recent issues. She can’t wrestle tonight without her gear, so Cross gets the chance instead.

Baron Corbin vs. Ricochet

Ricochet starts with the flips, including one over Corbin to set up a springboard crossbody. Corbin heads outside so Ricochet kicks him in the face and hits the moonsault off the middle rope. Back in and a heck of a clothesline drops Ricochet as we take a break. We come back with Ricochet trying more flips until running into Deep Six.

Ricochet spins around into a DDT for two but the 630 misses. Instead he settles for a hurricanrana and a standing shooting star for two, with a rather big surprise at the kickout. Corbin hits End of Days for the pin at 9:31. Graves: “You may not like it but you have to accept it.” The WWE booking philosophy ladies and gentlemen.

Rating: D+. Graves’ line at the end is great and sums up Corbin quite well. He’s winning more and more big matches despite not exactly being thrilling, while Ricochet’s only win as of late has been a pin over perennial midcarder Robert Roode. I know we’re going to get Corbin as World Champion at some point and I kind of wish we could just get it over with already so the nightmare can be real.

Post match Corbin pulls out a ladder but Ricochet shoves him off.

Rey Mysterio says Samoa Joe crossed the line by yelling at his son last week. Cesaro comes in and asks when Raw became bring your kid to work day. Well Shane was first a referee in 1988 so somewhere around then? Cesaro says Dominic looks more like Joe than Rey because he’s a foot taller, so is Dominic even Rey’s kid? The fight is on as I wonder how many more people we can accuse of being Dominic’s father.

We get a long video on Roman Reigns, the same one we saw last week on Smackdown.

AJ says he’s ready to win on Raw and make Monday Night Rollins the House that AJ Styles built.

Naomi vs. Nikki Cross vs. Natalya vs. Dana Brooke

During the entrances, everyone, including Bliss, gets to talk about how important winning MITB would be. Cross is her usual fired up self during her entrance. Bliss comes out for commentary so Corey can lose his mind again. It’s a brawl to start with Naomi hitting a Bubba Bomb on Dana, leaving Nikki to tie Natalya in the ring skirt for the forearms. Naomi knocks the two of them down and we take a break. Back with Dana’s handspring elbow getting elbowed in the back so Natalya can put on the surfboard. Nikki goes up top to dive onto it but Naomi shoves her down and breaks it up herself.

Brooke and Natalya get together and double gorilla press Naomi but Nikki comes back in with something like the Rings of Saturn on Naomi, plus some screaming. This time Natalya makes the save so Naomi gives her the split legged moonsault for two as Brooke makes her own save. Hang on though as we now have a ladder set up at ringside, with Nikki spearing Natalya underneath it. Brooke dives onto the other three but Nikki pops up and takes her down. Back in and Nikki’s hanging swinging neckbreaker finishes Natalya at 9:20.

Rating: C-. Not terrible here and it’s nice to see Nikki win, though I could go for her being in the ladder match over Natalya. That being said, we can’t do that because Natalya is a veteran and that means she needs to be around every single time. Naomi was rather energetic here, though I don’t give her much of a chance to win on Sunday.

Sami rants about Braun being part of the toxic fantasies around here because everyone wants to run through their problems. It’s better to be right than strong though, which is why Sami will figure something out tonight.

Cesaro vs. Rey Mysterio

During the entrances, Samoa Joe says Rey is the one who crossed the line by bringing his son into WWE. On Sunday, he hopes he sees Rey and Dominic. Rey starts fast with the short hurricanrana and a better headscissors out of the corner. Cesaro grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but Rey winds up on his shoulders.

Another headscissors tries to take Cesaro to the floor but he lands on his feet….with Rey still on his shoulders. The third headscissors sends Rey into the barricade but Cesaro is right back with a pair of swings into the barricade to knock Rey silly. There’s a one armed apron superplex for two more and we take a break.

Back with Rey reversing a suplex into a DDT and speeding things back up. The spinning faceplant sets up la majistral for two and Cesaro is rocked. The 619 is countered into the Swing but Cesaro misses the Swiss19. A Code Red gives Rey two of his own but the Neutralizer is reversed into a headscissors. That means the 619 into the top rope splash to finish Cesaro at 10:40.

Rating: B. Best match of the night by a mile here as both guys were allowed to show off a bunch of their rather impressive stuff. It’s a fine move to have Rey get built up for his title shot on Sunday, though Cesaro’s latest singles push is already starting to falter, which tends to be the case every single time.

We recap the Usos tormenting the Revival over the last two weeks.

The Revival is sick of the Usos tormenting them and it stops now.

The cheering warms his soul, but there is still a lot of darkness in his noggin. This time though, he has learned how to control it. Bray gets a lot more sinister and asks if we want to see his secret. He turns to the door and we cut to some rather creepy images of what looks like a bunch of toys, and Bray morphs into something like an evil clown with his hair down. Bray, in a dark voice: “Yeowy wowwy.” Well that worked, though you need to see it to get the full effect. I’m not sure how well it works in an arena, but these are great.

We look back at the contract signing.

Money in the Bank rundown.

Seth Rollins says it is personal with AJ now. We see a match between the two of them from 2006 (which isn’t fifteen years ago like Seth says) at NWA No Limits, where Seth says his family got to see him. Now it’s time to show what he can do as the backbone of Raw, but now he isn’t looking up at AJ anymore. Now it’s AJ looking up at him.

Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn

Falls Count Anywhere with Braun’s Money in the Bank spot on the line. Braun starts fast and rips Sami’s hoodie off before sending him outside. That means the running shoulder so Sami bails into the crowd. A beer to Braun’s face lets Sami run even more and they make it to the concourse. Some trashcan shots to the head just annoy Braun, who throws Sami into a column for two.

