Main Event Date: October 12, 2017 Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
This week’s Raw was kind of a mixed bad and that means it’s not clear what Main Event will be like. The show entirely hinges on what kind of stuff we got on Raw, meaning we’ll be seeing a ridiculous amount of stuff on the Shield. Their reunion was shown about five times on Monday so it’s hard to guess what else they’ll put on here. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Dash Wilder/Curtis Hawkins
Oh come on already. This is FIVE STRAIGHT WEEKS of Dash vs. some incarnation of Rhyno and Slater. Rhyno and Dawson start things out with Rhyno scoring a high backdrop. Slater comes in to a heck of a reaction and it’s time to crank on that arm. It’s off to Hawkins, who gets his arm cranked on until Dawson’s cheap shot changes control. We hit the chinlock and Dash actually cuts off the hot tag attempt. Hawkins talks a bit too much trash though and eats a flapjack, allowing the hot tag to connect this time around. Everything breaks down and the spinebuster puts Hawkins away at 5:29.
Rating: D+. Nothing we haven’t seen before but they were trying harder than usual here. I’m a bit sick of seeing Dawson lose this match but if it eventually gives us the Revival beating the heck out of Slater and Rhyno, everything will wind up being fine. At the same time though, I fully expect WWE to ignore the whole thing as Main Event means nothing. In other words, it’s not a big deal.
Long recap of Miz/Cesaro/Sheamus beating down Roman Reigns, who needs some help.
From Raw:
It’s time for MizTV to start things off and we have the Mizzies II! Last week Miz went from the A-Lister to THE GUY but he can’t take all the credit for the whole thing. That brings us to our first award for perseverance and the winner is Curtis Axel. The fans think he deserves it and Axel dedicates it to Bo Dallas, who is out injured this week.
Next up is Best Supporting Actors in destroying Roman Reigns and the winners in a tie are Cesaro and Sheamus. The Bar (still a stupid name) comes out to thank Reigns in their acceptance speech but Cesaro wants to remember Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for breaking his teeth. Miz grants himself the award for Big Dog and again the fans think he deserves it.
This brings out Reigns but Miz knows he won’t come in down 4-1. Miz doesn’t want to hear about these lame rumors but Roman doesn’t like them being called rumors. This brings out Ambrose and Rollins with Cole saying Miz and the Bar never expected this to happen. Oh shut up Cole. The brawl is on with Miz bailing and the beatdown commences. Miz gets cornered and a TripleBomb plants him, allowing Shield to bring back the signature pose.
From later in Raw, after Braun Strowman beat Matt Hardy:
Strowman carries Hardy up the ramp but gets cut off by the Shield (now in matching t-shirts). Reigns spears him down and the triple beatdown is on. The TripleBomb puts Strowman through the announcers’ table.
Again from Raw:
Here’s Finn Balor to deal with the potential that Sister Abigail is alive. Balor thinks these threats make Bray feel like he’s scared. If that’s what Bray is all about, bring on the whole family. We cut to Bray’s empty rocking chair but Bray sits down. Bray says Finn may not be afraid of him but he’ll be afraid of her. They turned her into a monster but she chose Bray with her final breath. Now, the season of the witch is upon Balor.
A shawl appears over Bray’s face and a distorted voice says men are all the same. They just want to control everything but Bray is special. She’s seen what Bray has done to Finn so it’s time to punish him and the Demon. Abigail knows about demons and she’ll turn it into a dandelion. Her touch could have saved Finn but now her kiss will burn him to the ground. Abigail laughs and Bray returns.
Akira Tozawa vs. Tony Nese
Nese pauses to show off the bicep and gets chopped for his efforts. The standing backsplash gets two and Tozawa stomps away in the corner. Nese elbows him down though and we take a break. Back with Tozawa hitting a hurricanrana and a heck of a suicide dive for two more. Nese comes right back with a good looking pumphandle powerslam but his superplex is broken up, allowing Tozawa to hit the backsplash for the pin at 8:59.
Rating: C. These cruiserweight matches are still working just fine and there’s nothing wrong with that. Tozawa is one of the better members of the division and being a former Cruiserweight Champion is a fine calling card for his skills. I still like Nese as a midcard heel and there’s nothing wrong with him filling that role.
Once more from Raw:
Cruiserweight Title: Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto
Kalisto is challenging and it’s a lumberjack match. Enzo shoulders him down to start and does a dance, only to have to stare at the lumberjacks. Back up and Kalisto kicks him in the shoulder before a front facelock takes us to a break. We come back with Enzo in control and slowly stomping away until Kalisto kicks him in the head.
A springboard crossbody gets two and Enzo is knocked outside where the lumberjacks get him back inside. Enzo rolls him into the corner to take over and Kalisto is sent outside this time. The villains get in a few stomps until Ali and Alexander make the save. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Kalisto gets in a rollup for two of his own.
The lumberjacks get in a brawl until Kalisto superplexes Enzo onto the pile. Naturally this means it’s time to talk about Shield again. Back in and the Salida Del Sol is countered into the Jordunzo but Ali pulls Enzo outside because it’s No DQ. Enzo drops Ali with a clothesline and crotches Kalisto on the top. Not that it matters as Kalisto reverses into a super Salida Del Sol for the pin and the title at 14:29.
Rating: C-. Well that was surprising. I can’t imagine this lasting long term but it’s certainly a nice surprise while it lasts. Kalisto winning opens the door for some more title challengers in the short term, though it’s almost a guarantee that Enzo will not only get a rematch but likely get the title back at the pay per view. Still though, good win for the moment.
Overall Rating: C. It’s kind of amazing how much better Raw seems when you don’t see the same clip about five times in two and a half hours. This show wasn’t great by any means but the two original matches were fine and that’s more than you often get. Now if we can just find something else for Dawson to do.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Monday Night Raw – October 9, 2017: Bada Boom, Send the Hounds After Bray For Dressing Like a Woman
Monday Night Raw Date: October 9, 2017 Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves
It’s Shield night as WWE isn’t exactly being subtle with this one. Last week saw the trio standing in the same room and basically saying they were getting back together, though the question is how long they’ll be able to keep this going. Your trivia for the night: the team debuted in Indianapolis, split in Indianapolis and seems to be reuniting in Indianapolis. I don’t know if WWE did that on purpose but well done if they did. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of Miz/Cesaro/Sheamus beating down the former members of the Shield and the trio looking at each other to end last week’s show. Again: not exactly a subtle idea here.
It’s time for MizTV to start things off and we have the Mizzies II! Last week Miz went from the A-Lister to THE GUY but he can’t take all the credit for the whole thing. That brings us to our first award for perseverance and the winner is Curtis Axel. The fans think he deserves it and Axel dedicates it to Bo Dallas, who is out injured this week.
Next up is Best Supporting Actors in destroying Roman Reigns and the winners in a tie are Cesaro and Sheamus. The Bar (still a stupid name) comes out to thank Reigns in their acceptance speech but Cesaro wants to remember Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for breaking his teeth. Miz grants himself the award for Big Dog and again the fans think he deserves it.
This brings out Reigns but Miz knows he won’t come in down 4-1. Miz doesn’t want to hear about these lame rumors but Roman doesn’t like them being called rumors. This brings out Ambrose and Rollins with Cole saying Miz and the Bar never expected this to happen. Oh shut up Cole. The brawl is on with Miz bailing and the beatdown commences. Miz gets cornered and a TripleBomb plants him, allowing Shield to bring back the signature pose.
This was WWE’s beat you over the head booking at its finest as they made no secret of Shield reuniting. It’s cool that they’re back together and it gives WWE something to hype up but how much better would it have been if this was a surprise? Of course WWE wanted to hype it up, which is fine, but they took all the shock value they could out of it, which really made it a lot less fun.
Jason Jordan vs. Karl Anderson
Jordan takes him to the mat with almost no effort but gets caught in a headlock to slow things down. The first suplex looks to set up a shoulder in the corner but Luke Gallows offers a distraction and Anderson dropkicks the knee out. Back from a break with Anderson working on the arm and getting two off a spinebuster. We’re right back to the armbar until Jordan fights up with some clotheslines and a drive into the corner. The first belly to belly connects but Jordan has to knock Gallows off the apron. Anderson misses a charge in the corner and it’s the wheelbarrow neckbreaker to put Anderson away at 8:16.
Rating: C-. Anderson and Gallows are now on the list of people whose mere appearance sucks the life out of me. They’re not funny, they’re not interesting, their matches are average at best and now we’re stuck with them putting over Jordan, who is only moderately acceptable in this role in the first place.
Miz is getting iced down when Kurt Angle comes in. The TLC match is officially made for the pay per view with Miz/the Bar vs. Shield.
Here’s Elias to insult Titus Worldwide, which is like a car in the Indy 500: going around in circles but not going anywhere. He thinks the fans don’t want to hear a song tonight but he loves his own voice too much to not do one. Actually hang on as here’s Titus O’Neil plucking a banjo. Titus sings a little number about Apollo Crews being Elias up next.
Apollo Crews vs. Elias
Joined in progress with Elias stomping away and working on the arm. Elias even busts out Old School (which I don’t remember anyone but Undertaker ever using outside of a match with Undertaker) but Crews fights back for a few seconds. That’s about it from him though as he gets sent throat first into the ropes, setting up Drift Away for the pin at 3:14 shown.
Rating: D. This is another match that we’ve seen a few times now and it’s not getting any better. If there’s a reason for this feud (if you can call it that) to continue I’m not seeing it, as it’s something where there’s no drama and no real story but it keeps going anyway. Titus Worldwide is a nice little idea but with no star and barely ever winning anything, it’s not exactly lighting the world on fire.
Here’s Enzo Amore to talk about how awesome he is and how he has no challengers thanks to the rest of the division attacking him a few weeks back. He wants Angle out here right now for some explaining about why he’s defending the title against Kalisto at TLC. Enzo pulls out a signed contract saying that if any member of the division attacked him, they would never get a title shot.
The deal is Kalisto was signed after that contract was signed so the title match is official. Enzo doesn’t like it so Angle switches the title match to tonight. That’s fine, as long as it’s in the main event. Angle isn’t done yet though and makes it a lumberjack match with the rest of the division around the ring.
We recap the opening sequence.
Matt Hardy vs. Braun Strowman
Matt slugs away and gets in a dropkick but the Side Effect is easily countered with a throw. Back from an early break with Matt hitting a Twist of Fate for one. Another attempt is countered into a chokeslam and it’s the running powerslam to end Matt at 6:27. Not enough shown to rate but this was basically a squash.
