Monday Night Raw
Date: January 9, 2023
Location: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re back to the red show and closing in on the Royal Rumble. There are only three names announced for the Royal Rumbles so far and that means some spots need to be filled. Odds are some of that is done tonight but there is the chance that they’re leaving some surprises this year. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Kevin Owens to get things going and the fans seem to like him. Before he can say much though, here is JBL to interrupt. After insulting the crowd, JBL says no one is buying Owens having a chance against Roman Reigns. JBL brings out Baron Corbin to insult the fans even more, including some University of Alabama insults. Owens buries his face in the turnbuckle as Corbin gets in every standard insult you can imagine. He says he was in a “JBL and Baron Corbin were talking for three minutes but didn’t say anything” coma but for now he’s willing to fight Corbin. Sure.

Baron Corbin vs. Kevin Owens

JBL is here with Corbin, who stomps Owens down in the corner to start. Owens gets in a few shots of his own though and they fight to the floor. That means Corbin can go face first into the announcers’ table but he’s back with a chokeslam onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Owens knocking Corbin off the top and landing the Swanton for two. Corbin comes back with Deep Six for two, only to walk into the Stunner for the sudden pin at 8;37.

Rating: C. Yep, that was a Corbin TV match. Corbin continues to be the definition of “you know what you’re getting” and nothing more, as you can guess almost everything you are going to see when he is in the ring. Owens wasn’t going to lose so close to his title match and Corbin isn’t going to win against that big of an opponent. That left us waiting on the pretty clear ending and that’s what we got, just like any other Corbin match.

Post match the Bloodline runs in to beat on Owens but he grabs a chair and fights them off.

Post break, the Bloodline is going to leave but Adam Pearce comes up to tell them about a Tag Team Turmoil match to crown new #1 contenders. They won’t be around to see it though as they’re banned from the arena, even as Solo Sikoa faces Dolph Ziggler.

We look back at Alexa Bliss snapping again last week against Bianca Belair, who wound up injured. Belair is ok and just needed stitches.

Alexa Bliss pops up on the announcers’ table to say Belair is scared of her, because she is the face of evil. She hasn’t felt this good in a long time and is willing to hurt people….and the Uncle Howdy video starts playing, this time with clips of the old Alexa and Lillie. Cue Uncle Howdy to stare at Bliss and we go to a break.

Bayley vs. Mia Yim

Damage Ctrl is here with Bayley, who says that she is going to prove what she is to Becky Lynch with this beating. The rest of Damage Ctrl leaves as Bayley starts fast, only to get caught with a running neckbreaker. Yim sends her to the floor for a kick to the chest from the apron to send us to a break. Back with Yim fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent to the apron for a Stunner. Bayley suplexes her from the Stunner to the floor but Yim kicks her in the head back inside. The Cannonball misses though and Bayley grabs a backslide with feet on the ropes for the pin at 8:03.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the most interesting but Bayley needed the win to keep her strong for the real showdown with Becky Lynch. The action was ok enough, though having a break in the middle of an eight minute match is a bit much to take. It also doesn’t help when the most interesting part of the match is figuring out if it’s Mia Yim or Michin.

Johnny Gargano has a knee injury and is out of Tag Team Turmoil.

Candice LeRae is upset for Johnny Gargano not being in Tag Team Turmoil but she likes the idea of challenging for the Women’s Title at Wrestlemania. Rhea Ripley comes in to talk down to her, setting up a match tonight.

Here is Austin Theory to say THE CHAMP IS HERE and everyone has to accept the truth. The truth is that the now is forever and Seth Rollins couldn’t stop him last week. Then Rollins hurt his knee…but here is Rollins, on crutches, to interrupt. One of the crutches is thrown down though and Rollins gets in the ring without a problem.

Theory gets to the point by saying he is better than Rollins and promises to win the Royal Rumble so he can leave Wrestlemania with all of the gold. Rollins says his knee isn’t 100%, but it will be in time for him to win the Royal Rumble. Rollins: “I’ll see you at the Rumble….kid.” With Rollins gone, here is Bobby Lashley to spear Theory down. Lashley says he’s back from his suspension and ready to win the Royal Rumble.

Candice LeRae vs. Rhea Ripley

Candice slugs away to start and counters a big boot into a rollup for two. Ripley finally manages to knock her into the corner though and there’s the toss by the hair. A superplex is broken up though and Candice slams her off the top instead. Another missed big boot sends Ripley outside but she sends Candice into the barricade. Back in and Riptide finishes Candice at 4:16.

Rating: C. They had an interesting story here with Ripley seeming a bit distracted and Candice getting in what she could before the monster caught her. Ripley feels like she is ready to move into the title picture again and that included wrecking Candice on the way. The good thing is Candice didn’t get squashed so it could have been far worse.

Bobby Lashley is in the back when MVP comes in. Lashley won’t shake his hand but MVP thinks a thank you for getting him reinstates is in order. Lashley: “I haven’t punched you in the face yet have I?” MVP says they need to get back to what worked before, as Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin are already back in the right place. Lashley says they’re good, but they won’t be working together. That’s cool with MVP, but just remember that his number is the same.

Video on Cody Rhodes’ recovery from his injury, including an appearance from Brandi Rhodes. To be continued.

Dolph Ziggler is ready for the Bloodline when Mustafa Ali comes in. Ali says they were offered a spot in Tag Team Turmoil but Ziggler turned it down. Last month Ziggler cost Ali the United States Title and now he’s costing him a shot at the Tag Team Titles. Ziggler says it’s not about him tonight and hopes he understands. Ali does not seem to understand.

Video on Bronson Reed.

Reed, who is the same height as Byron Saxton, is cut off by Miz before he can say anything. Miz suggests that Reed is his bodyguard and offers him a spot on MizTV tonight. Reed says there is no us, and if Miz wants something, pay him.

Solo Sikoa vs. Dolph Ziggler

Sikoa runs him over to start and the beating is on fast. The neck crank and nerve hold go on Ziggler but he’s right back up. Ziggler slips out of a powerslam attempt and hits a dropkick, only to be tossed over the top and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sikoa hitting the running Umaga attack in the corner.

The chinlock goes on but Ziggler fights up and avoids the charge into the corner. Sikoa is back with a fireman’s carry but Ziggler slips out and hits the Zig Zag for two. Back up and the superkick is blocked, allowing Ziggler to try the Fameasser. That’s pulled out of the air though and a pop up Samoan Spike finishes Ziggler off at 10:51.

Rating: C. The ending was good but the rest of the match was lacking a bit in the excitement department. Sikoa destroyed Ziggler for the most part here and that is a good sign for his future. WWE has turned Sikoa into something of a wrecking ball, which not only makes the Bloodline look stronger, but it also makes someone beating him a bigger deal. Not the most thrilling match, but Sikoa looked good when it mattered.

We look at Dominik Mysterio being arrested and then being hardened in jail.

Damage Ctrl brags about their win until Mia Yim interrupts. Yim calls Bayley a cheater and gets beaten down as a result.

It’s time for MizTV and we get right to the point, with Dominik Mysterio (and the rest of Judgment Day) being brought out as the guest. Dominik explains that you always roll with your crew in prison, but he can’t talk about what happened because snitches get stitches. Dominik: “When life comes at you, you have to grab it by the balls. Kind of like Maryse does to you.”

Then he threatened his cell mate and made sure he stayed safe because that’s how it works. Miz is a bit confused though, as he was told Dominik was in county jail for a few hours. Damien Priest doesn’t like that because it’s time to win Tag Team Turmoil. Violence is teased but here is the OC to interrupt and start the match.

Tag Team Turmoil

There are five scheduled teams with Judgment Day (Damien Priest/Finn Balor) in at #1 and the OC in at #2. Of note: commentary says this is for a RAW Tag Team Title match, not both sets. Anderson elbows Balor down to start and it’s Gallows coming in for some elbows of his own. A shot to Gallows’ face just annoys him so Priest comes in for the battle of the big men.

Gallows takes over again and hands it off to Anderson for the HI YAH kick in the corner. Priest sends him outside though and it’s a whip into the steps as we take a break. Back with Gallows coming in to clean house but Dominik Mysterio grabs Anderson’s leg, allowing Balor to roll him up at 10:17.

Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin are in at #3 and jump Judgment Day from behind to start. We settle down to Alexander knocking Balor down for a kick to the back. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Benjamin comes in with a Dragon Whip to Balor and German suplexes to Balor and Priest. Benjamin tosses Priest into Alexander’s jumping knee for two, with Balor having to make the save. The Neuralizer gives Alexander two but Priest catches a charge with South of Heaven. Balor adds the Coup de Grace for the pin at 15:47 total. Alpha Academy is in at #4 and we take a break.

Back again with Balor hitting a Sling Blade on Gable so Priest can come in with the Broken Arrow. We hit the chinlock, followed by a backbreaker/legdrop combination for two. Gable fights out of trouble and brings in Otis to clean house, including the running splash in the corner to Priest. Otis brings back the Caterpillar and hits the Vader Bomb on Balor…who pulled Gable on top of him. The stunned Otis is kicked in the face to give Priest the pin at 24:33. Hold on though as Balor, who was crushed under both Otis and Gable, is really banged up. Adam Pearce says Dominik is taking Balor’s place and the Street Profits are in at #5.

We’re joined in progress with Dawkins ripping Dominik’s shirt off and handing it off to Ford to hammer on him in the corner. Dawkins comes back in with the spinning splash in the corner as the beating stays on. A toss into the corner allows Dominik to bring in Priest so Ford slingshot flips in (with the camera cutting because WWE cameras can’t sit still) for the showdown. With that not working, Dominik comes in to distract Ford to the floor. That’s fine with Priest, who runs Ford over to send him over the announcers’ table. Dawkins hits the big dive though and we take a break.

Back with Dawkins still in trouble as Dominik grabs a chinlock. Priest adds a slam and Ripley certainly approves on the floor. Dawkins fights up and brings in Ford with a double high crossbody. Dominik gets shoved into a German suplex for two but Priest is back in to blast Dawkins with a clothesline for two more. Priest sends Dawkins over the barricade but Ford is there with the big lip dive over the corner. Back in and the 450 connects, only to have Priest break up the cover. Ford jumps from the floor to the apron to avoid a charge, leaving Dominik to roll him up (with Ripley grabbing the feet for the assist on the final pin at 48:19.

Rating: B-. The match was good for the most part but you could feel the times where they were dragging things out for the sake of filling in time. That’s understandable as they had the better part of an hour to fill, but at the same time it can get a little tiring for a bit. The good thing here was having the Judgment Day hold on throughout, as I was expecting them to lose somewhere in the middle and then have the Profits get the title shot. Good match, even if it felt like they were just putting it out there to fill in the last hour of the show.

Post match the Usos come out to stare down Judgment Day to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Passable enough show here, though it wasn’t the most exciting. There is a good chance that WWE more or less punted this week because of the National Championship game airing at the same time and that is a bit understandable. The good thing is all you need is a bunch of Royal Rumble talk (check) and things feel important as a result. This isn’t a show you needed to watch, but it was acceptable enough if you weren’t watching the game.

Results
Kevin Owens b. Baron Corbin – Stunner
Bayley b. Mia Yim – Backslide with feet on the ropes
Rhea Ripley b. Candice LeRae – Riptide
Solo Sikoa b. Dolph Ziggler – Samoan Spike
Judgment Day won a Tag Team Turmoil match last eliminating the Street Profits

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: December 12, 2022
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are crawling towards the Royal Rumble and it seems like the build has been put on the back burner for at least a few more weeks. This time around the main focal point is finding a new #1 contender for the United States Title as Bobby Lashley faces Seth Rollins in what should be a good one. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss

For the #1 contendership to Bianca Belair and the rest of Damage Ctrl is here with Bayley. Not that it matters as here is Becky Lynch to beat up Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai and chase them out of the arena with a chair, leaving it one on one. Cue Bianca Belair to watch as things get even bigger. Bliss starts fast and knocks Bayley outside, where it’s time for a breather. Back in and Bayley gets smart by stomping on the foot, earning herself a running crossbody. Bayley manages to knock her outside again though and we take a break.

Back with the fight going outside again where Bliss kicks at the ribs and knocks Bayley down, setting up the cannonball off the apron. Back in and a DDT gets two on Bayley, who is right back with a sunset flip into the corner for two. They head outside again with Bayley teasing going after Belair, allowing Bliss to knock her back again. They go inside again with Bliss dropkicking her into the corner, setting up Twisted Bliss for the pin and the title shot at 13:00.

Rating: C-. Yeah this didn’t exactly work, as they were going outside every few moments, seemingly with no clue about what else to do. The ending was also pretty flat, as Bliss just won almost out of nowhere. Bayley will probably be getting ready for a showdown with Becky Lynch sooner than later, but it’s going to be a bit difficult to buy Bliss as a threat to the title. At least she’s a fresh challenger though and that’s nice for a change.

Post match Belair comes in to shake hands but Bliss would rather have a hug. That works for Belair, but Bliss pulls her in for Sister Abigail. Bliss’ face goes all evil but then she snaps back to reality and leaves, looking upset with herself.

We look at Kurt Angle spraying the Alpha Academy with milk on Smackdown.

The Alpha Academy isn’t happy and claim Angle is a dinosaur. The OC comes in to say Japan thought it was hilarious, setting up AJ Styles vs. Chad Gable tonight.

We look at Austin Theory winning the US Title at Survivor Series.

AJ Styles vs. Chad Gable

Mia Yim and Luke Gallows (no Karl Anderson) and Otis are here too. Styles starts fast and kicks him down, setting up his own SHUSH. A backbreaker puts Gable down but he manages to send Styles outside for an Otis cheap shot. Styles gets dropped onto the apron and sent into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Gable rolling German suplexes until Styles escapes to set up the Pele kick. An overhead belly to belly drops Styles but Gable is right back with the ankle lock. That’s reversed into a Calf Crusher which is reversed into an ankle lock. With Styles slipping out of that as well, it’s a northern lights suplex to give Gable two. The moonsault misses though and it’s the Styles Clash to give Gable the pin at 9:07.

Rating: C+. Not bad, though the Alpha Academy continues to feel like one of the least interesting and important teams in a good while. They have been beaten down so hard that it stops mattering and that is where we are again. Gable can still go in the ring and working with Styles was going to almost guarantee that things went well, but they need to find something new for the team to do if they are going to ever mean anything.

Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis are going over some detailed drawings to decide what to do with Lumis’ money. Candice LeRae comes in to suggest doing something related to the holiday season. This seems better than the drawings, including fully functioning Iron Man suits and Bluey bling.

Judgment Day vs. Street Profits/Akira Tozawa

In the back, the Profits are asked why they saved Akira Tozawa, with the answer being IT’S AKIRA TOZAWA! Dawkins is driven into the corner to start and Balor fires off some shoulders to the ribs. Priest comes in for a heck of a right hand but Dawkins gets over to Tozawa anyway. A running chop in the corner cuts Tozawa off so he tries a chop to Priest. The ensuing glare allows Balor to blast Tozawa with a clothesline as we take a break.

Back with Tozawa fighting up and diving over to Ford for the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Ford is launched over the announcers’ table. We settle back down to Dominik Two Amigoing Ford to make things worse. A cheap shot in the corner keeps Ford down with the referee missing a tag to Dawkins. Ford finally backflips out of a belly to back suplex and enziguris Balor, allowing Ford to get over to Dawkins for the tag.