Cue Baron Corbin with a chair to the back plus some trashcan shots to put Strowman down. A belly to back suplex puts Strowman through a merchandise table so Sami can get two. Strowman is back up and sends Corbin into a wall as we take a break. Back with Strowman in control again and throwing Sami into a barricade in the arena. The threat of a ladder sends Sami bailing to the back again but this time it’s Drew McIntyre jumping Strowman.

A DDT onto a chair gives Sami two so Strowman gets up and hits McIntyre with an ice chest. Sami crawls away and goes through a curtain to get back into the arena. Strowman follows and drops a bunch of ladders on Sami but here are Corbin and McIntyre to beat Strowman up. A ladder to the face puts Strowman down and the two of them suplex him through a ladder. The Claymore is enough to give Sami the pin at 14:36.

Rating: C+. This was a nice garbage brawl with Sami having to come up with something to survive against the monster. I can go for having Sami in the ladder match as he’s a more interesting candidate than Strowman, who isn’t likely to win the title anytime soon. The interference was a good idea and I liked the match well enough, with the right decision helping a lot.

Post match Strowman gets up so Corbin throws Sami to him. A chokeslam through the announcers’ table leaves Sami laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. After the last two weeks, this was a major relief and it still wasn’t that good of a show. They kept things moving and they even had some stuff happen, but most importantly it wasn’t a show with a lot of explanations or meaningless matches that didn’t change anything. Those promos during the show helped a lot as well and were a lot more effective than having the wrestlers come out and talk where they take forever to say something. Money in the Bank is looking a little better, but it might just be that Raw wasn’t as much of a slog this week.

Results

The Miz/Roman Reigns b. Elias/Bobby Lashley via DQ when Shane McMahon interfered

Mojo Rawley b. Apollo Crews – Alabama Slam

Baron Corbin b. Ricochet – End of Days

Nikki Cross b. Natalya, Naomi and Dana Brooke – Hanging swinging neckbreaker to Natalya

Rey Mysterio b. Cesaro – Top rope splash

Sami Zayn b. Braun Strowman – Claymore from Drew McIntyre

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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Wrestlemania XXXV Preview: Kickoff Show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Everyone in the ring!

Here’s your first of two catch all matches because remember: EVERYONE SHOULD BE ON WRESTLEMANIA! IT’S LIKE THE LAW! I really don’t have a problem with this as most of the people are going to be in there for all of five minutes at most and it’s not like there’s any limit to what you can have in a battle royal. Also, I’d rather they do it this way than have the SNL guys get some kind of a handicap match against Braun Strowman.

I’ll take Strowman with my fingers crossed, as he’s pretty much the only wrestler involved to have gotten any serious attention. As long as the SNL guys don’t win, everything should be fine because it’s just a battle royal to warm the crowd up. For some flavor I’ll throw Ali out there as a possible candidate, though you almost never get the full list of competitors early so there’s a good chance it’s going to be someone not even mentioned.

Fastlane 2019 Preview

IMG Credit: WWE

So here we are, with the show that has been treated as an afterthought to an afterthought and is now just being treated like a nothing show. There are a few things on the show that could be interesting, but WWE has been acting like this show, as in the show they’re putting on, is just a nuisance that they’re required to cover. Just watch Raw and see how much effort they’ve put into it as compared to promoting Wrestlemania. Hopefully things pick up a little bit and the show winds up being fun. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

Well if you insists. This has been a great feud so far and one of the best things on SmackDown this year. These guys mesh very well together and this one can serve as the rubber match after their previous big blowoff officially went to a no contest because WWE doesn’t know the definition of a no contest.

I’ll take Andrade to win here as he needs to be elevated a little bit more. Mysterio is already a legend and has been for about ten years now so giving Andrade the big win (again) is the right call. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Mysterio won to give the fans a feel good moment, but at the same time there’s little reason to do it, as Andrade would be hurt by a loss much worse than Mysterio. Andrade should win, though I don’t know if he will.

Kickoff Show: New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rusev

This feels like it has another reason for existing, as the match was added on Friday with no particular reason (or announcement if you ask Xavier Woods). It feels like a reason to have New Day in the building for something later on in the show, perhaps with Kofi Kingston in the main event. It’s not like there’s anything going on here, so it makes as much sense as anything else.

I’m going with Rusev/Nakamura to win here, as they could go somewhere as a tag team and if something bigger is coming for New Day, having them lose early on is more interesting than having them win a meaningless match. The SmackDown tag division desperately needs some fresh blood and Rusev/Nakamura are as good as anyone else. Just getting them on TV more would be a smart move so I’ll go with them here.

SmackDown Women’s Title: Asuka(c) vs. Mandy Rose

I figured I’d get one of the easiest ones out of the way first. Rose pinned Asuka in a non-title match a few weeks back because having her beat someone else in a #1 contenders match or winning a few matches in a row and being granted a title shot (like the way things worked for years) just wasn’t in the cards. Asuka is coming in a little banged up so they might have to go with some smoke and mirrors.

That being said, is there any doubt here (a line that has never gotten me into trouble before)? Asuka should steamroll Rose here with a grand total of no trouble because it’s Asuka vs. Rose in a title match. At the moment, Asuka needs an opponent for WrestleMania and I don’t think Rose is going to play into the card, outside of a spot in a big women’s match. Asuka retains, as she should.

SmackDown Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. The Miz/Shane McMahon

Can someone tell me why this is still a thing? Are we really still playing up Miz’s daddy issues (which came out of nowhere) and how great and influential McMahon is to the whole thing? This story hasn’t been well received from the start and that hasn’t changed a bit yet. I have no idea why we’re stuck with something like this when you have other tag teams who could get a rub out of the thing, but logic has never been a factor when the McMahons are involved.