Strowman carries Hardy up the ramp but gets cut off by the Shield (now in matching t-shirts). Reigns spears him down and the triple beatdown is on. The TripleBomb puts Strowman through the announcers’ table. Now THAT is the kind of return segment they needed.
Post break Shield says they’re back and aren’t scared of anyone. You can believe that.
Here’s Mickie James with something to say. Mickie has felt something has been wrong since she came back. Maybe it’s her southern accent or her country music or her age. Alexa Bliss has been the worst of them all for this because she’s been doing it all behind her back. That’s the kind of champion Bliss is and then she hid behind her bodyguard. Mickie has more energy in her than Bliss has cheap hair extension and pink hair dye and the only number that matters to her is seven.
This brings out Bliss to say she’s not here to cause trouble. Bliss has put together a career retrospective on James’ career and it’s presented as an old newsreel under the title Superstars of Yesteryear in black and white. Mickie calls Bliss to the ring but the champ pulls back at the last second, calling it a move as old as Mickie is. Mickie chases her down and gets in a few shots.
Bayley and Sasha Banks are talking with Kurt Angle about getting the shot at Asuka. Alicia Fox, Emma and Dana Brooke all come in and want the shot instead.
Jack Gallagher/Brian Kendrick vs. Cedric Alexander/Mustafa Ali
Cedric attacked Kendrick’s ankle last week to help set this up. Ali and Gallagher get in an argument on the floor, leaving Brian to send Cedric into the corner to take over. Jack comes in for a chinlock before hammering away in the corner. Cedric gets away and makes the hot tag off to Ali so things can speed up. The rolling neckbreaker gets two on Kendrick with Jack making a save. The distraction lets Kendrick hit Sliced Bread #2 for the pin on Ali at 3:46.
Rating: D+. As usual, aside from Enzo, the cruiserweights are treated like filler on here and that doesn’t do 205 Live any favors. Why would I want to watch a show dedicated to Raw’s filler talent? That’s really the best thing they can do here? I know the cruserweights were announced in the Draft over a year ago but their limited value on Raw was used up a long time ago.
We recap Shield’s actions tonight. There’s no hiding the fact that this show isn’t exactly covered in interesting talent.
Miz comes in to see Angle to call Shield out on their saying they can face any four or five people. Therefore, he’s going to find another partner and of course it’s Strowman.
Here’s Finn Balor to deal with the potential that Sister Abigail is alive. Balor thinks these threats make Bray feel like he’s scared. If that’s what Bray is all about, bring on the whole family. We cut to Bray’s empty rocking chair but Bray sits down. Bray says Finn may not be afraid of him but he’ll be afraid of her. They turned her into a monster but she chose Bray with her final breath. Now, the season of the witch is upon Balor.
A shawl appears over Bray’s face and a distorted voice says men are all the same. They just want to control everything but Bray is special. She’s seen what Bray has done to Finn so it’s time to punish him and the Demon. Abigail knows about demons and she’ll turn it into a dandelion. Her touch could have saved Finn but now her kiss will burn him to the ground. Abigail laughs and Bray returns. This wasn’t terrible, but none of it matters if Bray loses to Balor at TLC.
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke vs. Emma
Elimination rules and the winner gets Asuka at TLC. Dana, now with pink hair, takes Sasha to the floor and it’s Alicia vs. Emma inside. Alicia pulls her away from the ropes but Dana comes back in to beat on Fox. That’s it for the team up with Fox as Dana hits her cartwheel elbows to Fox and Emma in the corner, only to have Bayley break it up. The cartwheel splash gets two on Bayley but the Bayley to Belly gets rid of Brooke. The graphic before the match announced it as elimination rules but Cole said it was one fall to a finish, meaning he was surprised by the match continuing.
Fox hits an ax kick to get rid of Bayley because she’s fallen below the ground since Wrestlemania. Back with Fox and Emma yelling at each other until Sasha runs Fox over. Fox gets thrown into Emma and it’s the Bank Statement to make her tap, only to have Emma roll Sasha up for the win at 9:43.
Rating: D+. This was full of botches and that’s not really surprising. Most of the match is designed to be spot after spot and there’s almost no way to have any kind of coherence when there’s nothing in between. You can’t get much of a match out of that, especially with four falls and a commercial in less than ten minutes.
Balor felt pure evil when Abigail spoke to him tonight and thinks Bray has unleashed something horrible. He knows what he has to do now.
Opening sequence for the fourth time tonight.
Strowman vs. Reigns in a cage next week.
Kalisto was inspired by people like Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero (who would have turned 50 today) but now, Enzo Amore is the Cruiserweight Champion. He hopes he can make the two of them proud.
The lumberjacks come to the ring.
Cruiserweight Title: Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto
Kalisto is challenging and it’s a lumberjack match. Enzo shoulders him down to start and does a dance, only to have to stare at the lumberjacks. Back up and Kalisto kicks him in the shoulder before a front facelock takes us to a break. We come back with Enzo in control and slowly stomping away until Kalisto kicks him in the head.
A springboard crossbody gets two and Enzo is knocked outside where the lumberjacks get him back inside. Enzo rolls him into the corner to take over and Kalisto is sent outside this time. The villains get in a few stomps until Ali and Alexander make the save. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Kalisto gets in a rollup for two of his own.
The lumberjacks get in a brawl until Kalisto superplexes Enzo onto the pile. Naturally this means it’s time to talk about Shield again. Back in and the Salida Del Sol is countered into the Jordunzo but Ali pulls Enzo outside because it’s No DQ. Enzo drops Ali with a clothesline and crotches Kalisto on the top. Not that it matters as Kalisto reverses into a super Salida Del Sol for the pin and the title at 14:29.
Rating: C-. Well that was surprising. I can’t imagine this lasting long term but it’s certainly a nice surprise while it lasts. Kalisto winning opens the door for some more title challengers in the short term, though it’s almost a guarantee that Enzo will not only get a rematch but likely get the title back at the pay per view. Still though, good win for the moment.
Overall Rating: C+. This show was all about a handful of ideas but those ideas were handled well enough. The ending helped as well as there was nothing wrong with giving the fans something they wanted to see to close the show. At least they got some of the card set up for TLC and there are some ways to go as we go into next week.
Results
Jason Jordan b. Karl Anderson – Wheelbarrow neckbreaker
Elias b. Apollo Crews – Drift Away
Braun Strowman b. Matt Hardy – Running powerslam
Brian Kendrick/Jack Gallagher b. Cedric Alexander/Mustafa Ali – Sliced Bread #2 to Ali
Emma b. Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Dana Brooke – Rollup to Banks
Kalisto b. Enzo Amore – Super Salida Del Sol
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
I took in the Raw house show last night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The featured attraction this time around was John Cena, who was making a rare house show appearance. However, this wasn’t mentioned on TV commercials until the week of the show, despite the announcement being made on WWE.com over three weeks ago. The crowd was solid enough for a Sunday house show but I have to think advertising Cena as a major attraction would have helped.
The show was scheduled to start at 7pm and actually kicked off a minute or so early. It was a fairly strong turnout with the upper deck completely tarped off but that’s standard for a place the size of Rupp Arena. It should be noted that Rupp Arena is the largest arena in the United States built for basketball with over 23,000 seats. Therefore, even a crowd that is only half full would be a solid showing elsewhere.
1. Apollo Crews/Heath Slater/Rhyno b. Curt Hawkins/Anderson and Gallows (5:50) C-.
This was exactly the opener you would have wanted with the faces being incredibly popular and everyone going nuts for Slater and Rhyno. Crews is a fine face with the athleticism and Titus makes for a solid manager who knows how to fire up a crowd. You don’t come off as professional as he does and not have some kind of use, even if it’s just a spot as a manager. The best note of this was Anderson beating Slater up and shouting that he has kids too. Rhyno hit a spinebuster on Hawkins for the pin.
2. Goldust b. R-Truth (1:18)
This was another good choice to fire the crowd up but the ending was really sudden. Truth beat the heck out of Goldust for about a minute but charged into a boot and got rolled up for the pin with feet on the ropes. After it was over, Truth promised to get back at Goldust. Nothing to see here but Truth’s song fired up the crowd.
3. Akira Tozawa b. Brian Kendrick (8:26) B-.
This might have been the match of the night, which isn’t really saying much on a show like this. Tozawa got the crowd going again (notice a pattern here) with the shouting and there was a great near fall off a kick to Kendrick’s head. Tozawa won with the top rope backsplash after escaping the Captain’s Hook. No Titus here, despite Tozawa signing with Titus Worldwide. The problem here continues to be very simple though: no one cares about the cruiserweights and there’s no real way around it.
4. Finn Balor b. Elias Samson (8:39) C.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I have no idea why Finn Balor’s isn’t World Champion like, now. The guy is an absolute star and comes off exactly as such with the fans eating up everything he does. He has a good look, his matches are solid and his entrance is outstanding. Throw in the Demon King when the time is right and he’s pure money. This was longer than it needed to be with Samson in control for the most par. Balor made the comeback you would expect him to make and finished with the Coup de Grace.
5. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins b. Miztourage (14:45) B-.
I love lackeys. They can help extend both a feud and a character so much just by having people there to fight instead of doing the same match over and over again. That was the case here as Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas said Miz was too busy for a town like Lexington and they were representing him instead. Axel got in a great line: “I’m not saying Kentucky sucks. I’m saying LEXINGTON, Kentucky sucks.”
The place went coconuts for Rollins when he was the surprise (Kind of?) partner for Ambrose. I still think he could easily be the next Jeff Hardy and the reaction he received here only reinforce that theory. This was a longer match than you would expect and went about as you would have guessed. The Miztourage are fine heels and can go in the ring, making me all the sadder that Axel was wasted for so many years. Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds to Dallas in an energetic match.
Intermission. Two kids got to play the What Happens Next game and thankfully they didn’t go with the Vince dying clip. After the kids got it right, they received a program, a WWE Top Ten book, the Best of the 2000s DVD, a shirt, every autographed poster for sale, and probably something else that I’m forgetting. Not bad at all for a single night.
6. Mickie James/Dana Brooke b. Alexa Bliss/Nia Jax (6:55) D+.
And then the crowd died when they realized Bayley and Sasha Banks weren’t here. I’m a bigger Brooke fan than most but sweet goodness people did not care about these two against the top heels. The match wasn’t even very good either with the lone highlight (aside from Alexa of course) being Bliss not being able to whip Jax into the corner for a splash and just giving up. Mickie kicked Bliss in the face for the surprising pin.
