Main Event – February 16, 2017: Thank Goodness for Raw

Main Event
Date: February 16, 2017
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Tom Phillips, R-Truth, Byron Saxton

I think it’s safe to say that Main Event is on the biggest roll that it’s been on since I’ve been watching it. So much of that is due to the usage of some bigger stars around here, including New Day and Rusev in recent weeks. It instantly makes you feel like the show means a little more instead of being the same boring show that it’s been for so long. Hopefully that continues here so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Sin Cara vs. Jinder Mahal

Jinder wants to be called Hard Body Mahal. Like Hard Body Harrison? That’s your role model? Mahal runs him over a few times to start but Cara unloads on him with right hands in the corner. That earns him a middle rope elbow to the head though and Mahal grabs a chinlock. Cara fights right back with his normal flips, only to get sent face first into the buckle. A Regal Cutter gives Jinder the pin at 5:02.

Rating: D. And so much for that false hope. Mahal is one of the staples of this show and that’s not a good thing. I know he’s been hooking up with Rusev lately but that doesn’t make him an interesting character. This was much more back to normal for Main Event and it sucked away the limited interested I had in watching the show.

To Raw for the first time.

Mark Henry vs. Braun Strowman

They do the big power lockup to start and neither goes anywhere. The referee backs Henry up so Strowman gets in a cheap shot to take over. Strowman drops a leg and grabs a chinlock to keep thing slow. The forearm to the chest is broken up but Henry can’t hit the World’s Strongest Slam. Braun actually hits a dropkick followed by the powerslam for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: C. You know, I didn’t mind this. It’s a good example of consider what they were going for here. The idea was to showcase Strowman as the new strongman and while that’s been done over and over, they did everything exactly as they should have here and I got the idea exactly. Well done here, which I never would have expected to say.

Post match Reigns comes out for the fight and knocks Strowman down with two Superman Punches. The spear is countered into the powerslam though and Reigns is laid out.

Monday Night Raw – September 16, 2002: Up is Down and Left is Right

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 16, 2002
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home show for Unforgiven and that means a lot more from HHH and his REALLY COOL SLEEPER. Yes HHH is currently trying to get the sleeper over as a finisher in 2002 and….well he’s probably not wondering why people are booing him because he probably doesn’t notice. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Stephanie McMahon marrying a Justice of the Peace until the Justice ripped his face off to turn into Eric Bischoff, who I guess became the new groom. 3 Minute Warning came in and destroyed the bride. Billy and Chuck are never mentioned.

Bischoff is sitting in the dark to start and says you might know him from shows like Raw and Smackdown. He brings out Rico as the newest member of the Raw roster and gives him a match against Ric Flair as a thank you for last week’s work. Also tonight, the Intercontinental Title and World Title will be on the line because this is the best wrestling show in the world.

Opening sequence.

Here’s HHH for the real opening speech. The champ laughs off the idea that he’s going to lose the title to Rob Van Dam because Van Dam got lucky with one single frog splash. HHH gets sick of the fans booing him but here’s Van Dam to interrupt. Rob talks about all the negative energy coming off HHH which is over all of the cool moves Van Dam does.

That earns Rob the big serious lecture about how HHH uses his anger to keep the World Title where it belongs. Rob is quite taken by the way HHH displays his abilities. No one can deny that HHH can spit some water at another level. HHH calls Rob an underachiever who isn’t going to amount to anything in this business and will never be a World Champion.

Van Dam doesn’t seem to mind because the fans keep chanting for him. HHH misses a swing and gets kicked to the floor to FINALLY wrap this up. This made Van Dam vs. HHH seem more like a joke than a pay per view title match and that’s not good for the first major defense of a new title.

The International Organization of Women is protesting this show.

Ric Flair vs. Rico

Flair trips him to the mat to start and drops the knee for two. A few headlocks have the sideburns all roughed up so he kicks Flair in the chest. Rico runs into the elbow in the corner though and tries to grab a chair, earning himself a suplex. Ric makes the mistake of kicking the chair to the floor and walks into a big spinning kick for the pin (ignore Flair’s hand being on the ropes) and the huge upset.