I’ll go with the Usos to retain here because we need to set up Miz vs. McMahon for WrestleMania somehow. I’m not sure what the story is going to be and I’m not sure how WWE thinks they’re going to get people interested in the whole thing, but that seems to be where we’re going. The Usos should be in a big match at WrestleMania, perhaps with the Hardys, which is roughly 194x more interesting than this. At least the Usos should retain, as they should.

Shield vs. Bobby Lashley/Baron Corbin/Drew McIntyre

I’m not going to pretend like this is going to be anything other than a near guaranteed win. The Shield got back together earlier this week and there’s almost no way, other than the team splitting (AGAIN) that they’re losing, especially not to a team including Corbin. It should be a great moment to have the team back together and more importantly Reigns back in the ring, but there’s not exactly a doubt here.

In case it’s not really clear, the Shield wins handily here, hopefully with Corbin taking the fall. The main thing that springs to my attention here though is how McIntyre is now just another guy. He’s stopped being someone all that important or feeling like the hot prospect and is now just fighting random matches on Raw, which is far less than he should be doing. It’s very sad, and yet not surprising in the slightest.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Boss N Hug Connection(c) vs. Nia Jax/Tamina

It’s the first title defense for the inaugural champions and while I rip on Jax and Tamina for various (and what should be obvious) reasons, they’re good choices for the first challengers. They’re physically imposing and work well enough together, so having the champs retain over them is a smart first title defense.

Obviously I’m taking the champions to retain as I should, since there’s really no reason for a title change so early in the titles’ history. The champs will be fine against a team they’ve fought before and hopefully it’s Jax taking the fall to make it seem a little bit more impressive. This isn’t something that needs a lot of thought put into it but Bayley and Sasha Banks fighting from behind is a good way to get things going for their title reign.

Raw Tag Team Titles; Revival(c) vs. Aleister Black/Ricochet vs. Chad Gable/Bobby Roode

This one makes me sad on so many levels. While I was hoping to see DIY getting this spot (on their own that is), I can take Black and Ricochet instead, but it really just makes me think of how sad it is that Ciampa had to get neck surgery. The other problem is how awesome the Revival could have been had WWE not managed to sabotage them, which has been the case for years now.

Regarding the actual match, I’ll take Revival to retain, as WWE seems to think that just having the titles is all that matters and you can have them lose over and over again week after week. Revival needs a win, but even if they get one here I’m not going to be convinced that things are going to be better for them overnight. They’re practically a lost cause, and that’s just sad.

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

Now you know Stephanie McMahon is going to be ringside for this, though the more interesting question is will she be on commentary. We certainly need her to explain this story to us even more, because having the McMahons involved so far has only done positive things for the whole story. The deal here is if Lynch wins, she’s added to the WrestleMania 35 Raw Women’s Title match to make it a triple threat. I think you get this one.

I’ll go with Lynch winning, though honestly it wouldn’t surprise me to see her lose so a certain first family of wrestling can come riding in to save her and give the fans what they want. You know, as opposed to just giving the fans what they want. The WrestleMania match is going to be the triple threat no matter what, but WWE is doing everything they can to suck the fun out of the whole thing for the sake of the McMahon, because….fill in the gap yourself.

SmackDown World Title: Daniel Bryan(c) vs. Kevin Owens

The more I think about it, the more interesting this could be. The match itself shouldn’t be that surprising, but the question becomes “What about Kingston?” With New Day being in town for the show, there’s a good reason to believe that something is going to go down. It could be Kingston challenging the winner for WrestleMania or it could be Kingston being added to the match at the last minute. Either way, something is going to happen here and that’s interesting.

I’ll take Bryan to retain, assuming Kingston isn’t added. Assuming Kingston is added, I’ll take Bryan to retain. The important thing is getting Kingston his WrestleMania match, though I’m a bit scared he’ll lose there too for the sake of keeping Bryan hot. Bryan is a great heel and deserves the mega run, but Kingston needs his win soon before he cools off. That win doesn’t come here though, and neither does Owens’.

Overall Thoughts

The show has gotten a little better in the last week or two, but there is just no hiding how little this thing means in the grans scheme of things. WWE has gone out of their way to ignore this show and I hope they learn something going forward. Either treat the show as something that matter or don’t hold the thing, because this has done a lot more harm than good.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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Monday Night Raw – February 4, 2019: They Might Want To Check The Calendar

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 4, 2019
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s Stephanie time. Last week Becky Lynch challenged Ronda Rousey for Wrestlemania and this week Stephanie will indeed be here to add her thirty five cents to the whole thing. I’m not sure what the point of this is but I’m sure it’s to give a rub or a blessing or something to the match. Or just so she can say she was involved. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Stephanie in the ring because she can’t wait any longer than that. Becky’s entrance cuts her off though, complete with a limp. Stephanie shows us a clip from last week’s showdown with Rousey, with Ronda talking about the bad knee. Back in the arena, Stephanie talks about the knee, with Becky says she’ll fight anyone and the doctors aren’t looking at her.

That’s not cool with Stephanie, who won’t let Becky compete without an examination. Becky doesn’t think Stephanie has ever struggled for a thing because she’s a daddy’s girl who was handed everything but wants to stop Becky from fighting for everything. No one is stopping her from Wrestlemania and that includes Stephanie.

That sounds like a liability to Stephanie because the knee can’t hold the match back. If Becky won’t get evaluated, she’s suspended until further notice. Stephanie does suspend her so Becky knocks her down with one punch. The knee gives out when Becky goes for the Disarm-Her so she beats up agents and goes for Stephanie again. Becky still can’t walk properly so she limps up the ramp.