7. Sheamus/Cesaro b. Hardy Boyz (12:32) C+.
The Hardys got the pop of the night but unfortunately the match was about the same thing these teams have been doing for months now. Jeff had his facepaint back and Matt was doing the DELETE pose fairly often. The match was perfectly watchable and the crowd was WAY into everything the Hardys were doing all match long. Sheamus snapped Matt’s throat across the top rope so Cesaro could grab a small package to retain the titles.
8. John Cena b. Bray Wyatt (14:08) C.
Much like the previous match, this was exactly what you would expect from these two. Cena got a great reaction and easily the second biggest of the night. Above all else though, I couldn’t get over how sad it is that Bray has gone from an awesome cult leader to a homeless guy who swings a lantern around. He’s completely lacking direction and it’s been sad to watch for a good while now. The ref got bumped so there was no one to see Bray tap to the STF. A low blow gave Wyatt two (with the kids losing their minds on the kickout), followed by an AA for the pin.
A Smackdown Live taping was announced for November, though I had originally heard of this as a Raw. They put tickets on sale for one night so I picked up a similar seat for the exact same price as the house show. You would think the TV aspect and a more important show would raise prices/mean the house show should have been lower but not so much. There were probably 100 people in line to buy tickets but if there are four months before the show, the low pre-sale isn’t a surprise.
Overall it was a fun night with a VERY hot crowd. The faces mostly won and it was more than entertaining enough. Two tickets in the lower arena (sixth row in the first set of seats off the floor) were $75 total so it was hardly expensive as another nice perk. Good show and a lot of fun, which to be fair was helped by it being five minutes from my house.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Main Event – July 13, 2017: Let the Women Have a Chance
Main Event Date: July 13, 2017 Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves
It’s back to the easiest show of the week. This week’s Monday Night Raw had some big moments and it could be interesting to see what we get on this show. They really could throw multiple things at us and when you add in some original wrestling which could go several ways, there’s potential for this show. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Mickie James vs. Emma
I don’t remember the last time we had the women on this show. Mickie works on a top wristlock to start before blowing a kiss and getting two off a dropkick. The hurricanrana out of the corner is countered with a powerbomb and Dana Brooke is watching in the back. Emma grabs a seated full nelson before putting her in the Tree of Woe and pulling at the hair. Mickie fights up without too much effort and hits the middle rope Thesz press, followed by the MickieDT for the pin at 5:58.
Rating: C. This was a lot better than I was expecting as they beat each other up for a few minutes. If nothing else, I’m amazed by the fact that they actually used something like this for storyline advancement with Brooke watching in the back. Nice match here with Mickie showing that she still has it.
First time from Raw.
It’s time for MizTV with the Mizzy Awards for last night’s Intercontinental Title match. First up is Best Supporting Actor, which goes to both Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in a tie. After they thank Miz for changing their lives, Maryse wins Most Gorgeous, Beautiful, Sexy Leading Lady. Maryse is honored and that leaves us with Greatest Man in WWE. Miz opens the envelope and is shocked to say Dean Ambrose…..but he’s kidding because Miz wins.
Miz saw a lot of people running their mouths last night but Seth Rollins, the Hardys and Akira Tozawa were all just full of hot air. Last night he beat the toughest man in WWE so what does that make him? Cue Ambrose to go after Miz but it’s Rollins coming in for the real save. Hopefully this sets up Miz vs. Rollins as I can’t handle Ambrose vs. Miz again.
Also from Raw.
Here’s Kurt Angle to introduce Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar for a chat. Angle congratulates Lesnar for his win last night and says Brock surprised him. Heyman gives a quick victory speech but here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Roman says the three of them were all in the Attitude Era (No Roman, they weren’t.) but Angle never learned how to handle Strowman and Lesnar is never around to do it.
Reigns thinks Angle owes him one and that should be Lesnar at Summerslam. Lesnar laughs this off because Reigns hasn’t earned it. Cue Samoa Joe to say Lesnar escaped him last night instead of beating him. Joe throws in that Reigns has never beaten him and wants another piece of Lesnar. They go nose to nose but Joe stops to say Roman lost last night. Reigns: “Look at me, then look at Braun if you can find him.” Angle makes Joe vs. Reigns for the title shot at Summerslam for next week.
Lince Dorado vs. TJP
They trade wristlocks to start until Dorado grabs a hurricanrana and TJP bails to the floor. Lince throws in a dab before cranking on a hammerlock to slow things back down. We take a break and come back with Lince getting in a faceplant and a moonsault for no cover. A Stunner gives Dorado two more but he misses the shooting star. The Detonation Kick ends Dorado at 8:02.
Rating: C-. You can only get so much out of Dorado as he’s not the most interesting character in the world and that’s not exactly a secret. TJP is a fairly big name in the cruiserweight division and it’s nice to have him around here instead of the same nothing matches all the time.
And the finale.
Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt
Rematch from last night with Wyatt starting the mind games early. Seth hammers away but gets thrown into the corner for some forearms. Bray charges into a superkick for two and Seth takes him outside to start in on the hand. Makes sense after the eye poke last night. The hand gets rammed into various objects ranging from the barricade to the steps, only to have Bray counter a springboard into a release Rock Bottom.
Back from a break with Seth fighting out of a chinlock and getting in a dropkick. Bray grabs a DDT though and it’s right back to the chinlock. Wyatt can’t get in a suplex though and Rollins scores with an enziguri for a breather. The Sling Blade drops Bray again and there’s the springboard clothesline for two more.
After a Blockbuster and Falcon Arrow give Seth two more near falls, Seth has to slip out of Sister Abigail. You don’t see this much offense from a face a lot of the time and it’s kind of cool to see for a change. Bray headbutts him in the bad eye though and Sister Abigail is good for the pin on Rollins at 17:04.
Rating: C+. The hand stuff didn’t go anywhere but it was cool to see Wyatt get a second win in two nights, especially over a major name. In theory this should send Seth on to a feud with Miz, because losing back to back matches is grounds for a title feud (Right Roman?) and that’s going to be better for most people.
Post match Bray disappears and it’s the Miztourage coming through the crowd for the beatdown. Ambrose makes the save with a chair and beats the fire out of Miz.
Overall Rating: C+. Not one mention of Angle’s issues this coming week? Really? Anyway, good show otherwise with the women being a nice surprise and TJP doing as well as could be expected. I like this show so much more when they mix things up a bit and that’s what we’ve gotten recently.
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Monday Night Raw – July 10, 2017: More Important Than Wrestling
Monday Night Raw Date: July 10, 2017 Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves
It’s the night after Great Balls of Fire and unless something major has changed, our top face is now an attempted murderer. Last night Roman Reigns lost the ambulance match to Braun Strowman and then attempted to kill him by putting him in the back of the ambulance and ramming it into a semi truck. You know, for kids. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Reigns nearly killing Strowman, not for a lack of trying that is.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Big Cass, with JoJo introducing him as “Seven feet tall and you can’t teach that”. Cass: “How you doin?” He’s doing pretty well because he destroyed Enzo last night. We see some still shots and a video of after the match when Enzo had to be very slowly helped through the back. Cass warns everyone up and down the totem pole that he’s coming for them, even the one all the way at the top.
No one can get on the bandwagon now because he never needed anyone here. One day, he’s going to be Universal Champion and shove it down everyone’s throat when he’s main eventing Wrestlemania and appearing on the Tonight Show. No one can touch him because he’s seven feet tall and here’s Big Show to interrupt. Show easily chases him off because we need to have Cass pass the Big Show initiation or whatever they think the upside of this is.
Here’s Elias Samson with a song for Finn Balor, which Balor cuts off in short order.
Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson
Samson slams him down a few times so Finn kicks him in the head and loads up the Coup de Grace while the announcers talk about Samson beating up a guy on the way to an Eric Clapton concert. Back from a break with Samson grabbing a seated full nelson until Balor fights up and kicks him in the head again. Finn’s next kick is countered and Balor goes shoulder first into the apron. A Fujiwara armbar doesn’t get Samson far as Balor kicks him in the head and hits the Sling Blade. The Coup De Grace is enough to put Samson away at 10:10.
Rating: D+. Just a match here and Balor going over clean is the right call. Having Samson beat Ambrose twice via interference was one thing but Balor isn’t someone you want getting pinned at this point. Samson is much more of a character than a wrestler and there’s nothing wrong with that, at least not for someone like him.
The Hardys come out to celebrate and have something to say after a break. Jeff has been talking about how the team has been having some issues of late so maybe they should fade away and classify themselves as obsolete. They’re not going anywhere though because they have magic left to work. Cue Anderson and Gallows to say they’re magic killers. Matt says they’re a little bruised and broken (pause for the pop) but we can get a referee down here right now.
Hardys vs. Anderson and Gallows
Anderson gets double suplexed to start and there’s Poetry in Motion to Gallows as we take a break. Back with Jeff eating the Boot of Doom for two but making the tag off to Matt anyway. Gallows gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and it’s the Magic Killer for the pin at 6:55.
Rating: C-. Unless I’m missing something, that’s the first regular loss for the Hardys in over two years. This would seem to be setting up the Bullet Club vs. the Broken Hardys, or at least that’s where it would be going in a more interesting world. Then again, odds are we’re getting this match again and again because that’s how WWE works.
Post match here comes the Revival to lay out the Hardys.
It’s time for MizTV with the Mizzy Awards for last night’s Intercontinental Title match. First up is Best Supporting Actor, which goes to both Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in a tie. After they thank Miz for changing their lives, Maryse wins Most Gorgeous, Beautiful, Sexy Leading Lady. Maryse is honored and that leaves us with Greatest Man in WWE. Miz opens the envelope and is shocked to say Dean Ambrose…..but he’s just kidding because of course Miz wins.
Miz saw a lot of people running their mouths last night but Seth Rollins, the Hardys and Akira Tozawa were all just full of hot air. Last night he beat the toughest man in WWE so what does that make him? Cue Ambrose to go after Miz but it’s Rollins coming in for the real save. Hopefully this sets up Miz vs. Rollins because I don’t think I can handle Ambrose vs. Miz again.
Post break Ambrose tells Rollins that he doesn’t trust him and there’s no reunion.
Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss/Nia Jax
Bliss and Banks get things going with Alexa running away to start. Nia comes in and runs Banks over as everything breaks down. Nia and Alexa are sent outside and we take a break. Back with Bliss getting choked in the corner, followed by Bayley getting two off a kind of bulldog.