Rating: D+. Nothing to the match but this is EXACTLY the kind of thing they need to be doing: throw new talent against the wall and see what works. I doubt Rico is going to light the world on fire but it’s better than trotting out the same tired old acts and wondering why none of them work anymore.

Booker isn’t worried about facing Test tonight, even if it’s a French test. Yes he speaks French and promises to pass that test tonight.

The protesters get to the gate but get turned away.

Booker T. vs. Test

During the entrances we hear about Bradshaw tearing his bicep and being put out 4-6 months (it was six, plus three months in OVW). Test jumps him to start as we actually hear about the two of them being former Tag Team Champions. A side slam gets two on Booker and we hit the armbar.

Booker makes his comeback with chops and a very slow motion spinebuster but the ax kick misses. A missile dropkick connects for two and Test gets the same off a pumphandle slam, giving us one heck of a shocked face. Booker uses a hurricanrana of all things to take Test down, setting up the spinning sunset flip out of the corner for the pin.

Rating: C-. Booker winning is the right call as his star continues to rise. Unfortunately it wasn’t the most technically sound match in the world as they looked a bit sloppy out there. Granted most of that is probably on Test whose whole thing was a big boot and pumphandle powerslam. Some of those near falls were good though.

Flair is depressed so here’s HHH (of course) to yell at him and call him pathetic. Ric yells back about how the title should be more important.

The protesters want to talk to Bischoff.

Tag Team Titles: Un-Americans vs. Dudley Boyz

Bubba and Spike are challenging. Storm headlocks Bubba to start as we’re already hearing about tables. A clothesline from the apron puts the champs in control….and Lance goes for a table. Of course it’s too early for that so Lance powerslams Spike for two instead. Some rib work keeps Spike in trouble until he grabs a headscissors. The referee doesn’t see the tag though (I love that spot) and it’s off to a chinlock.

Storm comes back in but eats a dropkick, allowing the hot tag to Bubba. Everything breaks down with Spike playing D-Von on What’s Up, only to have Bubba eat a superkick. The referee checks on him for no apparent reason, leaving Spike to take a double powerbomb through the table. Now the referee checks on Spike so there’s no count off a Bubba Bomb to Christian. With Bubba having to deal with Storm, Christian grabs a rollup to retain.

Rating: C. It was certainly eventful but that doesn’t mean it was the most interesting match in the world. The Un-Americans have hit their ceiling and it’s time for a popular team like Goldust and Booker to get the belts already. When I say “a team like” them, I mean only them as there’s no such thing as a division at this point.

Bischoff gives Chris Jericho the Intercontinental Title match. He’d also be happy to meet with the protesters because he has a few minutes free.

Spike is put on an ambulance when HHH comes up to smirk at Bubba.

Intercontinental Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho

Van Dam is defending and cuts off a running Jericho with a spinwheel kick. In your moment that tells you this show is scripted of the week, JR says that if Bischoff speaks to the protestors, the Women’s Title match is canceled. You know, because we couldn’t possibly have that happen in any other time slot and no two things can happen in the same time frame.

Jericho escapes a catapult but gets dropkicked out of the air for his troubles. The champ takes a bit too long going up top though and gets butterfly superplexed back down for no cover. Instead Jericho starts kicking away at the back, followed by a pair of backbreakers to make it even worse.

It’s off to a bow and arrow submission as Van Dam is bleeding from the mouth. Van Dam quickly escapes and gets two off Rolling Thunder. The stepover kick to the face looks to set up the Five Star but here’s HHH (fourth appearance tonight) so Rob dives onto him instead. The distraction lets Jericho grab the Walls and Rob actually taps to give Jericho the title.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t exactly a ton of heat on this one but it helps set up the pay per view and helps us avoid the almost always stupid champion vs. champion matchup. Van Dam tapping clean(ish) was very surprising but I’ll take it over another rollup or anything like that. Nothing great but at least it advanced the story.

Van Dam takes a Pedigree post match, just in case you thought the new champion should be the focus here.