Post break Becky is limping through the back when she runs into Ronda Rousey. Ronda talks about being a professional and has a pay per view to sell. What Lynch did out there didn’t help anything. Why can’t they just let Ronda snap on her instead of reading these awful lines that no human would ever use?

Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan

Non-title. Liv bails to the floor to start before coming back inside, only to get thrown down again. Back in again and Liv taps to the armbar at 1:26. Barely a match.

Post match Rousey grabs the mic and says the fans are booing her so she wants someone to do something. Like Sarah Logan.

Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Logan

Non-title with Logan driving her into the corner to start, earning herself an armbar attempt as we take a break. Back with Logan countering a triangle choke and powerbombing Rousey into the corner. Rousey takes her down into an arm trap and hammers away, setting up the armbar for the tap at 4:50. Most of it was during the break but this was another dominant performance.

Post match, Ruby Riott looks up at Ronda and gets on the apron. Ronda says come on but Ruby bails instead.

In the back, Ruby says she can beat Rousey but it’s going to be for the title. Right now, her friends need her so Ronda can wait.

Bayley and Sasha Banks are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles despite recent championship failures. They’ll make history at Elimination Chamber. Alicia Fox and Nikki Cross come in to say they’ll win instead.

Heavy Machinery vs. Revival vs. Lucha House Party vs. B-Team

One fall to a finish and the winners get a title shot at some point. Metalik and Dorado for the House Party here. Axel and Metalik start things off as Cole points out that the same kind of match was used on Smackdown. Dorado comes in for an armbar on Wilder, followed by a German suplex from Knight. It’s off to Otis for a spinning slam as everything breaks down.

Machinery cleans house without much effort and the House Party hits some dives. Back in and the ode to the Bushwhackers sets up a double stomach bump to Dawson. For some reason Dawson is thrown over the top instead of covered as we take a break. We come back with all four still in the match and Dawson putting Metalik in a chinlock.

That’s broken up and it’s off to Dorado for a dropsault to the Revival, followed by the double Golden Rewind. Otis tags himself in and starts cleaning house with Otis nailing the Caterpillar. Wilder breaks up the Compactor though and Dawson tags himself in, only to get rolled up by Dallas for two. Not that it matters as the Shatter Machine finishes Dallas at 11:59.

Rating: C. The match was fun with Heavy Machinery getting to shine again, though there isn’t much else to say here. I’m assuming Revival gets the titles to make them happy, but it still feels pretty slapped together. Revival doesn’t seem to belong in a four way, but at this point I think they’ll take whatever they can get.

Curt Hawkins tells Zack Ryder that they’ll be in the ring next time. Hawkins says maybe they will be if Ryder has another partner, but Ryder doesn’t want to hear that. Last week they spelled his name wrong, but they’re going to end this losing streak together. Hawkins: “Maybe then they’ll get your name right.”

Various wrestlers shake Kurt Angle’s hand.

Here’s Angle to talk about everything he’s accomplished in his career. He tore the house down with Shawn Michaels and soiled the ring with milk in one of the greatest segments in Raw history. No matter what though, he’s always had the fans to tell him he sucks. Fans: “YOU SUCK!” Angle: “Thank you….I guess.” The Three I’s have turned into Three D’s: defeat, doubt and depression. Angle has lost a lot lately and he knows he can’t beat Father Time.

This brings out Baron Corbin, who says this speech needed to take place at the Hall of Fame. Corbin calls Angle old and broken down so Angle threatens to break his ankle. This brings out Drew McIntyre to talk about Angle tapping to his own ankle lock. Tonight, Portland needs to get its cameras ready because the two of them are putting Angle down for good. The ring is surrounded but here’s Braun Strowman for the save. House is cleaned with the villains running through the crowd.

Wrestlers talk about Rosa Parks.

We look at Seth Rollins winning the Royal Rumble and then taking a beating from Brock Lesnar.

Women’s Tag Team Titles Qualifying Match: Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Nikki Cross/Alicia Fox

Cross and Fox jump Banks on the stage until Bayley makes the save. The villains get the better of it again and Banks is still down. She was rumored to be injured so this sounds like a way to write it off. We’re joined in progress after a break with Bayley hitting a sliding lariat on Fox before it’s off to Cross. Bayley beats both of them up at the same time with a crossbody getting two on Fox.

A belly to back gets two on Fox and there’s another one to Cross. The Stunner over the middle rope drops Fox but a Cross distraction lets Fox hit an ax kick (looked like a Fameasser) for two. Cross grabs the chinlock and then gets two off a bulldog. They head outside with Banks pulling Bayley out of the way of a charge, sending Cross into the post. Back inside and Bayley rolls Fox up for the pin at 5:48.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much that could be done here as Bayley was on her own due to Banks being injured. Bayley did her thing, which was only so good and there’s nothing wrong with that all things considered. Banks could be healed up for the Elimination Chamber and if that’s the case, everything is fine. Also, at least Fox took the pin.

We look back at Elias attacking Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie last week.

Tonight: Angle/Strowman vs. Corbin/McIntyre.

Apollo Crews is worried about Angle competing tonight. Rezar and Drake Maverick come up and tell Apollo to admit that he’s scared. Apollo makes short jokes and a match seems teased.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Elias

Roadie, in a Portland Trailblazers jersey, handles the intro, apparently making Jarrett a member of the New Age Outlaws for the night. Jeff does his intro but Roadie wants to finish last week’s song. I love With My Baby Tonight so I can’t complain too much. Elias finally cuts them off to say that song hasn’t aged well. Elias wants to show us what a real entertainer can do so Jarrett channels Razor Ramon by telling Elias to bring it. The fight is on outside and we take an early break.