Nia gets her leg dropkicked out and Bayley snaps her throat across the middle rope. A Bliss distraction lets Nia run Bayley over and things slow down a bit. The slow beating begins with Nia sending her into the corner and getting in a splash for good measure. Twisted Bliss gets two on Bayley and Sasha avoids the charge into the barricade. Bayley rolls Bliss up for the pin out of nowhere at 9:22.
Rating: D+. The ending was rather sudden and I’m hoping they’re not expecting that to be enough to revive Bayley. She looked like the biggest loser in the world in recent weeks and a simple rollup isn’t enough to fix that. Odds are we’re heading for a multi-woman match at Summerslam and I think I’m ok with that for the most part.
We look back at the ambulance match and Strowman walking out after.
Goldust vs. R-Truth
Goldust leans over the referee to get in a cheap shot and they slug it out early on. Truth takes over with right hands in the corner but gets crotched on the ropes for his efforts. We hit the chinlock for a bit, followed by a spinebuster for two on Truth. The scissors kick connects but Truth is too spent to cover. Goldust sends him into the post and the Final Cut is good for the pin at 5:40.
Rating: D. Not the best match in the world but they were smart to do this on Raw instead of the pay per view. No matter how you look at it, they’re both older and not the best in the ring but that doesn’t mean their angle should be forgotten. There will likely be a rematch and that should wrap things up.
Here’s Kurt Angle to introduce Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar for a chat. Angle congratulates Lesnar for his win last night and says Brock surprised him. Heyman gives a quick victory speech but here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Roman says the three of them were all in the Attitude Era (No Roman, they weren’t.) but Angle never learned how to handle Strowman and Lesnar is never around to do it.
Reigns thinks Angle owes him one and that should be Lesnar at Summerslam. Lesnar laughs this off because Reigns hasn’t earned it. Cue Samoa Joe to say Lesnar escaped him last night instead of beating him. Joe throws in that Reigns has never beaten him and wants another piece of Lesnar. They go nose to nose but Joe stops to say Roman lost last night. Reigns: “Look at me, then look at Braun if you can find him.” Angle makes Joe vs. Reigns for the title shot at Summerslam for next week.
I’m going to assume that Strowman interferes in that match because otherwise, WWE is actually going with the idea that wins and losses mean nothing. Joe pointing out the loss made sense and Lesnar saying Reigns hasn’t earned the shot makes sense, but then they just give him a #1 contenders match anyway. That makes very little sense but you have to expect that since it’s WWE. Hopefully they come up with something, though I can’t say I’d be complaining if they didn’t just have Lesnar vs. Reigns already.
Angle and Graves are in the back with Kurt saying they got the same text. Kurt is going to go public with whatever it is next week but knows it might be the end for him. He’s even worried that his family might walk out on him. Graves says it’s not a big deal but Angle doesn’t seem convinced.
Akira Tozawa/Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar/Neville
Cedric knocks Dar outside to start and right into the waiting arms of Alicia Fox. Back inside and Swann gets caught in the numbers game and some double stomping takes us to a break. We come back with Tozawa in trouble until Alexander gets the hot tag to come in with the springboard clothesline. Neville crotches him on top though, only to get crotched as well. Cedric dives onto Dar and Tozawa kicks the ropes to make it even worse for Neville. The top rope backsplash gives Tozawa the pin at 9:34.
Rating: C. This was angle advancement to set up Neville vs. Tozawa II as well as the already announced I Quit match between Alexander and Dar to FINALLY end their feud. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere but they did what they could do to set up both matches, which isn’t the worst thing in the world.
We look back at MizTV.
Rollins isn’t worried about Miz because he’s focused on Bray Wyatt.
Bray says Seth can’t escape his past or erase his sins. How dare Rollins take his eye off Bray. Wyatt is here tonight.
Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt
Rematch from last night with Wyatt starting the mind games early. Seth hammers away but gets thrown into the corner for some forearms. Bray charges into a superkick for two and Seth takes him outside to start in on the hand. Makes sense after the eye poke last night. The hand gets rammed into various objects ranging from the barricade to the steps, only to have Bray counter a springboard into a release Rock Bottom.
Back from a break with Seth fighting out of a chinlock and getting in a dropkick. Bray grabs a DDT though and it’s right back to the chinlock. Wyatt can’t get in a suplex though and Rollins scores with an enziguri for a breather. The Sling Blade drops Bray again and there’s the springboard clothesline for two more.
After a Blockbuster and Falcon Arrow give Seth two more near falls, Seth has to slip out of Sister Abigail. You don’t see this much offense from a face a lot of the time and it’s kind of cool to see for a change. Bray headbutts him in the bad eye though and Sister Abigail is good for the pin on Rollins at 17:04.
Rating: C+. The hand stuff didn’t go anywhere but it was cool to see Wyatt get a second win in two nights, especially over a major name. In theory this should send Seth on to a feud with Miz, because losing back to back matches is grounds for a title feud (Right Roman?) and that’s going to be better for most people.
Post match Bray disappears and it’s the Miztourage coming through the crowd for the beatdown. Ambrose makes the save with a chair and beats the fire out of Miz.
Angle is on the phone with someone who he wants here next week to reveal something. He says he loves them to end the show. There was no update on Strowman, which was promised all night.
Overall Rating: C. This show was hard to grade as the wrestling wasn’t anything special though I don’t think it was supposed to be. Tonight was about setting up the board for Summerslam and that’s a good idea with over a month to go before the pay per view. I’m genuinely curious about the Angle story but it seems that all roads lead to Stephanie coming back to show him how business really works. Not a great show but it did some good things to set up stories for later, which is more important than wrestling on any given night.
Results
Finn Balor b. Elias Samson – Coup de Grace
Anderson and Gallows b. Hardys – Magic Killer to Matt
Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Nia Jax/Alexa Bliss – Rollup to Bliss
Goldust b. R-Truth – Final Cut
Akira Tozawa/Cedric Alexander b. Noam Dar/Neville – Top rope backsplash to Neville
Bray Wyatt b. Seth Rollins – Sister Abigail
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Monday Night Raw – June 19, 2017: Hedunit, Lackeys as Bears and ROAR
Monday Night Raw Date: June 19, 2017 Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.
As you might have heard before, tonight is all about Roman Reigns, who is going to be announcing what he wants to do at August’s Summerslam. While this is likely wanting a World Title shot, I’d be stunned if it didn’t actually end with Braun Strowman interrupting and getting the match with Reigns at Great Balls of Fire instead. Let’s get to it.
Here’s Roman Reigns to open things up. Roman says the fans won’t like to hear this, but he can’t be beaten one on one. Ask Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman. Oh and remember he main evented his third Wrestlemania in a row, where he retired the Undertaker. Reigns doesn’t care who he faces but he’s getting the Universal Title shot at Summerslam.
This brings out Samoa Joe to say he didn’t hear his name mentioned on that list of people Reigns has beaten. Joe introduces himself but Reigns says he agrees with Paul Heyman: Joe will never be Samoa Joe, but rather Just Joe. As in the guy that Brooklyn Brawler beat clean once? The fight is on with Joe being Superman Punched to the floor. This was VERY heelish from Reigns, especially the main eventing Wrestlemania line.
Hardys vs. Anderson and Gallows
The brothers take turns on Gallows’ arm and Poetry in Motion gets two. Jeff gets sent hard into the corner though and we take an early break. Back with Jeff getting kicked in the face and armbarred. Jeff kicks Anderson away but Gallows is right there to break up the hot tag attempt.
The hog tag works a few seconds later and it’s Matt coming in to clean house. Everything breaks down with Anderson rolling Matt up for two. A right hand to Matt’s jaw sets up the Boot of Doom for a close two, leaving Jeff to dropkick Anderson. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton gives Jeff the pin at 10:31.
Rating: C. I’m not sure how many more times these two teams plus Sheamus and Cesaro can trade wins but I have a feeling we’ll be finding out for weeks to come. Hopefully the Revival gets into the title picture soon as they’re easily the best tag team around today. The match was about as good as you would expect it to be from these guys but at least the fans care about the Hardys.
Goldust challenges R-Truth for next week.
Here’s Elias Samson to tune his guitar but it’s Finn Balor making a quick interruption for his match.
Finn Balor vs. Bo Dallas
Dallas jumps him before the bell and chokes away on the ropes, followed by a running knee to the head for two. Balor comes back with the Pele and a series of strikes, including the kick from the apron. Dallas is sent hard into the barricade a few times and it’s the Sling Blade into the Coup de Grace for the pin at 3:40.
Rating: D+. Balor was showing some aggression there and it’s always nice to see him get a win. That being said, it’s not like he has anything going on at the moment because WWE is focusing on Samoa Joe at the moment while Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt have Bray’s latest lame feud. I’m sure they’ll find something for Balor, but he’s not getting the title back until after Wrestlemania, which makes a lot of the commentary about how he’s almost there sound stupid.
Corey Graves has to run off and deal with something.
Video on Seth Rollins being the cover star for WWE2K18.
The announcers discuss Carmella winning the Money in the Bank briefcase with help from James Ellsworth.
Corey comes in to see Kurt Angle and says he knows he had a bad Father’s Day. Angle looks taken aback but Graves says he got the same message. Enzo and Big Cass come in with Angle wanting to know why Enzo tweeted something to Conor McGregor. That goes nowhere so they talk about who has been attacking Enzo and Cass. It might have been Revival, Enzo himself or Big Show. Angle promises to find out who did it tonight.
Here’s Seth Rollins to talk about being on the cover of the game. He brings up his heel turn from a few years back and everything it brought him. The problem was he couldn’t look in the mirror. Now he’s on the cover of the game and it’s his second chance. This cover belongs to both himself and the fans because it’s THEIR cover.
Cue Bray Wyatt to talk about how he feels the struggle in Seth’s soul. Seth is still conforming to whatever the people want and he’s just not that man. Rollins says he’s THE man and lists off some accomplishments. Bray says he’s here and blows out the lantern before coming out to the ring. Thankfully Seth is smart enough to dive on Bray as he walks very slowly to the ring.
Graves praises Angle’s job as GM and stands by him during his personal issues.
Balor wants the Universal Title back and thinks Roman is tough enough to take down Joe tonight. Samson jumps Balor from behind and tells him to never upstage him again. D-Von Dudley (an agent if that wasn’t clear) chases Samson off.
Akira Tozawa vs. TJP
Rematch from 205 Live. Hang on a second as Titus O’Neil comes out to say we need to really hype the match up, meaning he’ll handle the introductions. TJP flips over Tozawa to start but gets rolled up for two. A top rope dive misses Tozawa again but the backsplash hits knees. Cue Neville to say neither of these two are the next Cruiserweight Champion as we take a break.