Everything breaks down again but Balor grabs a Nightmare on Helm Street for a double knockdown. Tozawa and Dominik come in with the former unloading with right hands. Priest comes back in to wreck people until Tozawa dumps him out. Dominik grabs a rollup for two but Tozawa sends him outside for the suicide headbutt. Back in and Tozawa DDTs Balor and Dominik but Priest Razors Edge tosses him inside, allowing Mysterio to get the pin at 14:47.

Rating: B-. This got rolling near the end and a lot of that was due to Tozawa. It’s kind of interesting to see him go from nothing joke stories to a few decent midcard matches out of nowhere. The talent is there, so why not let him show what he can do in a match that actually matters (at least somewhat) for a change? WWE can always use fresh blood and if Tozawa can help, good for him.

Dexter Lumis and Johnny Gargano clean out a merchandise stand and, after a break, give the gear away to fans. Cue Miz to steal the bag of Lumis’ money but Adam Pearce cuts him off and says give the money back. Miz isn’t happy and wants to face Gargano again. Gargano calls him Mike, resulting in a shout of MY NAME IS THE MIZ! Gargano: “Ok Miz.” Lumis will face Miz for the money next week….and let’s make it a ladder match, with Miz putting up his own share of money, double or nothing.

Miz says he doesn’t have money, but Gargano doesn’t buy it. Miz: “I have a ton of money in my accounts….that my wife controls.” Instead, he gets an allowance and has to ask if Maryse will give him an advance. That works for Gargano, but for tonight, Miz gets to give out this merchandise, dressed as an elf. Pearce approves and Gargano gets the bag of money back. As has been the case with this story, there are some funny moments but the segments take WAY too long to get to the point.

Iyo Sky vs. Candice LeRae

The rest of Damage Ctrl is here too, with Bayley joining commentary. Sky flips out of a headscissors to start so Candice scores with an enziguri. That earns her a flapjack as Graves complains about Bayley’s headset not working. The beating continues as we take a break, coming back with Candice slugging away.

They fight to the floor with a poisonrana planting Sky hard so Candice can get two back inside. Sky palm strikes her into a bridging German suplex for two before going up. Candice tries to catch her but Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride is broken up. The Over The Moonsault finishes for Sky at 10:22.

Rating: C. Good enough, but Candice continues to be just kind of there most of the time. She can have a watchable match but I could go for something a little stronger than that most of the time. That being said, the women’s division doesn’t have the strongest depth and a rank between the top stars and the cannon fodder is a good idea.

We look back at Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle failing to beat the Usos last week, with Riddle being sent out on a stretcher.

Owens isn’t happy with the loss but Elias comes in to cut him off. With Owens’ mouth hanging open, Elias asks Owens to have his back tonight against Solo Sikoa. Owens goes on a rant about everything Elias did to him earlier this year. That was Ezekiel, but Elias thinks they should wipe the slate clean, with Owens ranting about how that doesn’t make sense. Elias says he needs Owens, who walks away, comes back, and walks away again. Owens being the one who remembers things is an interesting choice and works for him.

Post break, Elias is in the ring for a tribute song to Matt Riddle. The song is about how they’re friends and even bros but now it’s time for Elias to beat Solo.

Elias vs. Solo Sikoa

Sami Zayn is here with Sikoa. Elias kicks away to start but gets knocked down without much effort. Back up and Sikoa fires off the chops, only to get kicked out of the corner. Elias knocks him outside and we take a break. We come back with Sikoa missing the middle rope headbutt, allowing Elias to score with the jumping knee for two. Sikoa isn’t having that and hits a superkick, setting up Spinning Solo for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. This was a match where there wasn’t much doubt about who was winning and they didn’t veer away from that whatsoever. Elias isn’t going to be the one to beat Sikoa and I don’t think anyone really expected him to be. Instead, we had a completely watchable match between two guys who had a bit of an issue coming out of last week. It wasn’t exactly memorable, but Sikoa continues to be pushed strong.

Post match Sikoa hits a Samoan Spike and loads up the running Umaga attack. Cue Kevin Owens for the save though and the Bloodline bails. Elias thanks Owens and gets Stunned to even things up a bit after everything Ezekiel put him through.

Video on the history of Tribute to the Troops. This would mainly be back when WWE went overseas and it felt special, rather than now when it’s a tacked on hour after a TV taping.

We get some photos of Miz as an elf, giving out merchandise to kids. Why they had that outfit ready might be better left unanswered.

Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley

Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley while Asuka has no paint on her face for a change. Asuka goes for the arm multiple times but can’t get the armbar early on. Ripley powers her down but gets pulled into an armbar. With that broken up, they fight to the apron with Asuka hitting the Codebreaker to send Ripley outside.

We take a break and come back with Ripley missing a splash and an exchange of kicks leaving both of them down. Asuka manages to send her to the apron for the running hip attack to the floor. A Dominik distraction doesn’t quite work as the Asuka Lock goes on. Dominik puts the foot on the rope for the break, earning himself the mist from Asuka. That’s enough of a distraction for the Riptide to finish Asuka at 11:31.

Rating: C+. Asuka’s face change was a nice surprise but at the same time, it’s not going to mean much if she loses again right after. Asuka is still one of the most talented stars in the division, but every week it feels more and more like she is just someone there to make others look good. That being said, Ripley has felt like she is ready to break out for months now (if not longer) and this was another step there.

Post break Dominik is getting his eyes cleaned out as the rest of Judgment Day freaks out.

We look at Dolph Ziggler returning last week to go after Austin Theory.

Ziggler talks about what the United States Title means and how Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley are going to go to war tonight for a chance at being champion. As for Theory, he needs to learn what being a champion means.

Video on Bobby Lashley.

Miz gave out more gifts.

Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley

For a future US Title shot. Lashley shoulders him down to start and they’re on the floor early, with Rollins being sent into the barricade. Rollins manages to post him though and a running knee off the apron drops Lashley as well. Back in and Lashley suplexes him over the top and out to the floor before grabbing the steps. The referee cuts that off so Lashley sends Rollins over the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Lashley taking him up top but getting bitten back down. Rollins hits a high crossbody into an enziguri to send Lashley outside, setting up the series of suicide dives. They get back inside where Rollins hits the Falcon Arrow for two but Lashley sends him back outside. The posting rocks Rollins but he’s right back in with a basement superkick. Rollins’ frog splash gets two so he tries the stomp, which is reversed into the Hurt Lock. The referee gets bumped so Lashley’s spear only gets a delayed two. Another spear is countered into the Pedigree to give Rollins the pin and the title shot at 12:55.

Rating: B-. That’s a great counter for the spear that Rollins has used before, but the fact that you could kind of see it coming tells you just how many people in WWE use the spear. Rollins winning is the more interesting way to go and Lashley is not going to be happy with that referee issue. They did a nice job with making the match seem big though and that is an important part of making the US Title feel important.

Post match Lashley goes after the referee so here is Adam Pearce. Lashley shoves him too and gets fired to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Overall, the show was a bit better than ok, but almost entirely skippable. There was nothing going on that you needed to see or that would be required viewing whatsoever, with the focal point being setting up two title matches, plus a ladder match for money. There are far worse shows to watch out there, but you’re going to be a lot better off reading a recap than spending three hours on this one.

Results
Alexa Bliss b. Bayley – Twisted Bliss
AJ Styles b. Chad Gable – Styles Clash
Judgment Day b. Street Profits/Akira Tozawa – Toss Razor’s Edge to Tozawa
Iyo Sky b. Candice LeRae – Over The Moonsault
Solo Sikoa b. Elias – Spinning Solo
Rhea Ripley b. Asuka – Riptide
Seth Rollins b. Bobby Lashley – Pedigree

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 28, 2022
Location: Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re done with Survivor Series and that means it is time to start the very long road to the Royal Rumble. That could include quite a few things, but we are almost guaranteed some kind of fallout from Sami Zayn officially declaring his allegiance to the Bloodline. Other than that, a lot of the show is wide open so let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

The Bloodline (minus Roman Reigns) is here and rather pleased with everything that happened on Saturday.

Here is Becky Lynch to get things going. She’s glad to be back but thinks she should be with the people. Becky goes into the crowd to high five some fans and meets some people named Bobby and Zachary (the latter of whom puts his arm around her, causing Becky to move away pretty quickly). Becky talks about how she has been gone for four months and is ready to start doing what the Man does. She can’t wait to take care of these new faces….and here is Bayley to interrupt.

Bayley is sick of hearing about Becky and doesn’t care what the fans think. Becky does NOT like Bayley disrespecting her new friends and the fight is teased, only to have Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky come down the steps to start the brawl. They fight up the steps and into the concourse, with Bayley getting involved as well. A merch stand is destroyed until referees finally get up there to break it up. This was a very different way to start the show and that is a GREAT change to see. It isn’t something you can do every week, but shaking things up a bit is a very nice idea.

We recap the return of Mia Yim to deal with Rhea Ripley.

Rhea Ripley vs. Mia Yim

Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley. Mia knocks her to the apron to start and smiles a lot as things slow down. A leg trip sends Ripley face first into the mat and a Dominik distraction doesn’t do Ripley much good on the floor. Back in and Ripley hits a hard clothesline to take over before powering her down in a fairly impressive display.

Yim’s face is rammed into the mat a few times and Ripley starts yelling a lot. That’s enough for Yim to fight back up and kick her in the chest, only to have Eat Defeat blocked. Riptide is countered into a DDT to send Ripley outside so Yim pulls an interfering Dominik inside. Cue AJ Styles for the save so the referee throws it out at 7:02.

Rating: C. I get what they were going for here, as they didn’t want to have Ripley, who seems primed for a push towards the title, losing, but you also need Yim, who is here to deal with Ripley, to deal with Ripley. Ripley continues to look like a star and is starting to get the feeling for everything even more, making her a bigger highlight every week.

Post match the rest of the Judgment Day and OC run in for the big brawl, with OC cleaning house. Styles throws out the challenge for the big tag match so here we go.

OC vs. Judgment Day

The huge brawl starts on the floor on the floor until we settle down to Styles vs. Balor inside. Balor gets caught in the wrong corner and the OC gets to take turns beating on him, as tends to be the case. A quick escape lets Balor bring Priest in for the big man showdown with Gallows, meaning they trade shots to the head. Dominik offers a distraction so Priest can kick Gallows down and take over.

Gallows manages to get to the corner for the hot tag to Anderson for some house cleaning, including a backsplash to Balor. That’s broken up by Priest’s clothesline though and we hit the double arm crank. Dominik hits the slingshot hilo but it’s right back to Priest for a legdrop/backbreaker combination with Balor. Judgment Day, including Ripley, get in their shots on Anderson, who eventually jawbreaks his way out of Balor’s chinlock.

Anderson knocks Balor away again and the hot tag brings in Styles to clean house. The moonsault reverse DDT plants Balor out of the corner but Ripley makes the save. Styles grabs Ripley’s leg to block a kick before bringing Yim back in to wreck Ripley again. Everything breaks down and Yim dives on Ripley, leaving Priest to hit Gallows with South of Heaven. Styles hits Priest with the Phenomenal Forearm but Balor runs him down. Yim slams Balor but walks into Riptide to give Ripley the pin at 14:24.

Rating: B-. I’m hoping that this feud wraps up soon, as having them all fight against each other and one team winning is kind of a definitive result. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some big gimmick blowoff match, but Judgment Day winning here is likely a sign that the feud’s days are numbered. Again though, Ripley looks like the biggest deal on the team and good for her to get the win.

Earlier today, the Street Profits returned and are ready for…getting interrupted by the Alpha Academy. Chad Gable mocks the Profits’ catchphrase and announces that they’ll be having a match tonight. Works for the Profits.

Here is the Bloodline (minus Roman Reigns) for a chat. They celebrate their win, with Sami Zayn talking about how he has finally been accepted into the team. Sami talks directly to Jey Uso, saying the way he accepted Sami at the end of the match, that was UCEY. We get the big hug and celebration but Kevin Owens interrupts.

Owens still can’t get over what Sami did to him at WarGames. They have turned on each other so many times, but now Owens is just done with him. Sami says he doesn’t need Owens anymore, but Owens calmly says the Bloodline is never going to be Sami’s blood. Jey stands up for Sami, so Owens says they can do this later tonight. Challenge accepted. The eternal saga of Owens and Zayn still works and the appeal of the two of them fighting against the Bloodline together is rather strong.

We look at Damage Ctrl beating down Candice LeRae and putting her on the shelf last month.

LeRae is back and seems a bit nervous about her match with Dakota Kai, but she’s ready to fight. She takes the mic and reintroduces herself, promising to take Kai out tonight.

Matt Riddle and Elias are in the back and want to see how far the team can go, as Elias has never held gold. The Usos come in to mock them and a match seems to be teased for later.

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

The Profits are back and come through the crowd for their energized entrance. Ford and Gable fight over wrist control to start with Gable taking him to the mat with a chinlock. Ford fights up and hands it off to Dawkins, who is taken straight down as well. That doesn’t last long either as Dawkins fights up and runs Gable over with a clothesline. Everything breaks down and the Profits hit the stereo flip dives to the floor, sending us to the break.

Back with Ford trying a sunset flip but getting reversed into a northern lights suplex for two more. A DDT plants Gable though and a missed charge sends Otis into the post for a much needed breather. The diving tag brings in Dawkins to clean house as everything breaks down. Gable suplexes Dawkins for two with Ford having to make the save. Ford manages to slam Otis and the Cash Out finishes Gable at 12:04.

Rating: C+. The match was good but it feels like something I’ve seen them do a few dozen times now. The tag division continues to have such little depth and having these same teams fight each other over and over doesn’t help. Even though the Profits have been gone for awhile, they’re still fighting Alpha Academy and that is only going to get them so far.

We look at Austin Theory winning the US Title at Survivor Series.

Here is Theory for a chat to brag about his title win. Theory says he isn’t going anywhere and is now the face of Raw. Everyone is jealous of him being so much younger and better and the Theory Era has begun. The open challenge is on and here is Seth Rollins to interrupt. Rollins talks about how Theory lucked his way into the title and calls him “kid”. He wants a rematch for the title and calls Theory “kid” again, which is enough to accept the title, albeit on Theory’s terms.

We recap Miz vs. Johnny Gargano/Dexter Lumis.

Miz has a bag of money to put up against Dexter Lumis, but his hand is injured so the match can’t happen. Adam Pearce comes in to say no, Miz’s hand isn’t hurt, so the match is taking place.

Dexter Lumis vs. The Miz

If Lumis wins, he gets the money and a contract but if Miz wins, Lumis is gone. The brawl is on before the bell and they fight outside rather quickly. Miz gets knocked onto the barricade and we take a break. Back with….Miz holding Lumis head in a vice (as in the metal tool) but Lumis fights out and hits a spinebuster.

They fight over the barricade and Miz gets thrown into a TV. Miz is laid over a table and elbowed through it for the big crash. Back in and the Silencer and Skull Crushing Finale are both blocked, leaving Lumis to miss a charge into the corner. A rollup with feet on the ropes gets two on Lumis, who is right back with the Side Effect into the Silencer for the win at 9:42.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t wild on this match going in and then they lost me with the vice stuff. It was such a silly look and it took me out of anything they were doing. Sure it’s a silly feud, but you don’t have to go full on cartoon with it. At least now it should be over though and Miz can get on to something more important while Lumis….what the heck is he supposed to do anyway?

Post match Lumis gets the money and hands a bunch of kids $100 bills. Miz jumps him from behind and grabs the money, including from a kid (that’s some evil) but Johnny Gargano comes out with a superkick. The kid gets the money back in a nice moment.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Damage Ctrl earlier tonight.

Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai

Joined in progress (with the opening shown in split screen) with the erst of Damage Ctrl banned from ringside. Candice rolls her up for two but Kai goes with the choking to cut it off. Back up and Kai hits a pump kick, only to have Candice knock her right back down. A missile dropkick gives Candice two and we take a break.

Back with Candice grabbing something like a German suplex for two but Kai kicks her out of the air. LeRae misses a Lionsault so Kai puts her up top. That’s broken up as well though and Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride (the middle rope swinging neckbreaker) is enough to finish Kai off at 12:28.

Rating: C+. It’s good to see LeRae getting a win as she needs to really be established. She hasn’t been around long in the first place and having her go away for a few weeks, likely to avoid the question of “why isn’t she in WarGames” didn’t help things. Now she can get a chance to show what she can do, which could be a nice addition to the division.

Jey Uso is warming up for the main event.

Long video on the WarGames matches.

Bianca Belair is happy with the win and Asuka agrees. Alexa Bliss says Becky Lynch was a great choice, but doesn’t seem overly enthusiastic.

Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso

The rest of the Bloodline is here too. They slug it out to start with Owens knocking him outside to take over early. Solo Sikoa offers a distraction though and Jey gets in a cheap shot as we take a break. Back with Owens’ Swanton hitting raised knees, allowing Jey to slowly hammer away. There’s a hard whip into the corner to drop Owens again and Jey is fired up.

Owens manages to reverse a whip into the corner though and now the Cannonball can connect. A hard whip into the corner flips Owens upside down though and Jey takes over again as we take another break. Back again with Jey hitting the pop up belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker and hammering away at a downed Owens. Jey takes him up top but gets reversed into the swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker.

They’re both down though, allowing Jey to come back with a heck of a superkick for another double knockdown. Another superkick gets two but the Samoan drop is blocked. The Stunner is blocked as well and Jey hits another superkick for another two. Owens winds up on the apron where Sikoa offers a distraction, only to have Jey miss the Superfly Splash. The Stunner finishes Jey at 22:18.

Rating: B. This match got some time and allowed both of them to showcase what they can do. If nothing else, the Bloodline taking a loss, even a minor one like this, feels like a big deal and now we might be getting a step closer to their decline. We’re still a LONG way off, but seeing them lose is something we haven’t seen very often and it could go somewhere down the road.

Overall Rating: B. The most important thing to be said about this show is that it was energized. There was very little on the show that dragged and most of the matches were good to rather good. Owens/Zayn felt like it got its big segment where Zayn has something to think about, plus Judgment Day got its major win over the OC. Good show here and I actually had a lot of fun with it, which isn’t something you can say about Raw very often.

Results
Rhea Ripley vs. Mia Yim went to a no contest when AJ Styles and Dominik Mysterio interfered
Judgment Day b. OC – Riptide to Yim
Street Profits b. Alpha Academy – Cash Out to Gable
Dexter Lumis b. The Miz – Silencer
Candice LeRae b. Dakota Kai – Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride
Kevin Owens b. Jey Uso – Stunner

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 24, 2022
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

We are less than two weeks away from Crown Jewel and that means the card is going to need a little more build up. Two more matches were added last week and now we are probably going to get either some build towards those matches and/or even more matches added. That is what the show needs so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Judgment Day to get things going. Rhea Ripley says that last week, AJ Styles found out that Judgment Day runs Monday Night Raw and that Dominik Mysterio is all man. Damian Priest wants the people to rise for the greatest luchador of all time. Dominik says these are the only people who ever believed in him and says last week was proof that Eddie Guerrero was his generation’s Dominik Mysterio. Cue the OC to say Dominik is stupid because he’s more like the James Ellsworth of this generation. Karl Anderson is ready to face Finn Balor right now so let’s do this.

Karl Anderson vs. Finn Balor

Everyone else is at ringside and Anderson knocks him outside as we take an early break. Back with Anderson fighting out of the corner and dropkicking Balor in the knee. A kick to the leg sends Balor to the apron and Anderson twists the leg around the middle rope. Balor knocks him down and hits some forearms to the back of the neck to set up the chinlock.

Back up and Anderson hits an uppercut to the face and adds the spinebuster for two. We take another break and come back with Anderson powerbombing him out of the corner but Balor reverses a fireman’s carry into a Nightmare on Helm Street. Balor’s kick in the corner is countered and Anderson’s middle rope neckbreaker gets two.

Balor is back up with a Sling Blade into the dropkick in the corner but Anderson catches him on top. A superplex drops Balor so Judgment Day offers a distraction, meaning the fight is on outside. Ripley posts Gallows and slams him on the floor (dang) as Dominik distracts the referee. Anderson fireman’s carries Balor but gets low blowed by Ripley to give Balor the pin at 17:09.

Rating: B. This was a long, back and forth match with the ending being what it should have been. Anderson is better on his own than he is as part of a team and he got to showcase himself well here. The good thing is that Anderson was protected in a loss and both teams are ready to go on the way to Crown Jewel. Heck of a match here and it didn’t feel nearly as long as it was.

We recap Miz attacking Dexter Lumis last week and Johnny Gargano saying he knows what’s going on.

Johnny Gargano mocks Miz, saying he knows what’s going on between Miz and Dexter Lumis. Miz says there’s nothing going on and he’s going to go tell the truth.

Here is Miz for a chat/explanation. Miz admits that Johnny Gargano is right and he has been keeping a secret, but first let’s recap. We hear about some of the things that Dexter Lumis has been doing to him before Miz says that this is all because of Tommaso Ciampa. Miz chose to mentor Ciampa instead of Lumis and now Lumis is out for revenge. Also, if anyone has seen Ciampa, send him back!

Cue Johnny Gargano to say Ciampa isn’t missing but rather injured, so Miz is just a huge liar. If Miz wants Lumis and Gargano out of his life, all he has to do is tell the truth. Gargano loads up the whistle….and it’s R-Truth interrupting (Gargano is very confused). Truth wants to talk about the truth but Miz isn’t going to talk down about Truth’s hometown comfort food. Truth: “You aren’t talking down about my North Carolina mac and cheese!” The challenge is on and Truth/Gargano say Miz can’t handle the truth.

R-Truth vs. The Miz

Miz jumps him to start but Truth takes him down ala John Cena. You Can’t See Me takes too long though and Miz is back up with a running knee. Then Dexter Lumis, or someone who looks like him, pops up near ringside to distract Miz so Truth grabs a rollup pin at 2:54. Nice to see a hometown win.

It’s Johnny Gargano instead of Lumis.

We get a sitdown interview with Candice LeRae who is thrilled to be back in WWE. She can’t believe she made it to Raw but here is Damage Ctrl to interrupt. Bayley talks about the people they’ve put on the shelf but Candice thinks all Bayley is missing is the Raw Women’s Title. The beatdown is quickly on.

Elias runs into Matt Riddle and his bongos, who still wants the two of them to jam together. Elias is willing to let last week slide but Riddle says he has been hitting the bongs all week. Cue the Alpha Academy to tell them to SHUSH so the argument sets up the challenge for later.

Austin Theory vs. Mustafa Ali

Hold on though as Seth Rollins comes out to join commentary. Theory knocks him into the corner to start but Ali is back up with a spinning headscissors into another corner. An elbow to the face sets up an elbow on the apron though and Ali is in trouble as we take a break. Back with Ali being sent outside, leaving Theory to pick up his phone.

Some picture taking allows Ali to hit a dropkick to the floor, setting up the top rope flip dive. Ali strikes away back inside and hits the rolling neckbreaker for two. A tornado DDT gets two but Theory pulls him into a brainbuster onto the knee for two more. Ali takes him down and goes up but Rollins’ distraction sets up A Town Down to give Theory the pin at 12:00.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see Theory get a win for a change, even if it’s over Ali, who probably needs the win even more. Again though it wasn’t a clean fall so it could have been worse, and you can probably pencil in Ali for the title shot at Crown Jewel, or at least on a big Raw. Now just let Ali beat someone on the way to the title shot.

Post match Rollins beats up Ali a bit before walking away….where Ali manages to jump him near the stage. The brawl is on with Rollins being sent into the video screen.

Miz comes up to Johnny Gargano in the back and wants to know what’s up with that. Miz leaves and it’s JBL and Baron Corbin taking his place. JBL wants Gargano to stop messing with Miz and show him some respect. Gargano shakes JBL’s hand and calls him MC Hammer Pants. He isn’t sure what Corbin is calling himself now either and that seems to set up a match later.

Video on Bianca Belair vs. Bayley before their match later tonight.

Omos vs. ???/???/???/???

MVP is here with Omos and talks about Omos’ recent showdown with Braun Strowman. The four victims are called over, with MVP telling them to look at Omos’ hands. Threats are made but let’s ring the bell. The beating is on and all four going after Omos at once completely fails. Big boots and elbows have the four down and a chokebomb gives Omos the double pin at 1:42. That’s how you make a monster look dominant.

Elias vs. Chad Gable

Otis is here with Gable, who wrestles Elias down without much trouble to start. Elias can’t get a backslide but can hit a suplex for two. Back up and Otis low bridges Elias to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Gable hitting a Swan Dive but Elias fights up with elbows to the face. A splash in the corner but Gable pulls him into an ankle lock. With that broken up, Gable pulls him into a Razor’s Edge, which is flipped forward into a DDT for two. Gable goes up top but gets kneed out of the air for a rather near fall. Elias’ swinging suplex finishes at 8:32.

Rating: C+. That knee probably should have finished it but Elias getting the win is the right choice. Elias is freshly back after being gone for a long time so he needs the win, even if it is over someone who loses a lot more often than he wins. I’m not sure how far Elias is going to go in his latest run, but at least it is off to a decent starts.

Post match the beatdown is on but Riddle runs in to save Elias.

We look back at the OC/Judgment Day sequence.

The OC is in the trainer’s room and AJ Styles says they have a Rhea problem. Worry not though as Luke Gallows says he has a way with women and can solve this. Styles: “He’s terrible with women!”

Post break, Gallows is back, apparently having suffered a low blow from….I’m guessing Rhea Ripley. More planning is needed.

Johnny Gargano vs. Baron Corbin

Before the match, JBL mocks millennials who want safe spaces and makes fun of Charlotte’s professional sports teams. JBL sits in on commentary as Gargano is sent into the corner but comes out with a rollup for two. A running hurricanrana sets up a dropkick to send Corbin outside for the suicide dive. One Final beat is blocked with a right hand to the floor though and Corbin takes over while slowing things down.

Gargano manages a discus forearm and a dropkick sends Corbin back to the floor. The apron superkick sets up a dive, which is pulled out of the air and Gargano is planted on the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Corbin hitting his torture rack neckbreaker for two. Corbin misses a charge in the corner and Gargano hits a bulldog for a breather.

The slingshot spear gives Gargano two but Corbin is right back with Deep Six for two of his own. The slid under the ropes clothesline is countered with a superkick to give Gargano two more. They head outside with Gargano sending him into the steps, then stealing JBL’s hat for some dancing. A tornado DDT off the announcers’ table drops Corbin again but JBL breaks up One Final Beat. End of Days finishes Gargano at 14:09.

Rating: C+. For those of you keeping track, we have now had six matches tonight and four of them have ended in some kind of distraction/interference finish to set up the pin. Corbin seems to be the bigger priority right now and the question was more about would it be JBL or Miz costing Gargano. I don’t like Gargano losing, but at least he’s on Raw.

Post break, Miz comes up to Johnny Gargano with a get well card for Candice LeRae. Miz is willing to tell the truth next week, but Gargano will do it if Miz doesn’t. And Miz didn’t even sign the card!

We get a long video on Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley, looking at how similar they are and how dominant both of them have been, setting up their match at Crown Jewel.

Bayley vs. Bianca Belair

Non-title and Bayley has Damage Ctrl with her. Feeling out process to start until Belair powers her to the mat. A slam drops Bayley and we slow down a bit until Belair runs her over again. Belair can’t roll some suplexes though as Bayley pulls her into a crossface. That’s countered into a backbreaker for a breather and Bayley gets dropped on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Belair fighting out of a chinlock but getting taken down by a clothesline to the back of the head. A suplex from the apron to the floor puts Belair down again and Bayley starts in on the arm. Belair’s arm is wrapped around the rope and then twisted a bit, followed by more around the rope cranking. A suplex drops Bayley to give Belair a breather and the right hands in the corner put her in more trouble.

Bayley gets smart by pulling the braid but the Bayley to Belly is blocked. Belair’s handspring moonsault only hits knees but so does Bayley’s middle rope elbow. Now the handspring moonsault can connect for two and they head back outside, where Bayley cranks her down by the arm again.

We take another break and come back again with Bayley snapping the arm over the top but not being able to hit her own KOD. Instead Belair hits her own Bayley to Belly for two. A spinebuster gives Belair two more but a Sky distraction lets Bayley hit a super Bayley to Belly for a rather close two. Damage Ctrl loads up the announcers’ table but Belair powerbombs Bayley onto (not through) the table.

Another powerbomb against the post sets up a face first drop onto the apron. Sky gets in a distraction though and Kai kicks Belair in the face. Back in and…the referee ejects both of them as Nikki Ash dives off the top onto Damage Ctrl and the referee. Back in and the Rose Plant is countered into the KOD for no count as the referee is still down. Nikki (Cross, not Ash, and with no mask) comes back in and DDTs Belair so Bayley can steal the pin at 23:10.

Rating: B. This had the time and the ending, while the fifth instance of interference/some kind of a distraction tonight, has me interested in where things are going. Bayley had to win here as she had come back as a big deal but it doesn’t matter much if she keeps losing to Belair. At the same time, Belair was being booked a bit too strong when she survived against all three members of Damage Ctrl at Extreme Rules. This is the right way to go and there is a good chance that you can see the women’s WarGames match from here.

Post match Nikki comes back in and beats on Bayley as well with those nutty eyes being back for a change.

Overall Rating: B-. While the finish choices could certainly use some work, this was a rather good show with a pair of solid matches. They also gave us something important with the main event return and advanced a few stories along the way. It might not have been a classic show, but it was an efficient use of three hours and that is not a bad way to spend a Monday night.

Results
Finn Balor b. Karl Anderson – Low blow from Rhea Ripley
R-Truth b. Miz – Rollup
Austin Theory b. Mustafa Ali – A Town Down
Omos b. ???/???/???/??? – Double pin
Elias b. Chad Gable – Swinging suplex
Baron Corbin b. Johnny Gargano – End of Days
Bayley b. Bianca Belair – DDT from Nikki Cross

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 17, 2022
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

We’re rapidly approaching Crown Jewel and WWE has the main event covered with Logan Paul challenging Roman Reigns. That leaves some spots open for the rest of the card, some of which needs to be filled in soon. Odds are we’ll get some of that soon and you can probably guess some of the matches from here. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Bobby Lashley in the ring mid-promo, where he calls out Brock Lesnar. Cue Lesnar as I’m impressed that they found a much more logical way to start the show for once. They get in a fight before Lesnar can even make it to the ring, with Lashley getting posted on the floor. Lashley slips out of another posting and sends Lesnar into it instead. A spear through the barricade draws out wrestlers and officials to break it up but Lashley gets away. This time it’s Lesnar going through the announcers’ table (on the second attempt) to leave him laying.

OC vs. Alpha Academy

AJ Styles is here with the OC. Anderson takes Gable into the corner to start and it’s off to Gallows vs. Otis. The shots in the corner stagger Otis so Anderson comes back in. A cheap shot from the apron lets Otis knock him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Gallows cleaning house until Anderson gets caught with a northern lights suplex for two. That doesn’t work so well as it’s the Magic Killer for the pin on Gable at 8:14.