Back with Elias punching away but Jeff gets in his own right hands. Elias’ jumping knee to the face gets two and we hit the chinlock. A suplex sets up another chinlock but Elias needs to go after Roadie instead. Jeff slugs away for a breather and we get the strut into an enziguri. Roadie gets knocked down again, setting up Drift Away for the pin on Jarrett at 7:50.

Rating: D-. I’m still not sure what the point of this was and I don’t think WWE does either. At least they went with this in a relatively short match on Raw instead of on a pay per view, but it’s not like there was much o a demand here. At least Elias won and they didn’t do something a lot dumber like having Jarrett win or knock him silly. Bad match of course, but why expect something else?

Post match Roadie jumps Elias for a distraction so Jarrett can guitar him down.

Dana Brooke apologizes to Natalya but starts yelling, eventually setting up a match for next week. Natalya had her headphones in and didn’t hear a thing. Uh, funny I guess.

We recap the opening sequence.

Finn Balor says the Irish are stubborn by nature and he’s not going to be held down by a bully like Lashley. He’ll take the fight to Lashley, just like he did to Brock Lesnar.

Intercontinental Title: Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is defending. Actually hang on a second as Rush is in gear and Lashley has a microphone. Balor is banged up so we’re not seeing a mouse vs. a Mack truck tonight. Lashley brings up Balor losing last week because he can beat Lesnar in a ring, an octagon or in his sleep. Balor needs to find someone closer to his size so tonight he has Lio Rush. If Balor entertains him enough, we might have a title match later.

Finn Balor vs. Lio Rush

Before the match, Lashley kicks him in the bad ribs and drives some shoulders into the ribs in the corner. Rush is fine with the advantage and stomps away in the corner to start. Balor fights back and sends Rush outside, only to have Lashley grab the foot. That’s enough for an ejection, only to have Rush hit a suicide dive to send Balor into the barricade. Back from a break with Rush holding an abdominal stretch, which doesn’t last all that long. Balor knees him in the face for the break and scores with an enziguri.

It’s too early for the Coup de Grace though as Rush crotches him on top for a super hurricanrana into a near fall. Something like another abdominal stretch is reversed into the real thing from Balor. It’s so strange to see Balor as the bigger and stronger guy. The Sling Blade drops Rush again but the ribs give out on the 1916 attempt. Rush misses the Final Hour though and it’s the Coup de Grace for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: C-. Not too bad here and another great reason to have people like Rush as managers and talkers: you can throw them in there to work a match every now and then and it’s not like anything is going to be lost. Rush is a regular wrestler and not a manager who can do some moves, meaning you can do this and be just fine. Balor vs. Lashley at Elimination Chamber should work, especially if Balor finally wins a title.

Post match Lashley hits the ring so Balor bails.

Here’s Paige to introduce a clip from Fighting With My Family.

Maybe she’ll fill in for Lynch at Wrestlemania next. Cue Dean Ambrose (Jax: “How dare you interrupt my interrupt.”) to say it’s obvious that Jax has a huge crush on me. Renee: “Oh.” She’s not the first person to deal with his raw animal magnetism but don’t ever come near him again.

As for Alexa, who is this EC3 guy? Before EC3 can say anything, Dean knocks the mic out of his hand and then won’t let EC3 answer any questions? Dean: “Where are EC1 and EC2? You look like a Creed fan. Why do you hang out backstage like some mute Chippendale dancer?” EC3 punches him in the face (Renee: “I’m going to have to work on those interview skills with him.”) and walks to the ring.

EC3 vs. Dean Ambrose

EC3 hits a quick right hand and drops the EC3 elbow but Dean takes over in a hurry. We hit the chinlock but Dean breaks it up in a hurry and hits his forward DDT. A quick jackknife cover (with Dean pretty much just laying there) gives EC3 the pin at 2:27.

Angle almost didn’t bring his gear tonight but something told him to. He’s not fighting alone tonight and he’s glad Strowman is on his team.

Mojo Rawley laughs in a mirror and still seems crazy. It’s all on us now.

Kurt Angle/Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre/Baron Corbin

Angle German suplexes Corbin early on and it’s Strowman running McIntyre over on the floor. That leaves Angle to grab the ankle lock on Corbin, who kicks away pretty easily. Back from a break with Angle in trouble as Corbin slaps on a chinlock. Angle fights back with some right hands and a whip into the corner but Corbin slides underneath the ropes while tagging out at the same time.

That’s enough for Drew to come in and kick Angle in the back of the head to keep the good guys in trouble. Drew hits an Angle Slam of his own and the ankle lock goes on. That’s rolled through and Angle runs over for the tag to Strowman. House is cleaned in a hurry but Corbin avoids a charge to send Strowman outside, meaning it’s a ram into the post.

Back in and Strowman fights up without much effort and tries a double suplex. It’s only a suplex to McIntyre though as Corbin gets more of a neckbreaker. The next hot tag brings in Angle for the German suplexes as everything breaks down. Strowman, illegal, beats up Corbin….and that’s a DQ at 12:14. I do appreciate those random enforcements of various rules.

Rating: D+. Remember when McIntyre was supposed to be getting a huge push? This is far from the worst thing in the world for him to be doing but it’s also not exactly thrilling. Angle is pretty clearly wrapping up his in-ring career which is a good thing, though it’s still not easy to watch him wrestle like this when he’s so far past his prime.

Post match Strowman runs Corbin over but walks into a Claymore over the barricade. The steps are thrown inside but Strowman gets back in for the save with a chokeslam onto the steps for both of them.

Overall Rating: D. I’m not sure if WWE realizes this, but we’re less than two weeks away from Elimination Chamber and there are three matches made, with zero of them coming from Raw (one has Raw wrestlers involved, but it’s co-branded). This felt like any given show but you would think they could add in a match or two instead of having everything done next week. So much of this came off as filler and that’s not a good sign two weeks from a pay per view and two months from Wrestlemania.