Back with TJP keeping Tozawa on the mat, followed by the springboard forearm into the nipup. We hit an arm trap chinlock before Tozawa sends him to the floor for a suicide dive. Back in and TJP grabs a double chickenwing gutbuster but gets kicked in the face, setting up the top backsplash for the pin at 10:39.
Rating: C+. Thanks for taking away my only reason for watching 205 Live people. I know the show doesn’t mean anything but if I just have to wait six days before seeing the same match on Raw, I really don’t need to watch the thing in the first place. At least Tozawa vs. Neville, which will likely happen on pay per view and not 205 Live, will be good.
Post match Titus talks about how awesome his Brand is and how Tozawa will be the next Cruiserweight Champion. Neville is tired of hearing about it so Tozawa needs to tread lightly.
R-Truth accepts Goldust’s challenge.
Curtis Axel tries to cheer Bo up when Miz comes in to talk about how bad they’ve been lately. They were in the Marine 5 together and Miz made them stars. He can do it again here on Raw.
Samoa Joe thinks Reigns needs to learn his name because Joe beat him in his Raw debut.
Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns
They trade shoulders to start with no one going anywhere. Joe gets punched to the floor through and stays outside for a breather. Back in and Joe knocks him to the floor for a change, followed by a few headbutts with shouts of WHAT’S MY NAME. They head outside yet again with Reigns being sent into the post and barricade as we go to a break.
Back with Joe dropping an elbow and grabbing a chinlock. A backsplash hits knees though (meaning ANOTHER crowd reaction shot, which have been on steroids tonight) and Reigns makes his comeback with the ten clotheslines in the corner. The Superman Punch is countered into an atomic drop into the boot, followed by a backsplash for two. Joe gets back up and eats a Superman Punch for two more but still manages to block the spear.
There’s the Rock Bottom for another near fall so Joe is tired of the messing around. The Koquina Clutch has Reigns in trouble but he backs into the corner and hits the spear to send Joe outside. Roman loads up another spear but he’s an ambulance backing into the building. Naturally Braun Strowman is inside for one heck of a face pop and the distraction lets Joe grab the Koquina Clutch for the tap at 18:37.
Rating: B. Good, solid heavyweight slugfest here and that’s what the show needed. Strowman returning is a good idea, though that face pop is likely just going to annoy Vince even further and give Reigns more of a push. The match was fun and a good example of the right way to end a match. Reigns looks strong and gets his feud with Strowman advanced while Joe still gets the win.
Post match Strowman comes out and gives Reigns a reverse chokeslam. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!” Strowman challenges Reigns to an ambulance match at Great Balls of Fire pay per view. As opposed to Great Balls of Fire: a Spike Lee Joint.
It’s time for MizTV with Miz apologizing to Maryse. He has two bears and a big present for her, plus champagne. Maryse comes out with Miz guaranteeing her that he’s checked the bears out and they’re fine. The present is the restored grandfather clock, which he repaired in their garage when she made him sleep on the couch. Maryse seems to forgive him when Dean Ambrose comes out.
Miz hides behind her, sending the champagne onto Maryse’s face. Dean keeps going by sending Miz into the clock to break it again. That’s enough for Maryse who slaps Miz and storms off, only to have the bears attack Ambrose. Naturally they’re Dallas and Axel and the beatdown is on with Miz helping out via a Skull Crushing Finale.
Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Apollo Crews/Titus O’Neil
Non-title. Crews dropkicks Cesaro down to start but eats a right hand for his efforts. Apollo takes a bit of a beating in the corner until an enziguri drops Cesaro. Titus comes in and clotheslines Sheamus in the corner, followed by Apollo’s standing moonsault for two. A cheap shot sets up the assisted White Noise to put Crews away at 4:11.
Rating: D. At this point, we’re just filling in time instead of putting the women on this show for some reason. The match was about what you would expect, though I’m still not sure if Titus is a face or a heel. Giving Cesaro and Sheamus a win like this isn’t the worst idea in the world though as it gave us something fresh, which is definitely something good at this point.
Long video on Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar with both guys talking about the amount of violence we’ll be seeing at the pay per view. Good stuff.
Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
Alexa Bliss comes out for commentary and we’re joined in progress with Banks hitting the knees to the back. Cue Emma to yell at Bliss and then chase her into the ring. Bliss hides behind Jax so Emma kicks her in the ribs for the DQ at 1:11.
It’s a big brawl with Mickie James and Dana Brooke coming in as well. Bayley finally comes in and really cleans house, including a middle rope bulldog to Jax. The good women, as in Bayley/Banks/Brooke/James in this case, stand tall.
Here’s Angle to announce the attacker. He brings out Enzo, Cass, Revival and Big Show to really set the stage. Angle starts with Big Show, who says he’d fight someone face to face. If Angle thinks he did it, maybe he doesn’t need to be on Raw anymore. Show leaves and Cass is very happy until Kurt cuts him off to talk about Revival. Angle says it wasn’t them because enough referees and agents saw the two of them elsewhere.
Corey Graves says he has some information though. A few moments ago Cass said he had a golf ball sized lump on the back of his head, but the medical team said they never treated him. Cass starts backtracking but Graves has security footage. We see Cass staging the scene of the crime and laying on the ground like he’s unconscious. Cass admits he did it and yells about how tired he is of Enzo running his mouth about whatever he’s always talking about. No one behind the curtain likes Enzo and Cass felt bad for him.
Cass finally snapped and it felt good to lay Enzo out from behind. He unloads on Enzo for all the years of having to put up with him and wanted to see how smart Enzo really was. It turns out that Enzo is even dumber than he looks and nothing but dead weight holding Cass down. All Enzo does is have his mouth write checks that he can’t cash but now Cass isn’t behind him anymore. Enzo gets kicked in the head to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. This show didn’t do much to hide the fact that Great Balls of Fire is just a placeholder show. When they’re already setting up stuff for Summerslam and we’re still nearly three weeks away from Great Balls of Fire, you can tell the show means absolutely nothing. Now that being said, some of the stuff they’ve set up is interesting enough, but don’t waste your time believing that this is going to mean anything long term. That’s been the case for years in WWE but it doesn’t make things any easier to get through.
Results
Hardys b. Anderson and Gallows – Swanton Bomb to Gallows
Finn Balor b. Bo Dallas – Coup de Graces
Akira Tozawa b. TJP – Top rope backsplash
Samoa Joe b. Roman Reigns – Koquina Clutch
Sheamus/Cesaro b. Apollo Crews/Titus O’Neil – Assisted White Noise to Crews
Nia Jax b. Sasha Banks via DQ when Emma interfered
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Main Event – June 15, 2017: It Didn’t Work Before So Let’s Do It Again
Main Event Date: June 15, 2017 Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph
It’s back to what should be the quintessential recap show as it’s not like people come here for the original wrestling content. Raw had one heck of a fight on Monday night and you have to imagine that’s going to be a big focal point of this show. We’re about three weeks away from Great Balls of Fire and that’s not the worst thing in the world. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Curt Hawkins vs. Curtis Axel
Gah this always gets annoying with first names. Axel grabs a headlock to start and stomps away in the corner before getting two off a clothesline. That earns Curtis a knee to the back and a chinlock (with another knee to the back) as the announcers talk about these two teaming together.
Graves makes sure to mention that he and Neville used to be NXT Tag Team Champions, which is a very good idea. He wasn’t in NXT very long and that was several years ago. Remind us that you have in-ring credentials and people will pay more attention to you. Axel fights up but can’t get the PerfectPlex as Curt kicks away, only to get caught in it the second time to give Axel the pin at 5:12.
Rating: D+. Axel truly is the Main Event Musketeer as he never seems to leave the place. He’s good in the ring, the fans react to him and he’s using the perfect (See what I did there?) finisher. Just give him a story and see what he can do on the main roster because he’s likely going to be more over than most of the people around here.
Long recap of the Hardys vs. Sheamus/Cesaro.
Very shortened version of the Hardys vs. Sheamus/Cesaro from Raw, showing about three minutes of a fifteen minute match.
Also from Raw, this time in full form.
Here’s Wyatt to talk about how people shouldn’t deny him like Seth Rollins has done. Seth lives in a glass house and a single shout brought it all crashing down. This brings out Rollins, who says he was speaking the truth when he called Wyatt a false prophet. If Bray is that disturbed by what Seth said, do something about it. Bray says Seth is beneath him and that Rollins doesn’t want this fight. The lights go out again and Bray is gone. They go out again and Bray is on the screen, saying Seth can slay a king but not a god.
Gran Metalik vs. Ariya Daivari
Metalik sends him into the corner to start and it’s already time for the wristlock. A high crossbody gives Metalik two but gets tossed into the corner. We take a break and come back with Metalik walking the ropes into a dropkick for two. A running hurricanrana sends both guys out to the floor in a big crash and Metalik’s top rope elbow is good for two more. Daivari goes for the mask though and it’s a hammerlock lariat for the pin on Metalik at 7:53.
Rating: D+. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere and I’m still wondering what Metalik did to WWE. He was on 205 Live a few weeks ago and now he’s jobbing to Daivari of all people? The match was nothing to see, save for a few good dives from Metalik. I feel sorry for him though as it’s like he just can’t catch a break.
We look back at Samoa Joe choking out Paul Heyman.
And now, the only way this show could end.
Here are Lesnar and Heyman to get things going with Paul saying it’s time for some revenge. Now last week, Samoa Joe attacked Heyman and Paul gets why that’s the case. Sometimes he certainly deserves it but that wasn’t true last week. Last week, Heyman saw someone that could go man to beast with Brock.
There have been a lot of Samoans in wrestling but Joe is the outcast one. For some reason he’s not treated the same and his biggest claim to fame is choking Heyman out. Heyman agrees that the Koquina Clutch was everything that Joe promised it would be. That made Heyman wonder what would happen to the title if Brock was ever caught in that hold. Then Heyman realized that’s not a problem because Joe isn’t man enough to get the hold on Brock Lesnar.
Cue Joe to headbutt Lesnar right in the face as the brawl is on. Security is sent out and dispatched just as fast so here’s the locker room (or at least the midcard) to try again. That goes just as badly with Joe breaking away to superkick Joe right in the jaw. The fight is finally broken up and things settle down. This was an outstanding start but there’s one thing: none of this matters if Brock is lazy and just does suplexes into an F5 at the pay per view. Make it a competitive match where they beat the heck out of each other and things will be fine. Just don’t make it a squash, please.