Rating: C. This was your standard “welcome back” match as the OC shows that they can beat one of the established teams around here. That was never really in doubt as the Academy has fallen through the floor in recent months, but they do still serve a purpose. The Magic Killer can still look good and this was about as solid of a use as the Academy has at the moment.

Post match the Judgment Day comes out with Finn Balor saying he started this Club. The challenge is thrown out for Crown Jewel and the match is made rather quickly. Styles wants to fight right now though, but it’s Dominik Mysterio to say AJ would run away like Rey Mysterio did to Smackdown. AJ challenges Dominik for tonight and Rhea Ripley accepts for him. Dominik isn’t ready right now though so we’ll do it in like an hour or so. Styles tells him to drink some water though so he can beat the p*** out of him.

We look back at Seth Rollins winning the United States Title last week.

Here is a rather jazzed up Seth Rollins for a chat. Rollins brags about being the new champion and is ready to wipe the floor with Matt Riddle tonight. Cue Mustafa Ali of all people to interrupt, allowing him to congratulate Rollins as well. Ali is wondering when Rollins is going to congratulate Brock Lesnar for the help but we can move on from that.

See, Bobby Lashley promised Ali the next shot and Ali wants the shot, no matter who the champion is. Rollins laughs him off because Ali doesn’t belong in this ring. Ali TAKES ROLLINS’ GLASSES and says he is Rollins’ next freakin problem. Rollins calls him a good man and father and then punches him in the face. The champ goes to leave but Ali jumps him from behind. The fight is on and Ali takes a heck of a posting.

JBL’s limo arrives.

Damage Ctrl vs. Candice LeRae/Bianca Belair

Non-title and Bayley is on commentary. Candice takes Sky down to start and hands it off to Belair. Kai comes in and gets shouldered hard but everything breaks down. The villains are knocked to the floor, where Candice hits a springboard dive to send us to a break. Back with Sky rolling Belair up for two and Kai coming in to pull Belair by the braid. That doesn’t last long either as Belair gets over for the tag off to LeRae. A step up backsplash onto Kai’s back lets Candice go up top, only to get pulled back down.

Candice gets knocked down into the corner so Kai can hold her down with a boot to the face. That’s broken up as well and it’s back to Belair to clean house. LeRae comes back in off a blind tag and it’s Belair with a suplex into LeRae’s missile dropkick for two with Kai having to make a save. Belair gets sent outside so Bayley grabs a kendo stick, earning herself a tackle over the announcers’ table. That leaves Sky and Kai to hit a kind of double electric chair for the pin on LeRae at 12:11.

Rating: C+. These four worked well together and you can all but guarantee that we’re getting another Bayley vs. Belair match sooner than later. I’m not big on seeing LeRae take another fall but getting beaten by the champs 2-1 isn’t the worst situation. Energetic match here though, with Sky and Kai working well together.

Matt Riddle is ready to win the US Title. He sees Mustafa Ali and says when he wins, Ali can have a shot. Ali appreciates that but they hear Miz shouting about slipping and hurting his knee. Riddle talks about knowing a sanitation engineer, but Miz is sure he’s torn his ACL so GET HIM SOME HELP.

Judgment Day is getting Dominik Mysterio ready but NXT’s Cora Jade comes up to Rhea Ripley. Jade wants Rhea to come to NXT and hurt Roxanne Perez in their Pick Your Poison match tomorrow.  Ripley is in.

Here is JBL of all people for a special appearance. After insulting the Oklahoma Sooners football team for losing to a real team like the Texas Longhorns, JBL talks about Rey Mysterio leaving Monday Night Raw for Smackdown. It turns out that, thanks to a trade there is a new star here in the form of…..Baron Corbin! After Corbin gets his big entrance, JBL mocks modern stars such as Dolph Ziggler who are taking money and TV time that could go to people like Corbin. Cue Ziggler and it’s time for a match (which happens to be a rematch of Corbin’s first match on Raw back in 2016).

Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler

JBL is on commentary. Corbin kicks Ziggler in the face to start and chokes him on the apron. Ziggler fights up and knocks Corbin into the corner for an Arn Anderson eye rake across the rope. A reverse suplex gives Corbin two and a hard clothesline puts Ziggler on the floor. There’s a whip into the steps to keep Ziggler down and we take a break.

Back with Ziggler hammering away but getting caught with a fall away slam to cut that off in a hurry. The jumping DDT gives Ziggler two but Deep Six gives Corbin the same. Ziggler is back up with the Zig Zag for two more, only to have Corbin come back with End Of Days and the pin at 13:36.

Rating: C-. So Corbin is back and….yeah he’s still Baron Corbin. His in-ring work was its usual decent power work which didn’t exactly have me begging to see more. Then you have Ziggler, who is good at what he does but we’ve seen it so many times that it loses some luster. That is the case with both of them here and it was showing badly: it wasn’t bad, but how many times can you get excited about seeing these two?

Miz doesn’t want anyone to come near his knee but Byron Saxton comes in to suggest that Miz staged the whole thing. That’s too far for Miz, but his knee hurts so he can’t yell. A voice shouts IT’S DEXTER LUMIS so Miz pops up and is just fine. That would be Johnny Gargano, who was mistaken about Lumis but is impressed by Miz’s recovery. The match still seems to be on.

MVP and Omos don’t think much of Braun Strowman. Giants aren’t real, but monsters are.

Here is the still weird Bray Wyatt segment from Smackdown, albeit a bit condensed.

Cameron Grimes is here and asks if the OC want to be his partners tomorrow night against the Schism. They’re in, which Grimes declares to be TOO SWEET.

Crown Jewel rundown, with Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley added to the card.

AJ Styles vs. Dominik Mysterio

OC and Judgment Day are here too. Styles doesn’t waste time by kicking him outside but Dominik is back up with a cheap shot. Choking on the ropes ensues and Rhea Ripley is rather pleased with everything that is going on. A neck snap across the top sets up the Eddie Dance into the slingshot hilo for two on Styles. That earns Dominik a shot to the face and a toss to the floor as we take an early break.

Back with Dominik backing off but getting dropped again, only to have Rhea crotch Styles on top. Three Amigos drop Styles but he’s back up with a gutbuster. The threat of a 619 doesn’t work for Dominik as Styles pulls him into a Calf Crusher. With that broken up, Rhea offers a distraction so Dominik can grab a rollup to give Dominik the upset pin at 14:27.

Rating: C. I’ll give them this: WWE has done a masterful job of making the crowd boo Dominik out of the building every time he does anything. The ending was a good way to make Dominik look a little more dangerous and it’s not like he pinned Styles clean. Dominik is working in this role and if we can keep him away from Rey Mysterio, he could actually turn into a little something.

Miz is getting ready when Johnny Gargano comes up. Miz isn’t cool with what Gargano did and he’s coming for him next. Works for Gargano.

We look at Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar’s show opening fight again.

Dexter Lumis vs. The Miz

If Lumis wins he gets a contract, but if Miz wins, Lumis is gone from WWE. Hold on though as Miz jumps him from behind and hits a Skull Crushing Finale onto a chair. No match.

Damage Ctrl isn’t worried about anyone they’re facing because they have taken out Alexa Bliss and Asuka. Next week, Bayley wants Bianca Belair.

Miz runs into Johnny Gargano, who says that attacking Dexter Lumis was a bad move. Lumis isn’t going to stop until Miz gives him when he wants. Miz gets annoyed, so Gargano threatens him with….a whistle?

Here’s the returning Elias, who explains that his brother’s career was cut short. The show must still go on though and he has a special song ready. Cue Matt Riddle with his bongos to talk about how Zeked out he got over Ezekiel. Riddle: “You want to hit my bong?” Elias turns him down but promises they can play together one day. Riddle has a seat as Elias starts to play but here is Seth Rollins to interrupt.

US Title: Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins is defending and Elias is at ringside. Riddle goes right for the triangle choke (how he won at Extreme Rules) and Rollins bails to the floor. Back in and a gutwrench suplex sends Rollins down again, only to have him come back with a shot to the throat. Riddle knocks him to the floor though and Elias gets taunted into hitting the jumping knee.

We take a break and come back with Riddle striking away, including a running forearm in the corner. The Floating Bro gets two and Riddle wins another slugout. Another Floating Bro is broken up, allowing Rollins to hit the reverse superplex, which he rolls into the reverse Falcon arrow for two. Rollins goes up for the frog splash but dives into the triangle choke, which isn’t broken up with a powerbomb.

A buckle bomb doesn’t break it either so Rollins gets a boot on the rope for the break. Rollins bails to the floor, where he can’t get Elias to interfere. Instead, Rollins drops Elias, only to get kicked down by Riddle. The snap powerslam and the hanging DDT look to set up the RKO but Elias comes in. Rollins shoves Riddle into him and the Stomp is enough to retain the title at 14:21.

Rating: B-. The question here wasn’t whether or not Elias would factor into the ending but rather how would he cost Riddle the match. In this case they went with the accidental version, meaning there isn’t much of a reason for Elias and Riddle to fight. Rollins escaping with the title is the way to go with him, as he fits the weaselly champion idea to perfection. If you ignore the fact that this renders the main event of Extreme Rules pretty worthless, there wasn’t much to complain about here.

Post match Rollins hits Elias with a Stomp of his own. Another Stomp to Riddle is loaded up but Mustafa Ali comes in to knock Rollins outside. The suicide dive connects and Ali sends Rollins running through the crowd to end the show. That’s how you make a title feel valuable: have people treat it like it’s important.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt flat almost all night, as it started with a bang and then didn’t do much else to keep the interest. Lesnar vs. Lashley is going to be a hoss fight, but a six man tag between Judgment Day and OC and whatever they have for the US Title doesn’t quite interest me for Crown Jewel. Maybe they have something else up their sleeves, but for now, there isn’t much to get excited about from Raw, save for the monster fight.

Results
OC b. Alpha Academy – Magic Killer to Gable
Damage Ctrl b. Candice LeRae/Bianca Belair – Double electric chair to LeRae
Baron Corbin b. Dolph Ziggler – End Of Days
Dominik Mysterio b. AJ Styles – Rollup
Seth Rollins b. Matt Riddle – Stomp

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 10, 2022
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It’s the season premiere and that means we should have a stacked show. WWE has a tendency to make these shows huge and that is the case again this week. We have a D-Generation X reunion, plus Bobby Lashley defending the United States Title against Seth Rollins. Let’s get to it.

Here is Extreme Rules if you need a recap.

Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg and X-Pac are in the back and talk to HHH, wearing a headset at the Gorilla position. HHH tells them to be nice so a bunch of swearing and penis jokes, complete with rubber chickens, ensues. This was perfectly amusing given the situation.

Opening sequence.

Kevin Patrick is introduced as the new lead play by play commentator.

Here’s the Bloodline to get things going. After we look at the Logan Paul/Bloodline Smackdown segment, Reigns talks about how he likes to move forward. This time though, he can’t move past last Friday, which has him thinking about something his dad once told him. His dad said the loudest in the room is also the weakest in the room, so he thinks that if you’re loud and in the Bloodline, you’re a fool. Reigns: “Jey! Are you a fool?”

Sami cuts him off (Heyman goes BALLISTIC for Sami daring to interrupt) and says that Reigns made Jey Sami’s responsibility so he has this. With the fans VERY behind him, Sami talks about how close he and Roman have gotten before talking about how great Solo Sikoa is. Jey asks if Reigns really believes this….and here is Matt Riddle to interrupt. Riddle wants one more shot at Reigns, who polls the audience. Reigns: “…..nah.”

Riddle asks if someone wants to step up to the plate and Jey volunteers Sami. Riddle says “yeet” (I think?), which Sami says is a Bloodline thing. Riddle: “Yeet.” Jey tells Sami to handle his business so the match is set for tonight. Sami’s pops continue to be insane and the eventual face turn, however it goes, is going to be incredible.

Long recap of Extreme Rules.

Austin Theory vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano rather approves of the JOHNNY WRESTLING chants as he takes over to start, including the rolling kick to the head. The slingshot DDT to the apron is blocked though and Theory hits a suplex on said apron as we take a break. Back with Gargano hitting a slingshot spear for two but Theory drops him for the same.

A-Town Down is broken up so Theory puts him into the Gargano Escape. That’s broken up and Gargano’s Gargano Escape goes on instead. With that broken up as well, Theory hits a superkick for two and says it’s his time. The rolling something is cut off by Gargano’s suplex and a running diving DDT to the floor knocks Theory silly. One Final Beat gives Gargano the pin at 8:44.

Rating: C+. Theory’s downward spiral continues and that is still more than a little confusing. Theory has a long time to do something with the briefcase but it is hard to imagine that any kind of a successful cash-in means much for him at this point. I’m not sure why Theory is losing so often but that is what WWE continues to do for some reason. Gargano getting a win is nice, though I’m not sure about the cost.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chad Gable

Otis is in Gable’s corner. Gable goes after the arm to start but is easily taken to the mat and into an armbar. A headscissors puts Gable on the floor and a sliding sunset bomb sends him into the barricade….and here are Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. We take a break and come back with Gable hitting a German suplex for two before grabbing the ankle lock. With that broken up, Rey hits a 619 and a slingshot splash for the fast pin at 7:45.

Rating: C. Well at least it wasn’t a distraction into the finish, which could have been a really annoying way to go. Rey getting the pin makes sense as he needs to rebuild himself and it isn’t like Gable can fall much further than he has already gone. In theory this is setting up Rey vs. Dominik in the near future, though I’m not sure how well such a match would actually go.

Post match Rey gets surrounded by Dominik and Rhea. Dominik demands Rey hit him until Dominik gets in a slap of his own. The rest of Judgment Day comes in so Rey fights them off, until Dominik saves Finn Balor from the 619. Dominik still demands Rey hit him but Rey goes to walk away. As a result, Rhea holds Rey’s hands and Dominik hits his own 619. They’re trying everything they can to make Rey vs. Dominik work and while it is doing better than it was before, it’s still hard to get into Dominik doing anything.

Post break, Judgment Day is still in the ring to brag about how great they are right now, with Finn Balor bragging quite a bit about making Edge say he quits. Balor on the other hand is “too legit to quit.” We see a recap of the I Quit match and Rhea Ripley is rather pleased with the Conchairto to Beth Phoenix. Dominik says the Conchairto did it for him, which brings Balor to AJ Styles. Tonight, it is an ultimatum, but here is Styles to cut him off.

Styles says he needs some friends to help him here, if not even family. He drops to a knee in front of Balor and shakes his hand….but that isn’t the family Styles meant. Cue the returning OC (Good Brothers, Karl Anderson/Luke Gallows, the former of which is the reigning New Japan Never Openweight Champion) for the brawl, with Judgment Day being cleared out.

Damage Ctrl is upset about Bianca Belair beating Bayley at Extreme Rules and promise that punishment is coming for Belair. Tonight, Bayley is going to beat up Candice LeRae.

Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa are ready to hit the town in New York City (Heyman has set it up) but Jey Uso needs to talk. Reigns tells him to stay and make sure Sami Zayn wins, which gives Jey the reaction you might expect.

Bayley vs. Candice LeRae

Candice wisely goes after Bayley’s banged up ribs to start and a missile dropkick puts Bayley on the floor as we take a break. Back with Candice favoring her knee and Bayley staying right on it. The DDT to the knee keeps Candice down but the Rose Plant is countered into a cradle to give Candice the pin at 6:02. Not enough shown to rate but Bayley’s spiral continues while Candice gets a bit win.