The protesters get to wait in a room and one is clearly Stephanie in disguise.

Bischoff is going to meet the women but runs into a celebrating Jericho. Chris wants to avenge himself against Ric Flair so Bischoff makes an Intercontinental Title match for Sunday. Jericho is pleased.

William Regal is ready for Kane and has the Un-Americans on standby.

Video on Jeff Hardy.

Kane vs. William Regal

An Un-Americans distraction lets Regal get in a few cheap shots, including a series of forearms in the corner. Kane gets the side slam so Regal goes for the knuckles. Not that it matters as Test comes in to break up the chokeslam for the DQ.

Bubba Ray, Booker T. and Goldust make the post match save. A challenge is issued and accepted for an eight man tag on Sunday.

Bischoff is in the ring and calls the protesters down for a chat. They chant IOW (I’m assuming a National Organization for Women parody) and the spokeswoman complains about Bischoff exploiting women in a variety of ways, capped off by HLA. Now guess what the fans are chanting for. Bischoff thinks everyone in the ring with him is a lesbian and suggests some HLA right now.

That goes nowhere so the one who is clearly Stephanie in disguise reveals herself to be Stephanie in disguise (to be fair they did a decent job at not keeping the camera on her for too long but it was the obvious payoff) by kicking Bischoff low and talking trash. Billy and Chuck hit the ring for a modified Doomsday Device (as opposed to just punching and kicking him a lot) and fight off 3 Minute Warning as the announcers and fans have no idea who to cheer for.

I mean, I guess Bischoff is….or is it Steph…..I really have no idea. Billy and Chuck should be heels for faking the whole wedding and they were invading here but they were beating up the heel who might be a face because Raw and Smackdown apparently have their own sets of fans. It REALLY shouldn’t be this complicated but I’m sure at the end of the day we’re supposed to be cheering for Stephanie and company while forgetting the rest of the story all together.

Post match Bischoff is in pain and suggests an “intercontinental” match for Sunday between the two teams. If Billy and Chuck win, Bischoff will, ahem, kiss up to Stephanie in the middle of the ring. If 3 Minute Warning wins though, Stephanie has to perform HLA. In other words: it’s all about Bischoff and Stephanie, but more Stephanie of course.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. ???

HHH is defending against….someone who will be revealed in a minute as Van Dam comes out and jumps HHH, busting him open before the announcement. Security literally drags Rob away and it’s Jeff Hardy getting the title shot. At least Hardy is smart enough to go straight at the champ while he’s rocked. I wouldn’t have expected that from him.

The legdrop between the legs has HHH in trouble but he shoves Jeff outside to break the momentum. Back in and Jeff goes into the post but comes back with a Twist of Fate and Swanton, only to have HHH get his boot on the ropes. HHH grabs the sleeper to retain the title because he actually sees that as a main event finisher.

Rating: D+. This was just there and there was no drama in the whole thing. Hardy was in over his head and it was a waste of time to have the match wrapping up the show. Of course HHH had to have another segment though and that’s how the show gets to end. I was sick of seeing him about thirty minutes into the show but he gets to put Hardy to sleep after surviving his finisher. What a great guy.

Van Dam comes back for the Five Star to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The show was going along well enough but that Eric vs. Stephanie segment just crippled anything they had going. It’s forced, it doesn’t make sense and the wrestling is being built around some monsters vs. Billy and Chuck. Other than that there’s the rather uninteresting HHH vs. Van Dam feud which is the first title feud that fills in time with no chance for a title change but we get to sit through it anyway. At least Van Dam will get to put HHH over on Sunday though and that’s the important part.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Monday Night Raw – February 13, 2017: Oh No He Didn’t

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 13, 2017
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s a pretty stacked show this week as Bayley gets a shot at Charlotte’s Raw Women’s Title, Emmalina (allegedly) debuts and Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens have a Festival of Friendship. We’re getting closer to Fastlane and it’s time to really start setting up the pay per view card. Let’s get to it.

This show is dedicated to Chavo Guerrero Sr. It’s always nice to see them do something like that, even if it’s something minor.