Overall Rating: D-. Totally skippable show this week with only the last segment being worth seeing. This felt like one of the older episodes of the show and that’s really not a good thing. It was the same cast of characters who weren’t interesting in the first place and now don’t do anything more than fill in a space on this show.
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Main Event – June 8, 2017: Continuity? On This Show?
Main Event Date: June 8, 2017
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves
I’m very pleased by the fact that I’m not sure what to expect about this show. I mean, I know we’ll be getting a cruiserweight match but maybe we can also have a Heath Slater/Rhyno match for a bit of fun. Either way, hopefully there’s not much from Raw, which really didn’t have the best week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak
It’s nice to see that Dorado’s injury wasn’t anything serious. Lince grabs an armbar to start and a dropkick is good for two. Gulak doesn’t seem to mind and kicks Lince in the face before starting in on the knee. Something like a DDT to the leg sets up a stump puller of all things with the announcers asking how long it’s been since I last saw one. Eh about a second ago when I last looked at the screen.
A dragon screw legwhip keeps Dorado in trouble but the knee is fine enough for a moonsault press for two. Dorado hits the handspring Stunner and an Asai moonsault but the knee is suddenly banged up again. Back in and Drew takes the knee out again before grabbing a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 6:21.
Rating: D. So Lince’s knee was banged up, then he was able to do his flying stuff, then it was bad enough for the finish. I’m a bit split on that one but it’s a bit hard to be interested in the leg work if Dorado is doing his high flying stuff before getting caught. At least Gulak won though and that’s what matters most, especially with him in the middle of a solid push on 205 Live.
Stills of the Extreme Rules main event.
From Raw for the first time.
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
Before the match, Bray offers an alliance with Roman, who says this reaction is why he’s the guy. He punches Bray in the face and we’re ready to go. Sister Abigail and the Superman Punch both miss in the first thirty seconds and Bray is punched to the floor for a break. Back with Roman fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a DDT for two.
Another chinlock is broken up with a Samoan drop for two, only to have Bray send him into the post. A backsplash on the floor crushes Roman and takes us to our second break in eight minutes. Back again with Reigns sending him to the floor, only to get Rock Bottomed for two.
Bray takes him up to for some reason, only to have Roman slip out for a big sitout powerbomb. The Superman Punch gets two more but Bray rolls outside before the spear. That’s enough to set up the apron dropkick but Roman gets blasted with a clothesline. They’re both in at nine and Sister Abigail is countered into the spear for the pin at 19:38.
Rating: B. Well that was long. It was also annoying booking as they were seemingly building Bray up for a potential run at Lesnar but HAHA ROMAN WINS AGAIN! You know, because we have to keep the former three time World Champion strong in case the shine goes away. Bray gets to rebuild again while Reigns just keeps babbling about being THE GUY because people keep cheering/booing him at the same time.
And for the second time.
It’s time for Miz’s celebration with Maryse hosting and a guy in a bear suit behind her. Miz comes out and we hit the YOU DESERVE IT chants. That’s not cool with the new champ, as the fans chant that at every new champion in WWE. Miz brags about how awesome he is and how glad he is to be the new champion.
Maryse is praised for being this great but she didn’t order the bear. Miz beats the heck out of the bear….but it’s not Ambrose. That earns the bear a toss over the top (Miz: “At least you got beaten up by the Intercontinental Champion.”) and here comes a present in a big box. Miz doesn’t trust it and destroys the thing with a chair.
Maryse freaks out because it’s from her. She got him a grandfather clock because it’s timeless, just like her. Maryse yells and leaves as Miz goes off about Ambrose getting in his head. As the rant continues, the cameraman puts his camera down because it’s Dean. The beatdown doesn’t take long and Miz is left laying.
Curt Hawkins vs. Bo Dallas
Heel vs. heel works for me. This is over their recent failure as a tag team on this same show. Hawkins offers a free shot so Bo clotheslines him down. Curt gives him a hard Irish whip with Bo hitting his face on the middle rope and falling to the floor. Thankfully it’s not the same result as Enzo Amore last year and Bo is fine as we take a break.
Back with Hawkins getting two off an elbow drop and grabbing a sleeper. The sleeper sequel doesn’t last as long as Curt sends him into the corner instead. Dallas gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a dropkick to the ribs for two. Back up and Bo gets in a shot to the ribs, setting up a hanging swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 9:00.
Rating: C-. Hawkins’ entrance continues to carry him through most of his matches and there’s nothing wrong with that. I still like Dallas and his energy alone should have him as a jobber on the main roster. If nothing else, it’s very nice to have some continuity on Main Event, which you never would have expected around here.
And now, Main Event’s main event.
Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins
Joe tries an early powerbomb and gets taken down with a hurricanrana, only to have Joe come back with right hands and chops in the corner. A hard knee to Seth’s head has Rollins in trouble and the Sling Blade is countered as we take a break. Back with Joe still hammering away as the announcers talk about wrestlers hitting their stride and being on a roll like never before.
Joe crushes him with the backsplash and cranks on the arm. The snap powerslam gets two but Seth finally scores with an enziguri. A suicide dive sets up the Blockbuster, followed by a second dive. Rollins muscles him up for a Falcon Arrow and Joe is actually in some trouble. Bray Wyatt’s lights hit though and…..no one comes out. The distraction is enough to set up the Koquina Clutch though and Rollins is out at 14:14.
Rating: C+. As usual, this match had the standard Raw problem: it doesn’t mean anything so why should fans care enough to watch it? We know Lesnar is back to deal with Joe next week so why is this interesting? You know what else isn’t interesting? Bray, who lost to Reigns two and a half hours ago completely clean. If you want him to be this big deal, stop having him lose matches over and over. Rollins vs. Wyatt is interesting but it doesn’t matter if you have Reigns beat both of them in back to back weeks.
Overall Rating: C-. Not their worst episode and I’m still trying to get over the idea of continuity around here. It’s like someone is actually paying attention to the exclusive wrestling on a glorified recap show. Anyway, not terrible here with two guys I like winning, though not much of note from Raw.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Monday Night Raw Date: June 5, 2017
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.
We’re past Extreme Rules and in a bit of a surprise, the new #1 contender is Samoa Joe, who will get to face Brock Lesnar in just over a month at Great Balls of Fire. Other than that…..yeah there isn’t really a lot to talk about, other than Cesaro and Sheamus winning the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of last night’s main event. Makes sense in a long match.
Here’s Bray Wyatt to say that he was ready to slay the Beast but his sword was taken from him. The other four men in the match are all guilty and now it’s time to start his path back to the Beast.
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
Before the match, Bray offers an alliance with Roman, who says this reaction is why he’s the guy. He punches Bray in the face and we’re ready to go. Sister Abigail and the Superman Punch both miss in the first thirty seconds and Bray is punched to the floor for a break. Back with Roman fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a DDT for two.
Another chinlock is broken up with a Samoan drop for two, only to have Bray send him into the post. A backsplash on the floor crushes Roman and takes us to our second break in eight minutes. Back again with Reigns sending him to the floor, only to get Rock Bottomed for two.
Bray takes him up to for some reason, only to have Roman slip out for a big sitout powerbomb. The Superman Punch gets two more but Bray rolls outside before the spear. That’s enough to set up the apron dropkick but Roman gets blasted with a clothesline. They’re both in at nine and Sister Abigail is countered into the spear for the pin at 19:38.
Rating: B. Well that was long. It was also annoying booking as they were seemingly building Bray up for a potential run at Lesnar but HAHA ROMAN WINS AGAIN! You know, because we have to keep the former three time World Champion strong in case the shine goes away. Bray gets to rebuild again while Reigns just keeps babbling about being THE GUY because people keep cheering/booing him at the same time.
Enzo Amore doesn’t know who attacked him and thinks he should sell ice cream. Cass doesn’t like the idea that people think it was him and promises to have Enzo’s back. Enzo stops to hit on Cathy Kelly, who doesn’t seem to mind.
Stills of Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss from last night.
Kurt Angle is in his office reading another incriminating text when Bliss comes in to hear some congratulations. When they don’t come, Bliss says she’s tired of Bayley so tonight it’s Alexa Bliss: This Is My Life. Angle says that’s terrible because last week’s segment was awful (it wasn’t THAT bad). Instead, tonight Bliss is defending against Nia Jax as she promised she would on last night’s pre-show.
Elias Samson sings about Dean Ambrose.
Dean Ambrose vs. Elias Samson
Ambrose comes out and hits him in the head to send Samson outside. Dean grabs the mic and says he wants his rematch for the Intercontinental Title right now. Miz comes up on the screen and says no because he has a celebration for later. The distraction lets Samson hit his swinging neckbreaker. No match.
Post break Angle makes Miz vs. Ambrose for some unspecified point in the future. As for tonight though, Ambrose needs to leave.
Here’s Samoa Joe to talk about Lesnar. Joe gets straight to the point: he isn’t afraid of Brock Lesnar but he does envy the way Lesnar gets to do things. He shows up and fights when he wants and has Paul Heyman to run his errands for him. This brings out Heyman to say that Samoa Joe is the next challenger. Lesnar doesn’t fear Joe but Heyman thinks Joe likes that.
We hear about Lesnar not being afraid of facing Undertaker, John Cena, Goldberg or any of his other challengers because that’s what Lesnar does. A few weeks ago, Heyman said he wanted to see Lesnar vs. Finn Balor because it’s a license to print money. Joe is the worst case scenario however because Joe doesn’t care.
Even if Lesnar successfully defends the title, Joe is going to take a piece of Brock with him. That being said, Heyman’s job is to make Lesnar Joe’s worst case scenario. They shake hands and Heyman goes to leave. Joe stops him though and whispers into Heyman’s ear that he’s about to choke Heyman out and render him unconscious. Before Joe does it though, he makes sure Heyman remembers it so he can tell Lesnar what’s coming for him. That’s exactly what Joe does and Heyman is left laying. Joe looked amazing here and that’s the kind of upgrade he needed before heading into the match with Lesnar.
Post break Angle gets in Joe’s face and says that can’t happen. Joe says he’ll do that to anyone who is in his way but all that matters is if Angle is in his way. Seth Rollins comes up with a challenge for later tonight. Angle makes the match.
Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Cesaro/Sheamus
Non-title. Sheamus sends Slater into the post to start and we’re in an early chinlock. Heath actually comes back with a kick to the face but Cesaro pulls Rhyno off the apron. The distraction is enough for a Brogue Kick to finish Slater at 1:43.