Post match the rest of Damage Ctrl runs out to beat on LeRae so here is Bianca Belair for the save. That doesn’t quite work though and Damage Ctrl gets to stand tall.

Miz runs into Maryse in the back but he is worried about Dexter Lumis ruining it. She has a gift for him which is….a baseball bat.

It’s time for Miz’s birthday celebration, complete with balloons, gifts and an ice sculpture. Maryse introduces Miz and starts with the presents, including the bat signed by the best long ball hitter today: the Cleveland Guardians’ (who play the New York Yankees in the playoffs starting this week) Jose Ramirez (as a lifelong Cleveland fan, I have never been a bigger Miz fan)!

Maryse also gives him some massive red balls to go with the bat before having him open one more present. This one is still on the table and is rather heavy, so Miz pulls the box away to reveal…..Dexter Lumis’ head. Miz puts the box back on and beats it with the bat but Lumis pops out and chokes Miz. That’s enough for Miz to leave so Lumis is left alone with Maryse, who runs too. Then Lumis pulls out a knife, pops the balls, and eats cake.

DX gives two guys a pep talk as they are about to face Omos. Miz and Maryse come in and demand something be done about Dexter Lumis. Shawn Michaels thinks Miz did something to Lumis but Miz says he’ll do anything to get rid of Lumis. Therefore, Road Dogg suggests a match between them next week. If Miz wins, Lumis is gone, but if Lumis wins, he gets Miz’s stabbed balls and a WWE contract.

Omos vs. Robert Adams/Joseph Torres

Beating, throws, double chokeslam, Omos wins at 1:17.

We look at the full Bray Wyatt return from Extreme Rules.

Here is Bobby Lashley for a chat before his US Title defense against Seth Rollins. Lashley lists off some of the people he has defeated, including Drew McIntyre, Brock Lesnar….and here is Lesnar to interrupt. Lesnar walks around the ring, gets inside, says hi to Lashley, and gives him the F5. A German suplex, another F5 and the Kimura leave Lashley laying, with Lesnar putting his cowboy hat (with feather) back on.

Post break, Lashley is being checked on by referees and medics but here is Seth Rollins, with taped ribs, to say he wants his title match right now. Lashley doesn’t seem sure but Rollins says Lashley calls himself a soldier while he’s really a disgrace to his country. Those are fighting words.

US Title: Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is defending and they’re both very banged up. An early spear attempt is countered into the Pedigree to give Rollins two and a frog splash gets the same. Lashley is back with a spear but Rollins hits a superkick. A kick to the bad arm sets up the stomp, with a second one giving Rollins the pin and the title at 2:38. They had to get the title off of Lashley somehow.

Post break, Lashley swears vengeance and wants Brock Lesnar here next week.

Bray Wyatt’s mask hacks the feed and tells us to revel in what we are.

Elias is back next week.

Matt Riddle vs. Sami Zayn

The Usos are here with Sami. Riddle kicks him in the chest to start and hits a running forearm for two. Sami is right back with a right hand and some rope choking where Jey is able to get in a boot to the face. That doesn’t work for Sami, who says he has this. That lets Riddle send Sami to the floor, where Sami switches places and hits an Arabian moonsault as we take a break.

Back with Riddle kicking him down and hitting the Broton for two. Zayn’s Michinoku Driver gets the same but Riddle is fine enough to knee him out of the air. Riddle knocks Zayn outside and hits the springboard Floating Bro as we take another break. Back again with Riddle hitting a jumping knee, followed by the rapid fire kicks to the chest. The RKO finishes Zayn at 15:55.

Rating: B-. The breaks hurt this one a bit but the match is going to be more about Jey not being able to do what Reigns ordered him to do. It continues to be the best story in wrestling too so this should be some fun fall out on Smackdown. Riddle continues his roll and now the question becomes where he can go from here. Good main event here, though I could have gone with seeing the rest of it minus the breaks.

As Riddle leaves, here is D-Generation X (on the tank/Jeep) for their big reunion appearance. X-Pac is glad to be here and gets in a quick shout out to Chyna (amen). Road Dogg does the New Age Outlaws intro and lets the fans do the Billy Gunn part (in a related story, commentary made a scissors joke).

HHH says it was 25 years ago when DX debuted and asks how many people were watching back then. HHH: “You all aren’t that old!” Shawn: “I feel better now!” We get the catchphrase before Shawn asks if the fans will put them out of their misery if they’re out here again in another 25 years….and that’s that. So yeah this was just “hey we’re still alive” and that’s it.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling wasn’t the greatest here but the best thing was that it felt like stuff happened. There were moments that made me interested in the future and that is one of the major differences between HHH and Vince McMahon. HHH feels more like he has planned these things out a bit further in advance and now that makes Raw feel a lot more important. Good show here, and for a special night, they did well enough.

Results
Johnny Gargano b. Austin Theory – One Final Beat
Rey Mysterio b. Chad Gable – Slingshot splash
Candice LeRae b. Bayley – Rollup
Omos b. Robert Adams/Joseph Torres – Chokeslam to Adams
Seth Rollins b. Bobby Lashley – Stomp
Matt Riddle b. Sami Zayn – RKO

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

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

AND

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

Mystery Vortex III
Date: June 26, 2015
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Chris Hero, Joey Ryan, Ethan Page

This is another PWG show that someone requested I do….a few years back now, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a bad one. From what I understand, the gimmick of this show is that the card isn’t announced until the wrestlers are coming out of the curtain. That should make for a fun match so let’s get to it.

As usual, I don’t really follow PWG so I’m sorry for not knowing any plot or character details coming in.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Yeah this works, though a clean faced Ciampa is a bizarre visual. Feeling out process to start with Gargano working on the wrist until Ciampa makes the rope. Back up and Ciampa tries a quick Air Raid Crash but Gargano slips out, setting up an exchange into a standoff. Fans: “THAT WAS WRESTLING!” Some chops rock Gargano but he’s right back with the rolling kick to the head.

A neckbreaker puts Ciampa on the floor and Gargano follows him for some left hands to the head. With Ciampa sitting in a chair, Gargano hits a big (but not running) chop to pop his eyes a bit. It works so well that Gargano loads it up again but gets hit in the face this time. One heck of a running knee rocks Gargano so Ciampa tries it again, only to get tornado DDTed into…well pretty much into a fan.

Back in and Ciampa hits a hanging Downward Spiral and they both need a breather. A battle over a suplex goes to Gargano (after about five blocks each) but Ciampa knees him right back down again. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Gargano is back with a running basement cutter. The Lawn Dart sets up the Gargano Escape which Ciampa, uh, escapes.

They trade some thigh slapping shots to the face until Ciampa blasts him down with a clothesline for a double knockdown. Ciampa goes up but gets caught as well, setting up another Lawn Dart. That’s enough to send them to the apron, and since this is a modern wrestling match, we need a big spot on that apron. In this case it’s an Air Raid Crash from Ciampa but Gargano is out again.

A super Air Raid Crash is reversed into a super Liger Bomb for the crash (non-Air Raid variety), sending Ciampa outside. The suicide dive sends them into the chairs and they’re right back up and inside. The slingshot spear is kneed out of the air though and it’s Project Ciampa for a VERY close two. Back up again and they chop it out until Gargano pulls him into an STF. Ciampa slips out and lifts Gargano up for a suplex but drops him onto the knee for a nasty landing. Project Ciampa is enough to finish Gargano at 18:37.

Rating: A-. This is the kind of match that you expect from PWG, as they threw two people out there for the better part of twenty minutes and let them tear the house down. These two have always had some great chemistry together and this was no exception. It’s a hidden gem compared to their NXT classics and I had a blast with the whole thing.

World’s Cutest Tag Team vs. Monster Mafia

That would be Joey Ryan/Candice LeRae vs. Josh Alexander/Ethan Page. The Mafia jumps Ryan before the bell but miss a charge at LeRae in the corner. A DDT drops Alexander and Candice ties her hair back, allowing her to slam Page. Back in and Ryan throws LeRae on his shoulders to swing her feet at people’s face. It only kind of works on Page, who is right back to run Ryan over as we get down to a regular tag match.

Alexander grabs a butterfly suplex into a headscissors and it’s Page coming in for a headbutt. Hold on though as Page pauses to tease stripping, allowing Ryan to come back with a right hand. You do not break up Page’s dancing though and it’s a tilt-a-whirl faceplant for two. Alexander is back in with a chinlock but Ryan fights up and avoids a charge. The tag brings in LeRae to clean house, including a double DDT for two on Alexander.

It’s back to Ryan who gets caught in a northern lights suplex, only to have LeRae come in off the top with a double stomp (which isn’t as low as commentary thinks it is). Ryan and Page trade kicks to the face until a suplex sends Page outside. LeRae comes back in with a good looking top rope hurricanrana. Page cuts off LeRae’s hurricanrana so Alexander hits his crossbody to the back dive.

Back in and a faceplant gets two on LeRae as commentary wants to know who is legal. The double superplex is broken up so Ryan hits a super swinging neckbreaker on Alexander, setting up LeRae’s top rope splash for two. The exchange of strikes to the face leaves Page standing but LeRae grabs a Stunner. Not that it stops Page as he shoves LeRae down and drops his trunks, earning a, quote, ballsplex, unquote, from LeRae. Alexander is back up and takes LeRae up, where she is right back with a super poisonrana for the surprise pin at 12:20.

Rating: B-. I’ve head a lot of good things about LeRae and Ryan together and yeah they do work well as a team. LeRae isn’t someone who has ever really broken out as an in-ring star but she can do some good things when she is given the chance. The Mafia would go on to much better success as the North in Impact, which took me a lot longer to remember than it should have. Fun match here, even if it is WEIRD to see Alexander as a pretty nothing tag guy. And with hair!

Post match Alexander seems a bit shaken up but gets a big ovation from the crowd. Apparently was his sendoff to go have neck surgery….and Page lays him out with a swinging Rock Bottom.

Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher

This could be good and it’s Thatcher’s PWG debut. They fight over a lockup to start until Thatcher’s attempt at an ankle pick is thwarted. After a quick standoff, Thatcher takes him to the mat and cranks on an armbar but Busick reverses into a rather aggressive headlock. That’s reversed into a Kimura, sending Busick over to the rope. With the holds not quite working, Thatcher blasts him with an uppercut and grabs a chinlock.

There’s the required finger snap but Busick is back up with one heck of a slap and some uppercuts to make it worse. Thatcher isn’t having that and knocks him hard to the floor, but does stop to check his own ear after that slap. Busick has to try to get out of an armbar but Thatcher bends the arm at a VERY scary angle to keep him in trouble. The big stomp to the arm makes it even worse for Busick, who gets suplexed down again.

Back up and Busick grabs the half and half suplex, meaning it’s time to slug it out from their knees. The slugout continues from their feet until both of them are knocked down again. Busick fires himself up though and grabs a reverse headlock takeover into a bulldog choke for the tap at 11:36.

Rating: B. This is a good example of “what you see is what you get” as these two beat the living fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t keep going. These two are both known for their incredible intensity and that was on display here. Throw in some painful looking holds and people hurting each other and this was a lot of fun.

Here is PWG World Champion Roderick Strong to issue an open challenge. Well he was going to but he hates the fans so much that he isn’t going to wrestle. Cue Mike Bailey to answer the challenge but Strong isn’t interested. Eh we’ll do it anyway.

PWG World Title: Roderick Strong vs. Mike Bailey

Strong is defending and my goodness I can’t get away from Bailey lately. Bailey has a really farmer’s tan and isn’t exactly a big guy. The fans get on Bailey over said tan but him kicking Strong in the head for a fast two cuts that off fast. Bailey unloads with strikes against the ropes and Strong is needing a breather on the floor. That means Bailey can hit a corkscrew Asai moonsault, pulls out a bouquet of flowers (like a magician) and then kick Strong a few more times.

Strong is back with the jumping knee to the face and the End Of Heartache onto the apron (Commentary: “That is how you stop someone’s momentum!”) and Bailey is rocked fast. Some chops send Bailey around ringside before he is thrown back inside for a kick to the back of the head. A gutwrench suplex sets up a camel clutch to send Bailey over to the ropes and Strong isn’t pleased.

Bailey comes back with a knee of his own and a spinning kick to the face drops the champ. A buzzsaw kick to the head gets two on Strong but he’s back with a kick of his own out of the corner. The fans, who were insulted by Strong before the match, are split here as Bailey kicks away again. The standing Sliced Bread and another kick give Bailey two so he kicks Strong down some more.

Strong is able to catch him on top though and it’s a hard running knee in the corner. A torture rack into a backbreaker gives Strong two so he goes right to the Stronghold. Bailey makes the rope though and the champ is frustrated again. More kicks drop Strong so the moonsault knees can connect for two. Back up and the strike it out, setting up Bailey’s running corkscrew shooting star press for two.

Bailey gets caught with a jumping knee up top, meaning a top rope superplex with Strong floating over into a gutbuster. That’s reversed into a hurricanrana and the Ultimate Weapon gets a VERY hot near fall with Strong having to grab the rope. Another slugout lets Strong hit the Sick Kick but the End of Heartache is countered into a small package for a white hot near fall (which the crowd totally bought). Strong is done with this and knees him in the head, setting up End of Heartache into another End of Heartache to retain the title at 18:55.

Rating: A-. It took me some time to get into this one but the crowd reactions alone carried it over the line. Strong’s knees and forearms were loud enough to get your attention and that small package at the end was one of the best near falls I’ve seen in a long time. Bailey takes some getting used to but he was great as a one off challenger here. Great match with the crowd carrying it that extra stretch.

Brian Cage vs. John Silver

Cage has taped up ribs coming in. We get the natural pose down to start before Silver wants a test of strength. That’s fine with Cage, who holds his hand too high, causing Silver to pull it down before locking hands. Silver actually takes over and lifts Cage into the air before flipping him down. After a bit of a celebration, Cage runs him over with a shoulder and snaps off a headscissors.

What looks to be a fall away slam, with curls, doesn’t work as Silver sticks the landing and then fall away slams, with curls, Cage for an impressive feat. Back up and Cage sends him outside for the running flip dive, which doesn’t look quite as impressive on someone Silver’s size. The kind of clothesline you would expect Cage to throw for a near fall gives Cage a near fall and something like a Boss Man Slam gets the same.

Somehow the Drill Claw is countered into a Jackhammer to give Silver two and the fans are right back into things. A powerslam gives Silver two but Cage is back with a spinebuster to cut him off fast. Cage’s tornado DDT is blocked and Silver hits a northern lights suplex for another near fall.

Back up and a hanging neckbreaker out of the corner gives Cage two more but Silver strikes away and hits the Spin Doctor. The F5 plants Silver hard and Cage grabs a Texas Cloverleaf but doesn’t step over, allowing Silver to small package him for two. A Diamond Cutter and crucifix bomb gives Cage two more before a discus lariat finishes Silver at 14:00.

Rating: B. This was a fun showdown as Cage did his usual stuff and Silver was there to have all kinds of fun with his wild charisma. Silver is six inches in height away from being a major star but unfortunately this is about as far as he is going to get. Cage is still someone who looks like he should be a major star but just isn’t for a variety of reasons.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chris Hero

They shake hands to start and tentatively go into the grappling for a standoff. Hero gets him down by the leg and twists away a bit but Sabre bridges out of a crucifix. That’s broken up and Sabre starts twisting the wrist, setting up some rather nasty cranking (Page: “That’s some Exorcist s***!” Hero flips out and drops a backsplash but Sabre is fine enough to pull him right back into more arm cranking.