Results

Ronda Rousey b. Liv Morgan – Armbar

Ronda Rousey b. Sarah Logan – Armbar

Revival b. B-Team, Heavy Machinery and Lucha House Party – Shatter Machine to Dallas

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Alicia Fox/Nikki Cross – Rollup to Cross

Elias b. Jeff Jarrett – Drift Away

Finn Balor b. Lio Rush – Coup de Grace

EC3 b. Dean Ambrose – Rollup

Drew McIntyre/Baron Corbin b. Kurt Angle/Braun Strowman via DQ when Strowman attacked Corbin

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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Main Event – January 25, 2019: E Pluribus Gads

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: January 24, 2019
Location: Chesapeake Energy Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Renee Young, Percy Watson

It’s the go home week for the Royal Rumble and ignore the fact that since I’m behind, this is being written nearly a week after the Rumble. Therefore this is going to be the big strong push to the pay per view and that means the wrestling isn’t going to matter all that much this week. Let’s get to it.

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

What a random set of commentators.

Opening sequence.

Rezar vs. Tyler Breeze

Rezar throws him around to start in the only way you would expect him to. A spear into some rights and lefts to the face keep Breeze in trouble as Drake Maverick isn’t happy with the speed of the count. We hit the chinlock as Drake demands aggression. A fall away slam looks to set up a moonsault (!) but Breeze is out of the way to avoid the whole being crushed issue. Breeze slips out of a powerbomb and scores with a superkick, only to get slammed off the top. With that not working, Breeze tries the eternally stupid “jump on the back of a monster” offense earning himself a chokeslam to give Rezar the pin at 5:23.

Rating: D. This was what it was and that’s not exactly thrilling. Then again what are you expecting from one half of a monster team against a career jobber? Rezar is likely to be a Main Event mainstay until Akam is back to full health and that’s not exactly something that I’m looking forward to seeing.

From Raw.

Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor

Joined in progress with Balor’s dropkick not having much effect. Strowman knocks him to the floor for the running shoulder and it’s off to the nerve hold back inside. They head outside again and this time the running shoulder is countered with a Sling Blade. Back in and Balor grabs a sleeper to knock Strowman down. It’s too early for the Coup de Grace though as Strowman throws him off the top and down onto Lesnar for a belly to belly.

The bell didn’t ring and it’s Balor going back in to attack Strowman. A running flip dive takes Lesnar down and there’s another Sling Blade to Strowman. Balor dropkicks Lesnar through the ropes and dropkicks him into the barricade for a bonus. Strowman pulls Balor back inside but misses a charge into the post. The shot gun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace but Lesnar comes in with an F5 for the DQ at 7:46.

Rating: C. This was much more about the brawling at the end than the match and that’s fine. Balor needed some momentum heading into the pay per view, though having Lesnar come in for the DQ wasn’t the best idea in the world. I guess they didn’t want Strowman taking a pin, though that begs the question of why book the match in the first place.

Rumble By The Numbers. This didn’t air on TV (it was on YouTube) so it’s cool to see it get a little appearance.

Clips of Ronda Rousey/Natalya vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks from Raw, which mainly exists for Ronda’s pre-match promo.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

Rawley isn’t impressed by the dancing to start but Jose’s right hands in the corner seem to have some more success. Jose gets knocked into the corner and Rawley unloads with some angry right hands. A clothesline sends Rawley outside though and it’s a cannonball off the apron to send us to a break. Back with Mojo throwing on a chinlock, followed by some choking on the ropes. Jose starts striking away and gets two off a middle rope crossbody. Rawley is right back with the Pounce though, setting up the sitout Alabama Slam for the pin at 10:03.

Rating: D+. Slightly better than the previous match but e pluribus gads this was a boring match between two guys who could not matter less in the grand scheme of WWE. I know Rawley had that whole man in the mirror deal on Raw but my goodness it’s too late for both of them. I liked both guys too so it’s sad to see, though not as bad as having to watch them right now.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Vince McMahon to moderate a final discussion between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan. Daniel won’t get in the ring though and complains about last week’s attack that saw him covered in concessions. Bryan uses his power for good, though AJ thinks he uses it to be a jackass. That sends Bryan into a mini rant about AJ exciting the fans but Bryan makes them think.

Bryan is the planet’s champion, not the people’s champion. AJ talks about Bryan’s change of mindset, which he sees as fickle. Bryan starts to quote Carl Sagan but Vince tells him to get in the ring. He won’t though, instead going on a rant against Vince’s generation being the biggest parasites ever. Then the people bow to him for it and trade Instagram likes while Vince and his generation ruin the world.

Vince tells him to shut up and get in the ring but if Vince wants a face to face, AJ is willing to make that happen. The fight is on outside until AJ throws him inside with Bryan hiding behind Vince. That’s enough to set up the running knee so Bryan can escape. Good segment here, though it took some time to get going.

Overall Rating: D+. A lot of that is due to Rumble By The Numbers and that’s not enough to save the thing. The original wrestling here was so boring and it wasn’t exactly bolstered by a rather weak Royal Rumble build. I know it’s just Main Event, but is this really the best effort they can put into this show? That’s a bit hard to believe and yet it seems to be the norm.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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Monday Night Raw – January 21, 2019: I Thought Fast Lane Was In March

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 21, 2019
Location: Chesapeake Energy Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the last Raw before the Royal Rumble and last week saw a pretty big change. Finn Balor has taken Braun Strowman’s place in Sunday’s Universal Title match and that means things are a lot more interesting in a hurry. I doubt something that big is going to change tonight but you never know. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the traditional Martin Luther King Jr. Day video, which absolutely never misses.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to get things going. Heyman sounds rather disgusted this week and talks about Finn Balor winning the title shot last week. Balor pinned John Cena, who them endorsed Balor for his win. Everyone got on their feet and said they believed in Balor, who is going into a Universal Title match.