Sheamus says that’s how smart teams win and takes a quick poll on how happy the fans are for the win. They know the Hardys aren’t happy and there’s nothing that can be done. So the feud CONTINUES??? REALLY???
TJP runs into Neville and wants his promised title shot. Neville basically tells him to back off.
Mustafa Ali vs. TJP
Ali starts fast and snaps off a headscissors but TJP takes him down without too much effort. TJP takes him into the corner but gets caught in a tornado DDT. It’s too early for the inverted 450 though, allowing TJP to hit the Detonation Kick for the pin at 2:40.
Post match Neville comes out to say there’s no shot. TJP wants to talk to Angle about this right now and gets his face slammed into the stage. Neville shouts that the title is on the line tomorrow night on 205 Live.
Goldust sees the bigger picture here and says the biggest names in Hollywood will be around soon because the Golden Age is back.
Mickie James, Dana Brooke and Sasha Banks are talking (like any three random women do) when Alexa comes up and wants to chat. By chat, she means turn them against Nia Jax. Sasha has already left but Mickie and Dana don’t seem to buy it. The two of them will be at ringside tonight.
The announcers talk about Bliss vs. Jax when Angle comes up to show Graves another text. They have a talk that we can’t hear and Graves goes back to the announcers’ desk, where he completely ignores Cole’s questions about what just happened.
Angle won’t talk about what happened, calling it a private matter. As he goes outside with his phone, Ambrose sneaks back in, with the Revival again being seen in the background.
Kalisto vs. Titus O’Neil
Titus accidentally cost Apollo Crews a match last night so he’s showing Apollo how it’s done. Kalisto gets sent into the corner and slammed down as we see Akira Tozawa of all people watching. Apparently he’s next in line to join the Titus Brand, though that’s from Titus himself. A fall away slam is countered into a rollup with trunks, only to have Kalisto reverse into one of his own, with a handful of trunks for the pin at 1:43.
Big Cass has been attacked. Enzo runs in and finds a gold chain in Cass’ hand. Post break, Enzo blames Revival and says they need to have their match. The referee says Enzo will need to find a new partner.
It’s time for Miz’s celebration with Maryse hosting and a guy in a bear suit behind her. Miz comes out and we hit the YOU DESERVE IT chants. That’s not cool with the new champ, as the fans chant that at every new champion in WWE. Miz brags about how awesome he is and how glad he is to be the new champion.
Maryse is praised for being this great but she didn’t order the bear. Miz beats the heck out of the bear….but it’s not Ambrose. That earns the bear a toss over the top (Miz: “At least you got beaten up by the Intercontinental Champion.”) and here comes a present in a big box. Miz doesn’t trust it and destroys the thing with a chair.
Maryse freaks out because it’s from her. She got him a grandfather clock because it’s timeless, just like her. Maryse yells and leaves as Miz goes off about Ambrose getting in his head. As the rant continues, the cameraman puts his camera down because it’s Dean. The beatdown doesn’t take long and Miz is left laying.
Enzo Amore/??? vs Anderson and Gallows
Amore has a new partner and it’s……Big Show. Before the match, Enzo says Show is looking slim and might be joining 205 Live. Enzo is 206 though and that makes him a heavyweight. He keeps going about rubbing Big Show and asks him to loosen up. That sends Show into something like an Enzo impression before finishing with the Cass line. Gallows kicks Enzo in the face at the bell but it’s off to Show almost immediately. A chokeslam to Anderson sets up a modified Bada Boom Shaka Lacka for the pin at 1:42.
Video on Alexa Bliss.
Post break, Cass accuses Show of being the attacker but leaves with Enzo without much of a problem.
R-Truth says he’s coming for Goldust and quotes A Few Good Men.
Bliss doesn’t like the rest of the division.
Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss
Bliss is defending with Mickie and Dana at ringside. Jax throws her around to start and sends the champ into a corner. Bliss avoids a charge and tries a sleeper but gets sent outside. Mickie and Dana laugh at her so Alexa starts a fight, drawing the DQ at 2:20.
Nia destroys Mickie and Dana post match.
Heyman is in the trainer’s room when he gets a phone call from Brock. Paul thinks Brock should be here next week.
Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins
Joe tries an early powerbomb and gets taken down with a hurricanrana, only to have Joe come back with right hands and chops in the corner. A hard knee to Seth’s head has Rollins in trouble and the Sling Blade is countered as we take a break. Back with Joe still hammering away as the announcers talk about wrestlers hitting their stride and being on a roll like never before.
Joe crushes him with the backsplash and cranks on the arm. The snap powerslam gets two but Seth finally scores with an enziguri. A suicide dive sets up the Blockbuster, followed by a second dive. Rollins muscles him up for a Falcon Arrow and Joe is actually in some trouble. Bray Wyatt’s lights hit though and…..no one comes out. The distraction is enough to set up the Koquina Clutch though and Rollins is out at 14:14.
Rating: C+. As usual, this match had the standard Raw problem: it doesn’t mean anything so why should fans care enough to watch it? We know Lesnar is back to deal with Joe next week so why is this interesting? You know what else isn’t interesting? Bray, who lost to Reigns two and a half hours ago completely clean. If you want him to be this big deal, stop having him lose matches over and over. Rollins vs. Wyatt is interesting but it doesn’t matter if you have Reigns beat both of them in back to back weeks.
Overall Rating: C-. Not a bad show but way too long, as is so often the case. Having Lesnar back next week should help a lot and the show will be better as a result but dang the rest of the show could use some freshening up. It feels like a lot of these feuds have been going on forever and that shouldn’t be the case coming off a pay per view. The show had good moments (Bliss continuing to be gold and Joe choking Heyman out) but they need something to get people fired up. Maybe it’s Lesnar next week but if he doesn’t do it, I have no idea what will.
Results
Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt – Spear
Cesaro/Sheamus b. Heath Slater/Rhyno – Brogue Kick to Slater
TJP b. Mustafa Ali – Detonation Kick
Kalisto b. Titus O’Neil – Rollup with a handful of trunks
Enzo Amore/Big Show b. Anderson and Gallows – High crossbody to Anderson
Alexa Bliss b. Nia Jax via DQ when Mickie James and Dana Brooke interfered
Samoa Joe b. Seth Rollins – Koquina Clutch
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Extreme Rules 2017 Date: June 4, 2017
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves
It’s the night of extreme, which is loosely translated as “night of gimmicky rematches”. The main event is a Fatal Five Way for a future shot at Brock Lesnar and the Universal Title, likely coming at next month’s Great Balls of Fire. The stories aren’t the strongest this time around so it’s going to be mostly up to the in-ring action. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Kalisto vs. Apolo Crews
Kalisto has been feuding with Crews and Titus O’Neil for a few weeks now with Titus stealing a tainted win over him last week. Feeling out process to start with the announcers talking about LaVar Ball trying to buy into the Titus Brand. If you don’t know who that is, leave it at that and consider it a good day. Kalisto takes over with some speedy technical stuff and sends Crews to the floor for a big springboard dive. He tries another dive but gets kicked in the head for his efforts as we take a break.
Back with Crews holding a front facelock but having to clothesline Kalisto down to break up a comeback. Kalisto makes his real comeback with the corkscrew springboard shoulder as Titus plays cheerleader. A small package gets two on Crews, followed by one heck of a tornado DDT for the same. Crews comes back with a Samoan drop but his standing shooting star only gets two. Titus offers some suggestions but the distraction lets Kalisto hit a quick Salida Del Sol for the pin at 9:35.
Rating: C+. That was a lot better than I expected and if it leads to Crews beating the fire out of Titus, so be it. Basically whatever gets Crews pushed better than he has been so far on the main roster with a bit of a character/personality to him is an improvement, as we’ve been seeing him waste away for over a year now. Kalisto continues to be the guy that should be near the top of the cruiserweight show but for now he’s just a low level performer who fights heavyweights on the main show. You know, because the cruiserweight division is nonsense
The opening sequence talks about about things going extreme and how this is all about facing Brock Lesnar. You might remember him even though you haven’t seen him in two months.
We recap Miz vs. Dean Ambrose. They feuded on Smackdown late last year but now they’re both on Raw so we’ll just keep it going. Miz got a shot at the title but Ambrose got disqualified, setting up this rematch.
Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Dean Ambrose
Ambrose is defending and can lose the title via DQ. They start slowly with an exchange of hammerlocks as the announcers talk about this being Miz’s 92nd pay per view match. A slap to the face annoys Ambrose so he hammers away in the corner. Dean keeps his cool and sends Miz outside for a suicide dive, followed by a whip into the barricade.
Things settle down though as we make sure that the EXTREME show doesn’t get too intense. Another yell from the referee allows Miz to get in an apron DDT for two. A neckbreaker is good for the same and Miz kicks him in the face for good measure. Three corner running dropkicks and the running corner clothesline has Dean in trouble but he’s still able to punch Miz out of the air.
Neither finish can hit so Dean sends him outside for another dive. Back in and Ambrose grabs a rollup for two, only to tweak his knee coming off the top. That means it’s off to the Figure Four with Dean finally getting over for the rope break. Dean gets crotched on top and Miz pulls him away, taking the turnbuckle pad with him.
The champ catches himself from sending Miz into the buckle but Miz uses the distraction to hit some YES Kicks. The big one is countered into a Figure Four on Miz but another rope grab is good for the break. They both limp on the bad leg for the slugout for a double knockdown before we FINALLY get to the obvious idea as Maryse slaps Miz. The referee says no and ejects Maryse though, allowing Dean to grab a rollup for two. Miz gets smart though and sends Dean into the referee but that’s still not a DQ. Instead Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 20:02.
Rating: B. I’m happy with Miz getting the title back but sweet goodness they were waiting around until the gimmick played into the ending. The slap not counting was pretty obvious but at least the DQ thing set up the ending. The problem here is very simple though: there’s not much interest in these two fighting again because they did it for so long back in December and January. But hey, at least Cena got a marriage proposal in there before they send Miz right back where he was a year ago first right?
Bayley thinks Alexa Bliss was no Rock and Mankind but she’s been watching Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and Steve Blackman to get ready for tonight. She also saw Wonder Woman and feels empowered to take the title back.
Sasha Banks/Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox/Noam Dar
Swann gets a great hometown pop with one fan in particular really seeming happy. How do I know that? It’s because they cut to the one fan’s reaction during the entrance. The women start but it’s off to Dar before anything can happen. That means Swann has to come in to kick Dar in the head a bit before handing it back to Banks. The Bank Statement has Fox in trouble until Dar pulls her to the ropes.