With the grappling not working, Hero kicks him in the face but Sabre uses his feet to snap hero’s arm. Back up and Hero uses the good arm to send him face first into the buckle, only to get caught with some running shots to the face. Sabre tries a German suplex but only gets laughed at by Hero for thinking he can lift him up. With that being a miserable failure, Sabre goes back to the arm and hits the big stomp on Hero’s now bleeding fingers.

Hero is fine enough to backdrop Sabre outside and through some chairs, meaning Sabre can get a breather on the floor. Back in and Hero blasts him with the good elbow to put him on the floor again. Back in again and a dropkick Sabre’s arm even things up a bit and they’re outside for the third time in less than two minutes. This time Sabre grabs an octopus but Hero gets smart by climbing back inside for the break. Sabre fires off uppercuts but gets cut off with one heck of a right hand.

A staggered Sabre comes right back with a hard running kick to the chest but Hero kicks Sabre out of the air for two. Hero still can’t follow up so Sabre pulls him into a Kimura, which is reversed into a suplex neckbreaker for another near fall. Hero, looking like an inflated Adam Cole, gets pulled into a cross armbreaker, only to roll over to the ropes for a last second break.

Another kick to the arm has Hero clutching the ropes for mercy but he’s able to grab a hard belly to back suplex for the double knockdown. Back up and Hero loads up some kind of a piledriver but gets reversed into another quickly broken armbar. Hero elbows the heck out of him for two more and then kicks him square in the head.

Sabre gets back up so Hero kicks him, followed by the rolling boot to the face for one. With nothing else working, Sabre Pele kicks the hand (cool) but Hero is right back with an attempt at a cradle piledriver. That’s countered into the Kimura and then a double arm crank with Sabre kicking him in the head for the knockout win at 24:01.

Rating: A-. This was hard hitting, violent, well told and exactly what I wanted to see from these two. The story here made perfect sense as you had Sabre who was going to go after a limb and do everything he could to tear it apart, while Hero went through every style he knew to try to fight Sabre off. I was cringing at some of the things that Sabre was doing to the arm and got way into the match so we’ll certainly call this a success.

Here are Tag Team Champions Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett to find out who they’re facing for the titles they won at Mystery Vortex II. The fans want the Young Bucks but instead Everett and Lee are going to face each other. The singles match starts but here are the Bucks, who were wrestling in Japan just the day before.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Trevor Lee/Andrew Everett

The Bucks are challenging and, after some insults from the floor, the champs dive onto them to start things off fast. The brawl starts on the floor but the Bucks are right back up with stereo moonsaults off the apron. They get inside with Matt hitting some running corner clotheslines but a duck allows Lee to bring Everett in. Everything breaks down and the Bucks clear the ring, setting up the required running flip dive. Fans: “THAT WAS TOO SWEET!”

The Bucks hit stereo powerbombs on the apron, drawing a FIGHT OWENS FIGHT chant. Back in and a slingshot splash/fist drop hit Everett again as this is rapidly becoming one sided. Matt has way too much fun telling people to suck it before grabbing the chinlock with an expected result. Lee raises his knees to block a moonsault though and the hot tag brings in Everett for a high crossbody to both Bucks. Matt’s slingshot X Factor is countered into an atomic drop and Lee drops both Bucks again.

Everett teases a moonsault to the floor but it’s Lee hitting one instead. That’s not good enough though as Everett hits moonsault knees to drop Matt again and the fans certainly approve. Since Nick Jackson doesn’t sell very long though, he’s right back up to take down both champions without much effort. Everett’s shooting star press hits raised knees and the Bucks hit an enziguri/cannonball in the corner combination. The hanging Swanton gets two on Everett but Nick’s running kick hits post by mistake, allowing Lee to cutter him on the apron.

The double tag brings in Lee and Matt to slug it out until Lee’s flipping powerslam connects. Not that it matters as the Bucks are up with double superkicks, followed by a low superkick to break up Everett’s standing moonsault. Lee gets superkicked out of the air as well and a package piledriver/superkick combination gets two, with Everett shoving Nick into the pin for the save.

The champs fight up again with a Cave In and standing hurricanrana, setting up Everett’s 630 for two on Matt. The referee gets dropped so Matt can kick Everett low. Cue Roderick Strong to Sick Kick Lee silly, setting up the Meltzer Driver (with commentary saying “Nick doesn’t give a s***” about the bad ankle) for the pin and the titles at 14:12.

Rating: B. This is the kind of tag match that you would expect here, but there was never a time where it felt like Lee and Everett had a chance to retain the titles. Granted it’s a Young Bucks match so you had to know it was coming, as annoying as it might be. This was around the time when the Bucks were the biggest team in the indies and there was no way they weren’t getting these titles from the second they were revealed as the “surprise” partners.

Post match Joey Ryan and Candice LeRae go after Strong but get superkicked down. Johnny Gargano runs in and gets superkicked down. Strong and the Bucks hug to quite the negative reaction. Referee Rick Knox comes in to chair the Bucks down but Strong takes him out and gets another chair.

The lights go out and come back up to reveal company founder Super Dragon…..and Psycho Drivers Knox through the open chairs instead. LeRae gets Psycho Drivered too so Excalibur goes after Super Dragon and is laid out. The Bucks add some superkicks and the beating continues with more Psycho Drivers as we have Mount Rushmore (former heel stable) 2.0. The fans of course love this even as Biff Busick comes in to stare down Super Dragon.

Commentary bills it as a showdown of tough guys, so of course the Bucks drop Busick with superkicks. Chuck Taylor is beaten down as well, which is finally enough carnage to let the new team unveil their shirts. Oh and Dragon small packages Lee for a three count and a bell (I’m sure that means something). Strong officially christens the new team to end the show (which cuts off after Rushmo).

Overall Rating: A. This was the PWG show I have been waiting on as they tore the house down with nothing close to a bad match on the nearly two and a half hour show. They didn’t bother trying to do anything more than an all-star style show with some variety and I had a blast with this. Great show, well worth seeing, and the kind of show that would make me want to see a lot more from this company.

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

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Threemendous
Date: July 16, 2006
Location: Hollywood-Los Feliz JCC, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 350
Commentators: Disco Machine, Excalibur

So someone requested that I do this show…..oh seven or eight years ago now but I’ve finally gotten around to/remembered to do it. It’s back in the earlier days of PWG and I’m not sure if there is some kind of gimmick for the show. PWG has a history of some rather awesome show names and the tradition holds up in their earlier days too. Let’s get to it.

An unnamed man is in the ring and talks about how amazing it is for PWG to have been around for three years. He’s a bit hard to understand but he talks about fixing some problem and promises a special show tonight. Oh and buy concessions.

Disco Machine vs. Excalibur

Before the match, Excalibur talks (of course) talks about seeing some familiar faces around here but there are some people who might not know the history between these two. They have been together for a long time now and there have been questions about who is the better commentator. Excalibur says he can talk at length about absolutely nothing so he proposes a title match tonight: the winner earns the title of Best PWG DVD Commentator.

We get a guest referee who….is not named, which probably has something to do with the massive clipping that PWG releases have to do due to various rights issues. Commentary does let us know that the referee is named Patrick Hernandez. Good to know. Anyway they fight over arm control to start with Excalibur grabbing a top wristlock and flipping over. That’s broken up and it’s a standoff until Disco twists Excalibur’s fingers.

That’s broken up with a hiptoss and Excalibur drops some knees as the two of them talk about the referee allegedly being the inspiration for the Robin Williams movie RV. Disco gets red carded for a headbutt to the chest which lets Excalibur come back with a suplex for two. A catapult sends Excalibur outside for the big dive (which Disco said he didn’t know was coming) and they’re both down on the floor, leaving commentary to go over the company’s history.

Back in and Disco grabs a camel clutch before a suplex gets two. As Disco hits a backbreaker, commentary talks about airline experiences, including the lack of peanuts and package deliveries. Excalibur rakes the eyes to come back and grabs something close to a cobra clutch, setting up a German suplex for two. Disco chokes him to block a heart punch and a chokebreaker finishes Excalibur at 8:30.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t have bet on this having a definitive winner as it would have seemed destined to go to a draw. It wasn’t a match that meant much of anything as it was all about playing into the company’s history, which makes sense on an anniversary show. Excalibur never was much in the ring and he didn’t show me anything else here, but for a fun way to open the show and give the fans something to like, it worked well enough.

Ronin vs. Nemesis

Nemesis grabs a wristlock to start and armdrags him down, meaning it’s time to pose. Back up and Nemesis kicks him into the corner as the fans chant HELLO KITTY at Ronin in an old school callback. I mean, as old school as you can get in a promotion that is three years old. Nemesis sends him outside, teases the pose, and then misses a baseball slide.

Ronin gets in a shot to the ribs and sends him back inside for two off a suplex. Back up and Nemesis grabs a Cradle Shock for two and hammers away in the corner. What looks to be a running monkey flip out of the corner doesn’t go so well and Ronin is back with a swinging brainbuster for two. One heck of a lariat into a Death Valley Driver finishes Nemesis at 7:09.

Rating: C. Another just ok match here with two PWG regulars. The lack of story behind the match made it a bit difficult to get invested in what they were doing though, as they were just doing moves until someone won. Ronin has been on a lot of these PWG shows but has never really done much to get my interest up. Nemesis was just another guy here and while the match was watchable, it kind of came and went.

Top Gun Talwar vs. Colt Cabana

Cabana, who isn’t a very big guy, towers over Talwar. As a bonus, Cabana has two formal photos of some couples. Commentary says Cabana doesn’t know who they are, but that’s the pretty run of the mill for him. Then Talwar offers to fight from his knees….and seems to do a line of cocaine (commentary’s word). Cabana fights from his knees as well and scares Talwar outside, where he circles the ring on his knees.

Back in and they fight over wrist control as commentary talks about stabbing your leg after drunkenly staggering around your apartment. They lock hands and roll around until Talwar finally breaks out, leaving them to sit next to each other on the mat. Now it’s time to lay on each other for some near falls before Talwar’s rollup is countered with a crawl across the ring. Cabana sweeps the legs so Talwar winds up on all fours, where he crawls around with Cabana on his back. Yeah it’s that kind of a match people.

They tease a test of strength but Talwar stops to smell Cabana’s fingers. Now it’s a lockup with Talwar climbing the ropes without breaking contact. Said lockup stays on as they go outside, around the ring and through the entrance curtain. We can hear a bunch of stuff….and then the curtain is pulled back to reveal them having some tea. The referee grabs both of them by the ear and brings them back to the ring, where Cabana picks the ankle. The tease of a low blow is switched into a leg stretch, with Cabana talking until Talwar bites the fingers.

That’s not enough to escape so Cabana rocks them back and forth to make Talwar angrier. Back up and they gently slap it out (Excalibur: “Shades of Moe and Shemp.”) before heading outside again. Talwar is whipped towards the barricade but keeps running, only to trip over the steps. Cabana finds some resistance bands to tie around Talwar’s throat while getting in some exercise, only to have Talwar tie it around Cabana’s wrist.

The tug of war is on until Talwar pulls him in for a clothesline to take over. Back in and Talwar hits a spinning reverse DDT (the Chipolte) for two on Cabana as commentary makes fun of Ike Turner beating Tina Turner. Cabana misses the Flying Apple but counters another Chipolte into an inverted bearhug (meaning Cabana picks him up for a Tombstone and shakes him back and forth) for the win at 12:02.

Rating: C+. This match wasn’t for me and I’m not big on the comedy stuff, but they also didn’t do anything so stupid that it was ridiculous. Cabana doing his comedy stuff is his bread and butter and Talwar is one of those wacky guys who can make something like this work well enough. Not something I’d ever want to see again, but it could have been FAR worse.

Post match Cabana leaves and World Champion Joey Ryan runs in to beat up Talwar. A piledriver on the chair leaves Talwar laid out and Ryan brags about being the best PWG Champion of all time. The fans don’t like it, so Ryan piledrives Talwar on the chair again. Ryan wants Excalibur out here so here he is, just after Ryan hits a third piledriver on the chair. Good beatdown, but those sideburns make Ryan look like a joke rather than a serious guy.

Davey Richards/Kevin Steen/Human Tornado vs. Dynasty

Richards and company have Candice LeRae with them and the Dynasty is Chris Bosh/Scott Lost/Scorpio Sky, with Jade Chung. It’s a big brawl before (I think?) the bell and it all heads outside until the Dynasty is left laying. Back in and Davey kicks at Lost but the tiger driver 98 is blocked. Sky comes in to dance a bit so Richards shoulders him down as well. Tornado and Steen clear the ring with the Dynasty needing a breather on the floor.

After teasing leaving, the Dynasty comes back and slows it down a bit until we get to Tornado vs. Lost. A crossbody puts Lost down and his attempt at a low blow fails (that’s difficult to do). It’s off to Richards to strike away as commentary discusses why a low blow didn’t affect Tornado (I’ll let you figure that one out). Tornado comes back in for a dancing low blow on Scott and Bosh’s attempt at a low blow just hurts his hand. A leg trip takes Tornado down though and it’s Sky getting to stomp away in the corner.

Bosh and Steen (on the apron) exchange nipple twists before Tornado is sent face first into Sky’s rock hard abs. They certainly have some unique spots around here. Figure out if that is a good thing on your own. Sky heads outside where he gets beaten up by Steen and Richards, who have to be pulled off. Back in and Tornado gets elbowed in the face and Lost grabs a chinlock. Tornado fights up and this a neckbreaker, allowing the hot tag to Steen to pick up the pace. Richards comes in with a missile dropkick and it’s a German suplex for two on Lost.

Bosh and Steen slug it out but it’s right back to Sky to leg lariat Richards. With everyone else on the floor, Tornado hits a HUGE flip dive to wipe out the pile. Back in and Richards rolls Lost up for two but Sky takes Richards down with a jumping cutter. Bosh’s clothesline into a backbreaker gets two on Tornado and there’s a Stunner to Steen. That doesn’t work for Steen, who is back with a Rock Bottom to Bosh. Richards gives Sky a gutbuster and Lost has to break up a stretch muffler. Steen hits a great looking moonsault for two on Bosh but Sky clears them out and knocks Tornado silly with an implant DDT for the pin at 20:05.

Rating: B. Now this felt more like a PWG match as you had six guys in there starting off with a regular tag before going into the wild fight that it needed to be. The Dynasty looked like a team but since commentary isn’t about to offer any kind of insight into what is going on, they were just people who had somewhat matching gear. The other three were people who happened to be teaming together, as backstory or drawing people in isn’t exactly PWG’s strong suit.

Post match Steen grabs the mic and yells something at Richards that is kind of hard to understand but it doesn’t seem to go well. Richards grabs the mic and rants about a variety of things, including slipping in a gay slur. He seems ready for the Battle Of Los Angeles and is ready to take someone out. Steen appears to apologize to Tornado and they hug it out. I think that was a heel promo? Maybe?

Roderick Strong vs. TJ Perkins

Perkins is only 21 here and looks even younger than that. They start slowly with Strong tying him up, only to get pulled down into a cross arm choke. That’s reversed into the same thing from Strong. With that broken up, Perkins needs to tie his boot and Strong is nice enough to let him. Perkins wins a battle over wrist control but gets flipped over into an armbar. That’s reversed into a hammerlock from Perkins as the technical start continues.

Perkins fights out again and it’s another standoff, this time with Strong bailing to the floor for a seat in the first row. Back in and Perkins goes right back to the arm as commentary explains why it might not be great business for Strong to be a heel. Strong fights up and tries a kick to the ribs, which Perkins stops and spins around to drop Strong again. The front facelock goes on and is switched into a cravate as Strong can’t get anything going here.