Lesnar was ready for Braun Strowman and now he’s going to take that out on Balor. Finn is going to be sacrificed for believing that he can defeat Lesnar and for the sin of believing that he can take what Brock has. Here’s your spoiler alert: Balor will be destroyed for his sins and conquered by the conqueror.

This brings out Vince McMahon to say Heyman believes this one more than usual. Vince sees this as David vs. Goliath. See, one day David went out and ate every mushroom he could find and decided he could beat Goliath. Then Goliath beat David to death, but David was reincarnated as Finn Balor. Vince calls this hillbilly land (Heyman: “You’re speaking too fast for them Vince.”) and says no one should believe Balor can win.

This brings out Braun Strowman, much to Vince’s annoyance. Strowman says last week was the worst night of his life because of Baron Corbin, who cost him $100,000 and his Universal Title shot. That makes Lesnar a lucky man too because it means Strowman won’t be waiting for him on Sunday. He’ll be waiting after Sunday though and it’ll be time for Lesnar to get these hands. This brings out Balor, who says he earned the title shot last week by beating the best of all time in John Cena. Heyman: “Second greatest of all time after Brock Lesnar. Continue.”

Strowman chimes in again but Balor says to keep his nose out of it because Balor is going to do something that Braun never did. Lesnar leaves so Balor explains the story of David to Vince. No one bought what David was made of, just like Balor will do on Sunday. Vince tells Lesnar to hang on because we’ll have Strowman vs. Balor right now in a David vs. Goliath match. No Chance playing us to the break seems rather appropriate. Also, how long did it take for Vince to turn heel? My goodness.

Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor

Here are Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Title celebration. Rush brags about how good Lashley is and says we’re having an open challenge (non-title of course), because Lashley fights for money. The lights are turned low so Lashley can pose until Apollo Crews comes out to interrupt. Apollo knows that Lashley is a stud but no one paid money to see Lashley pose.

Rush says that Crews doesn’t have the stature to do this but if he can beat Lashley in a pose off, he can have the match. Lashley poses but Crews dances into his pose. They do it again to the same result, followed by Lashley doing his most muscular pose. Lashley finally jumps Crews but gets sent outside. Rush is tossed on top of him to really hammer the point home.

Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title and joined in progress with Lashley powering him down. Crews is right back with a press slam of his own (dang) for the double knockdown. Crews makes the mistake of going after Rush though, meaning another gorilla press. That’s enough of a distraction for Lashley to spear him down for the pin at 2:45.

After Lashley’s win, Seth Rollins comes out for a staredown. Post break, Rollins says this day is about Martin Luther King Jr., including a quote talking about a man being measured by what he does when he’s surrounded by tragedy. That’s what Rollins has felt for the last few months because he now has his ring all around him. He’s going to Phoenix this weekend and winning the Royal Rumble.

It’s a long shot, but he’s betting on himself because of what’s inside his chest. This brings out Drew McIntyre, who says he can’t wait to take everything away from Rollins both tonight and on Sunday. If you had Rollins’ heart and put it in Drew’s body, the person would be unstoppable. That sounds like the setup of a match to me.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Joined in progress again with Rollins elbowing him in the face for two. Rollins sends him outside but the suicide dive misses, allowing McIntyre to put on an armbar. That delay lets Cole tell us that Cena is out of the Rumble with an ankle injury. I guess that’s how they get him back on the movie set. Rollins fights up but misses a charge into the post, allowing the armbar to go on again. Drew kicks him in the ribs to the floor and the reverse Alabama slam takes us to a break.

Back with Rollins hitting the Sling Blade but having the Buckle Bomb reversed. Rollins gets two off a hurricanrana and the Falcon Arrow gets two. The Stomp is countered but the Claymore is countered with a heck of a superkick for two more. They’re certainly trading the heavy shots so far. It’s McIntyre up first and he takes Rollins up for the super White Noise into another near fall. The frustrated McIntyre tries a clothesline but gets rolled up for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. This shouldn’t have been on Raw and I’m not sure I can go with the idea of McIntyre losing to anyone clean at this point. At least there’s a good chance that Rollins is winning the Rumble on Sunday so it would make sense to give him a win this big. The loss doesn’t do serious damage to McIntyre, but it doesn’t exactly help him either. Kind of a weird choice, though if they go all the way with Rollins it makes more sense.

The Revival (hey they’re still here) sucks up to Vince to get a title shot. Vince agrees, but this time we need a special referee. Someone like….Curt Hawkins. The Revival immediately starts sucking up.

Lucha House Party vs. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers

Dorado goes right after Jinder to start but gets driven into the corner. We hit an early chinlock but Dorado is quickly up. Sunil comes in and almost immediately allows the hot tag to Kalisto. The step onto the shoulders into a splash gets two on Sunil but a knee to the back puts Kalisto down. A kick to the head allows the hot tag off to Metalik so house can be cleaned. Metalik wastes no time in hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker….to pin Sunil at 3:22. Everyone is surprised by that pin, as they should be.

Rating: D. Were they just running short on time this week and needed to fill in some time? The match wasn’t anything interesting and I was half expecting Mahal to take a pin in there instead. The ending came out of nowhere and while I didn’t like how fast it was over, it did mean I didn’t have to watch it anymore so that’s an improvement.

Video on EC3.

Dana Brooke seems awestruck by EC3 and asks him a bunch of questions about his nutrition.