Fox takes over on Sasha for a bit but another kick allows the hot tag to Swann, who gets almost no reaction this time around. A running flip Fameasser drops Dar and the spinning kick to the face makes things even worse. Everything breaks down and Sasha hits the double knees off the top to drop Dar on the floor. Back in and the Phoenix Splash ends Noam at 6:23.
Rating: D+. Well that was filler. Seriously what else can you call something like this? They have a six match card and one of the matches gets less than six and a half minutes. That being said, this was a match that shouldn’t have gone any longer because it has no place on a pay per view card. Also why does Swann get to survive the hometown curse?
The winners dance.
Elias Samson sings about how bad Baltimore is. This goes nowhere but does manage to kill off three minutes.
We recap Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss. Alexa kind of cheated to win the title last month and then attacked Bayley with a kendo stick. Tonight it’s a kendo stick on a pole match but the question is whether Bayley is capable of getting extreme.
Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
Bliss is defending and gets sent into the corner early on, only to send Bayley outside. She’s too short to reach the stick though, which falls out to the floor instead. A belly to back suplex on the floor makes things worse for Bliss and Bayley grabs the stick. Graves: “It’s like she went from Prince Adam to He-Man!” Bayley takes too much time pulling the stick back though and gets speared down, allowing Bliss to hammer away with the stick. The beating is cut off with a Bayley to Belly but Bayley can’t follow up. More stick shots knock Bayley silly and the DDT finishes her off at 5:13.
Rating: F. So to recap: Bayley is the biggest star in NXT and then is booked like a huge loser in WWE. The fact that NXT was booked by Dusty Rhodes’ protege and WWE is booked by a “creative team” has nothing to do with this I’m sure. Yeah I’m sure they didn’t think that the simplest idea in the world (Bayley is an underdog who gets beaten down but keeps coming back because she has heart and loves what she does) needed to be completely redone in a horrible way or anything.
Just hand her the title almost right out of the gate, let her win an overbooked match at Wrestlemania and everything will be fine. It’s certainly not creative’s fault at all. Nah, it’s all on Bayley, just like all those other hot prospects in NXT who just can’t make it work for whatever reason on the main roster. All on them of course.
To clarify some of that rambling mess: this was a horribly booked match. The whole idea was building towards Bayley finding her inner anger and using the stick. They built it up well enough and then…..nothing. She had one chance to swing the stick and then Bliss just beat her up to retain in a very short match. There was no late hope spot, there was no comeback and there was nothing for the fans to get behind. This was just a step ahead of a squash instead of something interesting, which makes the last month or two a complete waste. Bliss looked great but Bayley continues to be completely mishandled.
Did I mention I REALLY don’t like WWE creative as of late?
Tag Team Titles: Hardy Boyz vs. Cesaro/Sheamus
The Hardys are defending in a cage with both members needing to escape to win, meaning no pinfalls. Cesaro and Sheamus head for the walls and the door to start but the champs pull them back in without much effort. A few whips into the cage set up a few Poetries in Motion against the cage. The advantage doesn’t last long as Cesaro sends Jeff into the cage. It’s still too early to leave though as Jeff makes the save.
They trade some escape attempts to no avail until Cesaro ax handles Jeff. Sheamus misses the Brogue Kick and gets caught in Matt’s tornado DDT to put all four down. The champs are up first and go up the cage, only to have Cesaro and Sheamus make quick saves. Jeff actually manages to get to the floor but that leaves Matt in a handicap match. The Side Effect drops Sheamus and Cesaro is put down as well but Matt can’t escape just yet.
Jeff tries to help and even pulls him halfway over the top before Cesaro punches him down to the floor. That means Matt gets pulled back down into the ring for a double Razor’s Edge (cool spot). A Brogue Kick drops Jeff again but Matt keeps Sheamus from escaping. Back to back Twists of Fate allows Matt to get his legs over the top until Cesaro hits an uppercut.
A super White Noise knocks Matt silly but here’s Jeff to dive off the top with a Whisper in the Wind to take Sheamus and Cesaro down again. Matt gets up and drags Jeff’s body towards the door as Cesaro and Sheamus go up over the top at the same time. Matt is on the floor first but can’t get Jeff out (again), allowing Cesaro and Sheamus to drop down and win the titles (for a face pop) at 15:45.
Rating: B. Uh, is it just me or does that ending not make sense? Matt and Jeff escaped first but Jeff’s escape is rescinded for going back in? When has that been a rule? It’s not the worst ending in the world and I’m fine with Cesaro and Sheamus as champions (imagine saying that six months ago) as they had to get the titles off Matt and Jeff somehow, likely without pinning them. The match being good always helps too.
We recap the Cruiserweight Title match. Austin Aries has lost to Neville twice in a row, both times via some shenanigans. Tonight it’s a submission match with Aries coming in on a bad leg, though he made Neville tap in a tag match six days ago.
Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Austin Aries
Aries is challenging in a submission match. Feeling out process to start with Neville working on an armbar instead of the taped up neck or bad knee. Aries smacks him in the back and hits a slingshot hilo, only to have Neville bail to the floor to escape the Last Chancery. Back up and Aries tweaks his knee coming off the ropes to give Neville a target. A dragon screw leg whip has the leg in trouble but Aries hits a few shinbreakers with the good leg.
The neckbreaker across the ropes is broken up and Aries might have hurt his arm on the landing. The arm is fine enough for Aries to take Neville’s leg out again and grab a figure four until Neville makes the ropes. Ignore this being a SUBMISSION match, meaning the rope shouldn’t be a break.
The Rings of Saturn go on Aries in the middle of the ring but he gets his feet to the ropes for another break. Now it’s Aries grabbing his own Rings of Saturn, only to have Neville grab the referee. That’s the threat of a DQ (ERG!) so Aries lets go to tell the referee not to do it.
Neville gets in a superkick and puts Aries on top but gets caught in a sunset bomb. The Last Chancery goes on but Neville crawls to the floor, only to have the hold stay on. Neville taps to no avail because the fall has to be in the ring. Aries misses the suicide dive to send him crashing to the floor. Back in and the Red Arrow hits Aries’ back, setting up the Rings to make Aries tap at 17:23.
Rating: B+. Other than actually growling at the referee to STOP WITH THE DQ THREATS BECAUSE IT’S A FREAKING SUBMISSION MATCH YOU STUPID PEOPLE, this was really entertaining stuff. Above all else though, it needs to be the finish to the feud. Aries has lost every single time and now he lost as clean as you can in a match like this (which STILL shouldn’t have disqualifications). Let it be over now and give us Akira Tozawa or someone else challenging for the title.
Great Balls of Fire ad with a 1950s theme because that’s the best they can come up with.
Lesnar’s title defense will take place at Great Balls of Fire.
We recap the Fatal Five Way, which is really happening because Braun Strowman is injured and we need a new #1 contender. Kurt Angle put five guys in a single match with the winner facing Lesnar next month.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Samoa Joe
Winner gets Brock next month, one fall to a finish and anything goes. It’s a big brawl to start with Reigns being left alone in the ring until Bray Wyatt comes in to keep him from being lonely. Wyatt gets caught on the middle rope for a Samoan drop, followed by one to Joe for good measure.
Balor sends Reigns to the floor, leaving Bray to come back in and beat on Rollins and Joe. The three are sent outside for a big flip dive from Balor, only to have Reigns send him into the barricade. Joe breaks up the apron dropkick to Wyatt and sends Reigns into the steps. There isn’t much else to do here other than list off moves, as is so often the case in matches like this one.
Wyatt and Joe get together to hit people with steps, including a shot to Reigns which draws some solid cheers. They officially make a deal and take over on Balor inside as Corey is waiting on them to turn on each other. Seth starts a comeback but gets DDTed onto the steps for his efforts. Bray grabs a chair and cleans house again until he and Joe take turns backsplashing the chair onto Balor.
Joe finally misses a charge into a chair and Bray misses the crossbody, allowing Reigns to remember that he’s in the match. Roman gets the expected house cleaning segment until Bray takes him outside for a Rock Bottom onto the table. Now it’s Rollins coming back with a springboard clothesline on Wyatt, followed by a double Blockbuster to Bray and Joe.
Things speed up with Rollins loading up a suicide dive to Bray, who pulls Joe into the path instead. Back in and Sister Abigail plants Rollins, only to have Joe break it up and start the inevitable fight with Bray. Balor comes back in with a chair to break up the Koquina Clutch before dropkicking everyone in sight.
It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but Reigns comes back with a spear to drive Balor and Joe through the barricade. Seth is back up with a frog splash to drive Bray through the table but stays down holding his knee. The knee is fine enough for him to stand up for a staredown with Reigns as the chair is still in the ring. A quick Superman Punch gives Roman two, followed by Seth’s low superkick getting the same.
Another frog splash gets two more but here’s Bray for failed Sister Abigail attempts on both guys. Roman spears Bray down and hits Rollins with another Superman Punch. Balor takes one of his own but still comes back with the shotgun dropkick and Coup de Grace. It doesn’t matter though as Joe comes back in with the Koquina Clutch on Balor for the win at 29:10.
Rating: A-. I think I can go with Joe vs. Lesnar if I absolutely have to. This was a WAY better match than I was expecting with the extra time doing it a lot of favors. They had all five looking strong with the Bray/Joe alliance working fine for a story during the match. Joe winning is a good idea as he can get a rub from working with Lesnar, despite having almost no chance at actually beating him. I had a great time with this one and the ending is a very good call.
Overall Rating: B+. This was actually a heck of a show, albeit one that isn’t going to mean a thing after…..oh I’d say tomorrow. That’s a common problem in WWE and I’m not surprised to see it continue here. The idea of having a title match to build towards is a nice change of pace and should help the show a lot. Add that to a lot of really solid wrestling (only the Bayley vs. Bliss match was really bad, which is due to the booking instead of the action, or lack thereof) and you have a much better show than I ever would have guessed.
Results
Miz b. Dean Ambrose – Skull Crushing Finale
Sasha Banks/Rich Swann b. Alicia Fox/Noam Dar – Phoenix Splash to Dar
Alexa Bliss b. Bayley – DDT
Cesaro/Sheamus b. Hardy Boyz – Cesaro and Sheamus escaped the cage
Neville b. Austin Aries – Rings of Saturn
Samoa Joe b. Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns – Koquina Clutch to Balor
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