The chop off goes a bit better for Strong, who manages to hit his first backbreaker. We hit the full nelson with Strong’s legs, followed by a less painful looking (for both of them) camel clutch. A torture rack backbreaker drops Perkins again but Strong pauses to yell at the fans. Strong hits a suplex for two and then slams him on the apron to make it worse. Back in and Strong ties their legs together and pulls on the arm for a rather nasty looking hold.

Perkins gets out and avoids a charge in the corner, setting up a high crossbody for two. Strong is back with an enziguri into a Falcon Arrow for two more but Perkins pulls him into a cross armbreaker. With that broken up, Strong hits the fireman’s carry gutbuster into the Sick Kick into the tiger driver for….two, in quite the kickout. Not that it matters as the Strong Hold makes Perkins tap at 18:56.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that would fit in PWG or Ring Of Honor as they kept it straight and went with one move after another until Strong, the bigger star, got the win. That is all you needed to do here and it was the lengthy match that didn’t feel boring or long despite getting a lot of time. Good stuff here as both guys are always worth at least a look.

Kings Of Wrestling vs. Cape Fear

That would be Claudio Castagnoli/Chris Hero vs. El Generico/Quicksilver. This is announced as impromptu, but there is no story given for why it was thrown together. Hero and Generico start things off with the fans WAY behind the Kings. Generico works on the arm but Hero cravates him down and it’s off to Quicksilver vs. Castagnoli. Some leg cranking has Quicksilver in even more trouble but he’s back up with a hurricanrana for two.

Hero comes back in and has to counter a monkey flip so it’s right back to Castagnoli to clothesline Generico. This time it’s Generico grabbing a hurricanrana of his own and Castagnoli is frustrated. Hero comes in without a tag and the Kings chop each other by mistake. Generico sends them outside for some dives as Castagnoli is busted open bad (via a gash from the previous night).

Back in and Hero makes a blind (but not deaf) tag to take Generico down. Hero chops him in the throat and Castagnoli adds an uppercut for two. A gorilla (appropriate) press drop onto the turnbuckle has Generico in more trouble and Hero comes in for a dropkick for two. Generico finally manages to armdrag Castagnoli into Hero and a flip over allows the hot tag to Quicksilver.

A middle rope spin into a Black Widow has Hero in big trouble as Generico hits a heck of a dive onto Castagnoli on the floor. Hero falls over to the ropes and suplexes Quicksilver down hard for the break. It’s back to Generico, whose corner run tornado DDT is countered into an uppercut from Castagnoli for two more.

Hero ducks the Yakuza Kick and hits Generico with one of his own but back to back dropkicks take him down. Castagnoli gets taken down by a hurricanrana on the floor and a brainbuster gives Generico two on Hero. That’s too far for Castagnoli, who LAUNCHES Quicksilver into some chairs at ringside. Back in and Hero flips Generico into a powerbomb from Castagnoli (cool) for the pin at 20:48.

Rating: B. This got going near the end but there were some long stretches of dull to get there. Generico is someone who can work well with anyone but the Kings were much better as a team. Good match here and it ate up a lot of time, though it never reached that point of being a classic or into a higher gear.

PWG World Title: B-Boy vs. Joey Ryan

Ryan is defending in a Battledome, meaning a TLC match inside a cage (though you win via pinfall/submission). The weapons are already in the cage and Ryan goes for the climb at the bell, only to have B-Boy throw a chair at the wall to cut him off. Ryan’s elbows are broken up and cut off with a single elbow to the face, followed by a heck of a kick to the chest.

There’s a clothesline to drop Ryan again and Excalibur gets in a jab at Konnan for some reason. Ryan gets blasted with a chair to the head and the blood is flowing early. The blood works well for B-Boy, who sends Ryan face first into the cage. Back up and Ryan sends him into the cage for a change (and his first major offense) to bust B-Boy open as well.

Ryan snapmares him down, sits in a chair, and grabs the chinlock to slow things down a bit. With that broken up like a drop toehold should be, Ryan drop toeholds him into the chair to make the bleeding even worse. A chair to the face lets Ryan grab a ladder, which is slammed back with a chair. Some ladder shots to the face have Ryan in more trouble and another shot takes out a cameraman.

The chairs are piled up for a Death Valley Driver to give B-Boy two more but the referee gets bumped. Therefore, Ryan tapping to B-Boy’s Crossface means nothing, allowing Ryan to come back with a spinebuster onto a chair for two. The table is set up near the corner and a superbomb through it gives Ryan two of his own. Ryan slaps the referee for the slow count so they slug it out (just go with it) until Ryan sends him into the cage over and over.

A Go To Sleep connects but there is no referee again. A second referee slides in to count two before checking on the bloody original referee. Ryan and B-Boy fight to the floor (escape doesn’t matter in this match) with B-Boy getting the better of things by throwing Ryan into the chairs. A cheap shot slows B-Boy down but he gets in a low blow. A double stomp onto some chairs keep Ryan in trouble as they have been on the floor for a good while now.

Ryan is back with a low blow and they climb the side of the cage until Ryan elbows him down through the table at ringside. Back in and B-Boy fights back and puts Ryan on a ladder, setting up a top rope cutter for the double knockdown. A VERY delayed cover gets two so B-Boy puts Ryan’s head through the ladder rungs. With a chair over Ryan’s head, B-Boy goes to the top of the ladder and double stomps down onto the chair.

Since Ryan is done, Scott Lost runs in to beat down B-Boy, including a Vertebreaker onto the pile of chairs. B-Boy is up at two so here is Human Tornado to take out Lost. Scorpio Sky and Chris Bosh run in to beat on Tornado so Kevin Steen, Davey Richards and Excalibur run in to clear some of them out. Everyone fights at ringside and Tornado sets up a table in the ring.

Tornado goes up top but flip dives onto the pile at ringside instead of moonsaulting onto Ryan through the table. B-Boy goes up top for a Superfly Splash through Ryan through the table for two (with the fans popping BIG for the near fall). With both of them down, Jade Chung comes in but Candice LeRae is right there to take her out. Ryan sends LeRae into the cage so B-Boy hits him with a chair. Chung makes the save this time so B-Boy gives her a GTS. That’s enough for Ryan to pour something on a cloth to smother B-Boy and knock him out to retain the title at 34:47.

Rating: C-. I don’t often get to say this, but you could have easily cut half of this off and had a better match. This was A LOT of filler, plus all of the insanity at the end. It doesn’t help that Ryan isn’t very good in the ring and seems to be more about reputation than anything else. The brawling was good but I was checked out about halfway through and just wanting this to end. B-Boy was ok here but he didn’t exactly feel like a top star. Good enough match, though its flaws are really bad.

We’re off the air with the ring announcer only getting to AND STILL.

Overall Rating: B-. This show hit a nice stretch near the middle but the main event didn’t work and the first few matches weren’t exactly great. Maybe this is just too early in its history, but the show didn’t have me wanting to race out to see more PWG. While it certainly isn’t a bad show, there is almost nothing on here that blew me away. Maybe jumping ahead a bit will help, but this was closer to mediocre than good.

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 3, 2022
Location: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules and the show is mostly set. However, it still doesn’t feel like there is anything that stands out as a main event. I would assume it’s going to be the Fight Pit between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle, but the card feels like it is lacking something even if there isn’t much room for anything else. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Judgment Day for a chat before their match. Finn Balor is ready to beat Edge so badly that Edge will quit right then and there. Damian Priest promises to take out anyone who comes for them. Dominik gets the mic and is greeted by a WHO’S YOUR DADDY chant. He hates Rey Mysterio and says he has a new family now, thanks to the Judgment Day. Balor says he could have taken Edge out last night, corrects himself to say last week, and offers one more olive branch. Cue AJ Styles to interrupt though and we’re ready to go.

Judgment Day vs. AJ Styles/Rey Mysterio

It’s a brawl before the bell with Judgment Day being cleared out and we take a break. We come back joined in progress with Priest sending Rey into the corner so Balor can hit Two Amigos, followed by the Eddie Dance, and a Third Amigo, because we can’t go more than a few weeks without an Eddie reference. A trip to the floor sees Rey get dropped onto the announcers’ table and Finn grabs a chinlock back inside. Rey slips away though and the tag brings in Styles to clean house. Balor low bridges Styles outside and we take a break.

Back with Priest escaping a Calf Crusher attempt but getting atomic dropped. Rhea pulls Rey off the apron though and Dominik gets in between them, with Dominik dropping to his knees in a funny bit. We cut away from Rhea hitting Rey, only to show it on a replay in what seems like a production gaffe. Back in and the Coup de Grace finishes Styles at 10:42.

Rating: C+. The Judgment Day story isn’t the most interesting but the talent involved in this match is enough to make it watchable. There is a good chance that they will be involved in WarGames (it’s either them or the Bloodline) but I’m not sure who could face them at the moment. For now though, they were a good way to use the first half hour of Raw.

Post match AJ blames Rey for not being there and shoves him down. Rey leaves and Judgment Day comes in to beat Styles up.

Bobby Lashley is happy to be US Champion for three months and he’s ready for anyone to come after the title next week. Cue Mustafa Ali of all people to say he wants a chance right now. Lashley blows him off so Ali spins him around and pokes at his chest. That’s enough for the opportunity.

Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso/Solo Sikoa are in the back with Sami telling a story about a couch being on fire (it has a happy ending). Jey Uso comes in to be all serious and say they’re here to tell everyone that Roman Reigns will be here next week for the season premiere. They run into the Street Profits, who aren’t that impressed.

Bobby Lashley vs. Mustafa Ali

Non-title. Lashley throws him around to start and hits a running shoulder in the corner. The delayed vertical suplex connects but Ali slips out of a powerslam attempt. A superkick staggers Lashley and the tornado DDT sends him outside. Ali’s suicide dive sends Lashley into the announcers’ table but he blasts Ali hard as we take a break.

Back with Lashley sending him into the corner and hitting the Downward Spiral for two. Ali shoves him off the top though and hits a 450 onto Lashley’s arm to take a limb away. Lashley is fine enough to hit a one armed spinebuster for two and Ali is sent head first into the post. That works so well that Lashley does it again before sending him HARD over the barricade. A dive gets Ali back in at nine so Lashley spears him inside out. The Hurt Lock knocks Ali out (though he doesn’t tap) to give Lashley the win at 11:26.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to make Ali feel like a tough guy, but there is little reason to believe that he is going to become a star again. For some reason WWE will bring him back, build him up for a week or two at best, and then drop him entirely. This was a good performance from Ali, but I have no reason to believe that it is going anywhere.

Post match Lashley seems to be going to help Ali up but Seth Rollins comes in for a Stomp. Another Stomp onto the title leaves Lashley laying. Rollins throws in a Stomp to Ali on the floor. Lashley vs. Rollins continuing could be interesting so this should work.

Post break, Rollins is still in the ring and we see a clip of his brawl with Matt Riddle after the show went off the air. He is ready for Riddle on Saturday and we see a video on the Fight Pit (a cage with a platform around the top where the wrestlers can walk/fight). With that out of the way, Rollins is ready to face Riddle right now.

They aren’t allowed to fight tonight but Riddle is ready to kill him on Saturday. They argue over whose side guest referee Daniel Cormier will be on before Rollins reminds Riddle that he can’t see his kids anymore. Rollins mentions child support but Riddle….insults his breath. We get more serious with Riddle bringing up Rollins’ lack of titles. Oh and he hasn’t main evented Wrestlemania (eh….), but his wife sure has. Cormier pops up on screen to introduce himself and say he respects them both. That aside though, he’s calling it down the line. Cormier didn’t get much of a reaction, but he is a good fit for the spot on Saturday.

Candice LeRae gets a pep talk from Asuka/Bianca Belair/Alexa Bliss. As they are talking, another QR code pops up.

Miz is on the phone and wants guarantees that Dexter Lumis is out next week because it’s his birthday celebration. Lumis opens the door behind him but Miz misses it. Oh and he’d also like to know where Tommaso Ciampa is.

Dakota Kai vs. Candice LeRae

The rest of Damage Ctrl is here with Kai. LeRae takes her down by the arm to start before a Hennig necksnap gets two. A basement kick to the chest sends Kai to the apron, where LeRae sends her into the buckle. Kai gets taken out with a quick dive and we take a break. Back with Kai kicking LeRae in the face, setting up the Kawada kicks to make it worse. A Scorpion kick staggers LeRae but she gets up a shot to the face out of the corner for a breather.

Something like a Black Widow has Kai in trouble but she drives LeRae into the corner to break it up. Kai goes up but gets caught with a German superplex (ouch) for two. That’s enough to draw Iyo Sky up for a distraction, allowing Bayley to drop LeRae right into Kai’s rollup for the in at 10:42.

Rating: C. I’m a bit surprised that the newcomer LeRae took a fall here until you realize that Kai is a newcomer as well. Yeah she has a title, but she has only been on the main roster and back in the company for a little over two months. The match was decent like you would expect from LeRae and Kai, but LeRae losing so soon is a little weird to see.

Johnny Gargano runs into Miz, out cold on an anvil case. Gargano pokes him in the side and Miz awakens….with a drawing of himself and Dexter Lumis on his chest. Miz runs off.

Bayley is excited to sign a contract with Bianca Belair tonight and implies bad things are coming.

Commentary acknowledges the passing of Antonio Inoki.

Otis vs. Johnny Gargano

Chad Gable is here with Otis and Austin Theory is on commentary. Gargano forearms away to start but gets dropped with a shot to the face. An over the shoulder backbreaker has Gargano in more trouble until he slips out and forearms away again. An enziguri rocks Otis but he’s right back with a t-bone suplex to drop Gargano in a hard landing.

The Vader Bomb misses so Gargano strikes away, setting up a heck of a DDT. A low superkick gets two on Otis, who rolls outside so Gargano hits a big dive. Then Gargano pauses to beat up Theory, followed by a tornado DDT off the apron. Theory gets in a briefcase shot though and a World’s Strongest Slam finishes for Otis at 5:32.

Rating: C+. Otis gets some serious protection around here, from being able to knock Braun Strowman down to beating Gargano. I can see the potential in him as a monster, but there is only so much you can do as the second of someone whose entire deal is being an obnoxious guy who makes annoying sounds. Good big vs. little match here, though the result is a bit weird.

Post match the beating is on but Braun Strowman runs in for the save and we ring the bell for Strowman vs. Gable (scheduled for tonight).

Braun Strowman vs. Chad Gable

Strowman throws Gable over the top to start and we take a break ten seconds in. Back with Strowman having been knocked over the announcers’ table during the break (by Otis, who was ejected) and then getting posted to make it worse. Gable manages a rather impressive German suplex for two as we see Omos and MVP watching in the back. A cross armbreaker over the ropes is broken up with straight power so Gable goes for the eye to break him up. A dropkick to the knee takes Strowman down again but Gable misses the moonsault. Strowman boots him in the face and hits the powerbomb for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C. WWE has a very weird style of monstering with Strowman since he got back. He’s winning, but people are getting in a lot on him, including Gable and Otis in particular. It’s a weird way to go and feels like they don’t know which version of Strowman they want to use. Gable’s suplex looked good, but if he is only going to be a comedy goof, I’m not sure why they let him do it to someone like Strowman.

Bobby Lashley swears vengeance against Seth Rollins.

Corey Graves is in the ring to emcee the contract signing between Bayley and Bianca Belair. Bayley says that despite not having the rest of Damage Ctrl out here, she is having a great day. She signs and promises to make history on Saturday because the ladder is symbolic of her entire WWE career. Bayley has had to climb the ladder throughout her time in WWE and at one point, she was Belair. They even had the same ponytails! Once upon a time, those Bianca Belair signs were BAYLEY signs, but then thin*gs changed.