Here’s Elias for a song. He talks about what a great year it’s going to be until Baron Corbin interrupts. Corbin threatens to come beat him up so Elias wants the mic cut. Since Corbin isn’t in charge anymore, Elias gets what he wants. Elias goes on to sing about how much Corbin sucks and the fight is on. You know what’s next.

Elias vs. Baron Corbin

Joined in progress because opening bells are the enemy tonight. Elias hits Old School into an armdrag and clotheslines Corbin down before sending him outside. That means the slide underneath the ropes into the big clothesline but Elias is right back with the jumping knee to the face. A swinging neckbreaker gives Elias two but Corbin punches him in the throat, setting up End of Days for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: D. Another match that didn’t have time to mean much here, but I’ll certainly take a Corbin match going as short as possible. This feud hasn’t done anything for me, though it’s sad to see Elias fall so far so fast. He wasn’t going to be a big star with the rather simple gimmick, but this face turn and losses to Corbin have killed him.

It’s time for A Moment of Bliss with Alexa talking about the Women’s Royal Rumble. After listing off 21 names in the match so far, she brings out her former best friend and the odds on favorite to win: Nia Jax. Before Nia can answer who she would want to face with a win, Ember Moon interrupts to says he’s staking her claim right now. This brings out Alicia Fox to says he’s the captain of the division and navigating the ship towards Wrestlemania.

Mickie James comes out (much to Bliss’ annoyance) and says she’ll win. A fight breaks out and a bunch of other women come out, sending Bliss onto her chair to say ENOUGH. The fight breaks out again and heads to the back so Bliss announces herself for the Royal Rumble. This brings out Lacey Evans to say that was messy. She’ll be bringing class to the Royal Rumble, including taking care of the sawed off girly runt Bliss.

Titus O’Neil announces his introduction into the Royal Rumble when a production guy bumps into him. Titus isn’t happy as the guy leaves….and that’s it.

Ascension vs. Heavy Machinery

Otis spins Viktor around with a slam to start and it’s off to Tucker for a double headbutt. The Bushwhackers double knee to the head sets up the Caterpillar, followed by the Compactor for the pin at 2:12. Total squash and fun match that Heavy Machinery can do.

Tag Team Titles: Revival vs. Bobby Roode/Chad Gable

Roode and Gable are defending and Curt Hawkins is guest referee. Wilder and Gable start things off and it’s time to take over in the corner early on with a tag to Roode not counting due to a lack of grabbing a tag rope. Everything breaks down in a hurry and it’s stereo t-bone suplex to send Revival outside. Gable is backdropped onto Wilder but gets clotheslined down by Dawson as we take a break.

Back with Gable making the hot tag so Roode can clothesline away, followed by a spinebuster to Wilder. Dawson tries the Ultimate Warrior/Bobby Heenan leg trip on a suplex but gets caught at two. Wilder’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets the same treatment, as does Dawson pulling the trunks on a rollup. Dawson has had it and shoves Hawkins, allowing Gable to grab a rollup for a fast counted pin at 8:04.

Rating: C-. They had a story here and while I’m not sure if this is enough to keep the Revival happy, it’s still something that has been done as of late. Would it really hurt to give them the titles at some point? It’s not like Gable and Roode are anything special and they’ve been a team for all of a few months anyway. Not a bad match, but I just want to see the Revival get to do something.

Post match Hawkins gets beaten down until Zack Ryder runs in for the save to a rather mild reaction from the announcers.

Ronda Rousey says she doesn’t owe Sasha Banks a thing because Banks insulted her as soon as she got a Women’s Title shot. She’s the Boss’ boss, and she’ll prove it at the Royal Rumble.

Ronda Rousey/Natalya vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Before the match, Banks talks about Rousey not being around very long and being ready to stop her on Sunday. That sets Rousey off to the point that Natalya has to hold her back. Banks and Natalya start things off with Sasha getting in a cheap shot on Rousey to knock her off the apron. Rousey comes in to clean house and we take an early break. Back with Bayley coming in for a running knee to Natalya’s face. Sasha adds the Meteora for two but Natalya gets over for the hot tag to Rousey.

Banks slips out of a quick fireman’s carry and rolls Rousey into the Bank Statement with Natalya having to make a save. Bayley gets beaten up as well but takes Rousey into the corner for an ax handle to Rousey’s arm. That doesn’t seem to bother Rousey as she pulls Banks down into an armbar attempt. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Natalya for a suplex into the Sharpshooter. Everything breaks down and Banks slaps on the Bank Statement to Natalya for the tap at 7:41.

Rating: C. The match was as watchable as you would expect, but what matters here is I’m much more interested in seeing Rousey vs. Banks than I was before. Rousey showed some fire here and that’s what makes her matches that much better. I don’t think Banks will win the title, but I think there’s the tiniest chance that it could happen, and that’s what matters. Good job on that, and that’s what mattered most.

Banks and Rousey stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt fast and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Everything felt like it was happening at a breakneck pace and that gives it a benefit of never dragging. At the same time though, very little felt very good or even worth seeing, though I’ll take that over boring or dragging every week. The Rumble itself isn’t getting a lot of attention at the top, though that’s mainly because Seth Rollins is such a heavy favorite. The rest of the card is looking good though and that’s a fine way to go. Not a bad show, but it went flying by.

Results

Finn Balor b. Braun Strowman via DQ when Brock Lesnar interfered

Bobby Lashley b. Apollo Crews – Spear

Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre – Rollup

Lucha House Party b. Jinder Mahal/Singh Brothers – Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to Sunil Singh

Heavy Machinery b. Ascension – Compactor to Viktor

Chad Gable/Bobby Roode b. Revival – Rollup to Dawson

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Ronda Rousey/Natalya – Bank Statement to Natalya

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