Belair finally cuts off the rant and signs as well (with the contract having a QR code on the back). Belair talks about how Bayley is showing the world the real her and how it took her a whole year to come up with a plan. You can plan on calling her champ after Extreme Rules, but Bayley points to the rest of Damage Ctrl being with her on Saturday.

We see Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai beating up Asuka and Alexa Bliss in the back, which is enough of a distraction for Bayley to get in a cheap shot. Belair fights her off and runs to the back, where Asuka has a chair wrapped around her leg and the glaring Bliss wants Sky tonight. Nice segment here as Belair was a lot more serious in a big moment.

Angelo Dawkins vs. Solo Sikoa

The rest of the Bloodline (minus Roman Reigns of course) is here with Sikoa and Montez Ford (whose foot/ankle is in a cast) is with Dawkins. They start fast with Dawkins sending him outside, where Sikoa grabs a chair. The rest of the Bloodline cuts him off and we take a break. Back with Dawkins fighting out of a nerve hold but walking into a Samoan drop.

Another Samoan drop gets two and the nerve hold goes on to keep Dawkins down. A belly to belly suplex plants Dawkins again and there’s the running Umaga attack in the corner. Dawkins is back up with a kick to the head to cut Sikoa off though and the comeback is on. There’s the running spinning splash in the corner and the Silencer drops Sikoa for two.

Sami Zayn and Jey Uso get on the apron for a distraction/argument though, meaning Sikoa’s superkick gets a VERY delayed two. Back up and Dawkins knocks Sikoa outside, where a big flip dive drops the Bloodline. Sikoa uses the distraction to hit the spinwheel kick and Spinning Solo for the pin at 12:07.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here and Sikoa getting another win is a smart move. Sikoa needs to be established, but more importantly they continued with the issues between Jey Uso and Sami Zayn. That is one of the most interesting things going in WWE at the moment and I still want to see where the whole thing goes. For now though, hopefully Ford gets better soon, as the team is better than Dawkins on his own.

Austin Theory is happy with Otis and promises to take out Johnny Gargano on Smackdown. The banged up Chad Gable approves.

Edge says that since he has come back, he has basically been Adam as the veil of the character has been taken away. He was told that he could never wrestle again and it was not his choice. Now he has decided to make it his choice but now he is 46 years old and this is taking its toll on his whole family. He didn’t have a family before and now his daughters can see how tough it is on him.

That brings him to Judgment Day, who keeps coming back no matter how often he beats them. His back is against the wall and that makes him dangerous. You can ask Foley, Taker and Orton what that means, because he is coming out swinging. Finn Balor better be ready for war, because Edge is. This was a “look at the camera and talk” promo and it worked very well.

Alexa Bliss vs. Iyo Sky

Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai and Bayley are here too. Bliss starts fast and hammers away before but gets taken down with a dragon screw legwhip. Back up and Bliss kicks her down, setting up a flip splash for two. Kai manages to get in a throat snap across the ropes though and a running dropkick on the floor drops Bliss as we take a break.

Back with Kai in trouble but managing to hit a quick butterfly backbreaker. The moonsault misses though and Bliss grabs a DDT. Twisted Bliss connects so Bayley distracts the referee, drawing Belair over for the fight. Belair gets sent into the steps but it’s a big dive from Bliss to take them all down. Back in and Sky runs Bliss over, setting up the moonsault for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C+. I liked it well enough, but they have been putting the women in the final spot of the show for a long time now and it doesn’t feel like it is because they are the biggest deal on the show. It was a nice match with Bliss being aggressive and the numbers game costing her though, and Sky hitting that moonsault is always nice to see.

Post match the beatdown is on but Asuka, with a kendo stick, limps down for the failed save attempt. The ladder is brought in and crushed around Bliss’ ribs and the long form beatdown is on. Damage Ctrl climbs the ladder and poses with the titles.

Quick Extreme Rules rundown.

Damage Ctrl is still posing to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was one of the most “right in the middle” shows I can remember from any promotion in a long time. All of the matches were in the same range and while there were some good promos, Extreme Rules just isn’t feeling big. The fact that I’m only somewhat sure of what the main event is going to be should tell you a lot about the pay per view. This show didn’t make me want to see it that much more, and while it was completely ok, there was nothing on here that you really need to see.

Results
Judgment Day b. AJ Styles/Rey Mysterio – Coup de Grace to Styles
Bobby Lashley b. Mustafa Ali – Hurt Lock
Dakota Kai b. Candice LeRae – Rollup
Otis b. Johnny Gargano – World’s Strongest Slam
Braun Strowman b. Chad Gable – Powerbomb
Solo Sikoa b. Angelo Dawkins – Spinning Solo
Iyo Sky b. Alexa Bliss – Moonsault

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: September 28, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

It’s time to focus on the women’s division as we have several women’s matches taking place this week. This includes a pair of title matches, plus a grudge match. That’s the easy part though. The fun part is finding out how many new people can be brought in with little to no explanation. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Hit Row to get things going. They run down tonight’s focus on the women’s matches and wonder why no one is coming after Isaiah Scott’s North American Title? B Fab is ready to take out Elektra Lopez, so here is Legado del Fantasma to make things serious.

B Fab vs. Elektra Lopez

No DQ and the brawl starts on the floor before the bell. B Fab kicks Lopez in the head and they’re outside in a hurry, with the guys getting in a big brawl of their own as we take a break. Back with a fight over a table, with Lopez driving it into B Fab’s ribs. They get back in with a bunch of weapons joining them. B Fab grabs some kendo sticks to swing away but Lopez crossbodies her through an open chair. Lopez drops her ribs first across the top of the open chair, setting up a Blue Thunder Bomb to put B Fab away at 10:05.

Rating: B-. They had a hard hitting match here and it worked well given how little experience both of them have around here. Again, I’m still not sure why the regular television shows are going more extreme than most of the Extreme Rules pay per view, but at least we are getting some better stuff this week.

We go to InDex’s honeymoon, with the two of them walking on the beach. Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae are watching from the balcony of a hotel room and LeRae suggests that more things are going to happen. Dexter seems to like how Indi looks coming out of the water and Gargano panics. Then a shark starts coming up from the water and…..yeah it’s Gargano with a shark fin on his head.

Here is Joe Gacy, to say that the ring is still a safe space and he has not been canceled. He has made a bigger impact than stars like Tommaso Ciampa and Bron Breakker, because he didn’t throw a punch. Gacy speaks for a generation while the rest of them lives in a dark world. Then last week he was shunned, but now he is here to usher the world into a new normal. Woke, as written by WWE.

Xyon Quin vs. Oney Lorcan

It’s a 205 Live rematch and Quin knocks Lorcan outside to start. Back in and Lorcan runs him over, setting up a quickly broken chinlock. Quin fights up with a Samoan drop and finishes with a running forearm at 2:58. They might have something with Quin, just based on his look.

Grayson Waller talks about being a thrill junkie who loves to take chances. Now he’s taking a chance by going after the Cruiserweight Title. Why are we getting these (good and useful) vignettes explaining people AFTER we’ve been confused by their debuts?

Here is MSK for a chat. They have been champions for awhile now and they are going to keep smoking the division. Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans, who say that they want their two on two title shot but here are Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes to interrupt. Hayes says they are going to be champions because he has the golden ticket. MSK is good with that but Zack Gibson wants to know why everyone is talking in riddles. Cue Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, who want in on this too. The brawl is on among the challengers and MSK hold up the titles. MSK really need challengers so this was a messy but necessary segment.

Raquel Gonzalez is ready for Frankie Monet but Toxic Attraction comes in, with Mandy Rose saying the title will look better on her.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction vs. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark

Shirai and Stark are defending and Mandy Rose is here with the challengers. Shirai flips away from Dolin to start, though she can’t quite get the nip up right. The second takedown sets up a more successful nip up and it’s off to Jayne, who gets taken down in the corner. Stark comes in for some rapid fire rollups as commentary talks about how the champs never defend their titles. That’s because they don’t have much need to exist, but that has never stopped WWE before.

Stark chops her down and hits a slingshot Swanton for two. Dolin comes in off a blind tag and kicks Stark down but the champs are back up with some springboard dropkicks. Some dives to the floor have Attraction in trouble and we take a break. Back with Jayne hitting a running knee to Shirai’s face. Shirai is back with a kick to the face though and the tag brings in Stark to hit people in the face.

Stark gets knocked into the corner though and it’s back to Shirai to clean house again. A 619 sets up a springboard missile dropkick for two on Dolin as Rose is panicking on the floor. Everything breaks down and it’s Stark hitting her GTS on Jayne…and tagging out instead of covering for no apparent reason. Stark dives onto Dolin but stops to glare at Rose. Shirai hits the Moon Over Moonsault to retain at 12:43.

Rating: C+. I would have bet on the title change here, but that would mean a regular team holding the titles instead of a wacky tag team with nothing in common and that’s not how WWE rolls. Toxic Attraction is a fine enough idea and they can work well in the ring, though it seems like they’re only around as lackeys for Rose more than anything else.

Video on Bron Breakker, who still feels like Scott Steiner and wants to be NXT Champion.

Tommaso Ciampa joins us via Facetime to say that Breakker is talented but let’s hold off on the Hall of Fame induction for now. Breakker is a stud but it took Ciampa over 900 days to get back the title that he never lost. They’ll face each other one day and Breakker will drown in an ocean of inexperience.

Andre Chase vs. Boa

Chase doesn’t think much of Tian Sha and grabs an armbar to start. A suplex sends Boa flying and it’s time to stomp away. Chase puts on a chinlock and shouts that Boa has a lot to learn, but Boa is back up with some kicks to send Chase outside. Chase shouts a lot and then goes over to Mei Ying, who mists him in the face. Boa’s layout reverse DDT finishes at 3:09.

Rating: D+. Boa still isn’t great in the ring but at least they are pushing someone new. That’s the point of something like this, though you can expect Chase to keep getting the TV time despite him losing over and over. Chase’s gimmick isn’t the worst thing, but egads it’s another one where they beat you over the head with everything and that can get tiring.

Back to the honeymoon, with Johnny Gargano worrying about what could happen when InDex goes to their room. Gargano lies his way into the hotel room (Gargano: “Security around here sucks.”) and finds a bunch of condoms in Lumis’ bag. InDex comes back and Gargano hides in the closet as a pillow fight breaks out, complete with various statements that sound like….I think you get the idea. InDex takes a nap and Gargano leaves, with Lumis holding up the condoms and giving him a thumbs up.

Cruiserweight Title: Grayson Waller vs. Roderick Strong

Waller is challenging and comes through the crowd to jump Strong before the bell. A heck of a suicide dive takes Strong down and we take a break. We come back joined in progress with Waller hammering away until Strong dumps him outside for a breather. The abdominal stretch goes on to keep Waller in trouble but he fights out into pinfall reversal sequence.

Strong goes with his basics by hitting a backbreaker and the camel clutch goes on. With that broken up, Waller gets suplexed for two but manages to block a superplex attempt. Waller hits a top rope missile dropkick and sends him outside for a big flip dive. Back in and Waller grabs a Stunner for two of his own, only to walk into a jumping knee to the face to retain Strong’s title at 6:19.

Rating: C+. This was a good showing from both of them, even though I’m not sure what the point was in having Waller go from a heel on 205 Live to a face here. That being said, at least he’s doing something and I’ll take what I can get. It’s nice to have the title being defended a little more regularly and Strong is going to be good at anything he does.

LA Knight doesn’t like Odyssey Jones coming in here and talking about the uncrowned NXT Champion. Cue Jones to scare Knight and say that Knight has never seen anything like him. Andre Chase walks by to complain about the lack of a DQ, allowing Knight to jump Jones.

Dante Chen is from Singapore. This is the extent of his character.

Cora Jade and Trey Baxter are excited for her match next week. She’s only twenty years old and is ready for the future. They seem rather happy together.

Moving on from happy to unhappy, we have the debut of Lashing Out With Lash Legend, who is on a stage with an audience. She goes over various topics in NXT, such as the Draft (allowing her to talk about her WNBA career), Trey Baxter/Cora Jade and her Lash Out of the Week, which is Andre Chase. We’re done in a hurry, which is probably a good thing. I’m assuming this is a parody of a daytime talk show and it was every bit as bad.

Ridge Holland vs. Kyle O’Reilly

O’Reilly jumps Holland before the bell and we take a break (again). We’re joined in progress with Holland working on the ribs and hitting a backbreaker to keep O’Reilly in trouble. The bearhug goes on but O’Reilly fights out in a hurry and starts striking away. Holland plants him face first though and grabs a powerbomb for two. O’Reilly knocks him down again and goes up but Pete Dunne offers a distraction. Not that it matters as O’Reilly grabs a rollup for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C. What we got was pretty good, but the same match setup as the Cruiserweight Title match isn’t exactly a positive sign. O’Reilly as someone who fights from underneath and survives against a monster is smart, though not so much with Holland losing twice in a row. Then again, he’s kind of perfect for the main roster so a promotion wouldn’t shock me.

Post match the beatdown is on but Von Wagner makes the save.

Tony D’Angelo is still on the docks, is still in the mob and is still talking about his family. The difference this time: he debuts next week.

Women’s Title: Raquel Gonzalez vs. Frankie Monet

Monet, with the rest of the Robert Stone Brand, is challenging. Gonzalez gets headlocked down to start and then powers her off without much trouble. Another hard toss has Monet in trouble so it’s out to the floor, where Gonzalez gets pulled off the steps for a crash. Back in and some running knees to the back have Gonzalez in more trouble and a suplex gives Monet two.

Monet cranks on part of a surfboard and then kicks her down for…well no count actually as Gonzalez’s shoulders aren’t down. Back up and Gonzalez drops Monet for a change, setting up the spinning Vader Bomb for two. Gonzalez’s back gives out though and Monet double stomps her for two of her own. Not that it matters as Gonzalez is back up with the Chingona Bomb for the retaining pin at 7:52.

Rating: C+. I would have bet on the title change here but the segment with Toxic Attraction earlier was kind of a giveaway. Monet losing like this is a little weird, but it would not surprise me at all to see her going straight to the main roster. She’s one of the stars who absolutely does not need NXT so it isn’t the worst idea.

Post match Monet and company go to leave but here is Toxic Attraction to jump them from behind. With Monet dispatched, Toxic surrounds Gonzalez and beats her down, allowing Mandy to hold up the title to end the show. Assuming you ignore them losing earlier this show, this was an effective segment.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this a good bit better than last week’s show, if nothing else because they slowed WAY down with the whole thing. There weren’t a bunch of people being tossed out there and it felt like we were seeing wrestlers who had debuted being put into place. The Gargano/InDex stuff is going to be hit or miss, though I’m sure there are people who find it funny. Overall, the show felt much more structured this week and while it is still a bunch of newer people who aren’t quite ready for these spots, it felt WAY more like NXT than whatever the last two weeks have been.

Results
Elektra Lopez b. B Fab – Blue Thunder Bomb
Xyon Quin b. Oney Lorcan – Running forearm
Io Shirai/Zoey Stark b. Toxic Attraction – Moon Over Moonsault to Jayne
Boa b. Andre Chase – Reverse layout DDT
Roderick Strong b. Grayson Waller – Jumping knee to the face
Kyle O’Reilly b. Ridge Holland – Rollup
Raquel Gonzalez b. Frankie Monet – Chingona Bomb

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

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

AND

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