Opening sequence.

Here’s a dancing Stephanie (so she’s good this week) to welcome us to the show. She’s given Mick Foley the night off tonight and hopes he’ll have his head on straight next week. Stephanie is in charge this week though but here’s Roman Reigns to cut her off. Reigns wants to fight Braun Strowman right here tonight and the fans seem to agree. Stephanie doesn’t though and threatens Reigns with the loss of his match against Strowman if he does anything tonight.

Anderson and Gallows of all people interrupt and say they’re tired of hearing Stephanie disrespected like this. That means a handicap match tonight with Stephanie doing a bad Teddy Long impression to set it up. Anderson and Gallows get punched in the face to start it off.

Anderson and Gallows vs. Roman Reigns

This is joined in progress after a break with Reigns and Gallows slugging it out. The champs quickly take over and Anderson grabs a chinlock to fill in some time. Reigns fights up and starts throwing bombs, only to get caught by a cheap shot from the apron. Anderson and Gallows start stomping away and that’s a DQ at 3:09.

Rating: D+. As pointless of a match as this was, at least they didn’t have the champs do a clean job. It’s certainly better than sitting through them facing Sheamus and Cesaro again and a DQ doesn’t do them any noteworthy damage. Reigns looked fine here and the Superman Punch for a comeback is always going to work.

Reigns clears the champs off without too much trouble.

Quick video on the history of the List of Jericho.

Kofi Kingston vs. Bo Dallas

Before the match, Kofi asks if Dallas is trying to be a Social Outcast. Big E. on the other hand has a folder labeled Ice Cream Blueprints because New Day is making an ice cream machine. That starts a WE WANT ICE CREAM chant as Kofi dropkicks Dallas to the floor. Dallas gets into the dancing and RIPS UP THE FOLDER. New Day is aghast so Kofi hits a huge flip dive to take him down. Bo gets two off an elevated swinging neckbreaker but gets caught in the SOS for the pin at 2:13.

Dallas is covered in cereal after the match.

Neville is ready for a match tomorrow night when Jack Gallagher comes in. Jack starts to quote some Shakespeare but Neville cuts him off for not being a man. We’ll find that out at Fastlane but for now, Jack calls him a pillock.

Video on Jericho helping Owens retain the title over Seth Rollins.

Noam Dar vs. Jack Gallagher

Alicia Fox is in Dar’s corner and Graves thinks she’s staring at Gallagher. Dar can’t keep Jack in a leglock as we get some snappy British spinning for an escape. A hard kick to the knee softens the knee up a bit better but Dar switches over to the arm. Gallagher doesn’t care for the switch in psychology so it’s the headbutt into the running dropkick for the pin on Noam at 3:15.

Rating: C-. I could watch Gallagher every week and Dar is getting better and better but this didn’t have the time to go anywhere. Gallagher winning is the only option and he’s looking pretty strong going into what should be a one off title match. Hopefully there’s nothing to the Fox/Gallagher stuff as it doesn’t sound all that interesting.

Neville comes out for the staredown.

HHH and Samoa Joe arrive.

Here’s Emmalina in a rather shiny dress. She talks about the wait and says she’s finally here. Now we’ll see the makeover from Emmalina to Emma….and that’s it. She was on screen for less than a minute.

Bayley is in the same place where Lita won her first Women’s Title from Stephanie McMahon, who doesn’t think anything of her. Tonight though, Bayley is hitting the jackpot.

Jericho and Owens are getting ready when HHH comes in to take Owens away.

Mark Henry vs. Braun Strowman

Post match Reigns comes out for the fight and knocks Strowman down with two Superman Punches. The spear is countered into the powerslam though and Reigns is laid out.

We look at Jericho helping Owens against Reigns.

Cesaro and Sheamus are firing Bayley up when Enzo and Big Cass come in. Trash is talked and it seems that we’ll be seeing Cass vs. Cesaro later.

Michael Cole has a sitdown interview with Samoa Joe, who says he’s working for HHH, who gave him his first shot at the big time. HHH has given more people opportunities than anyone else and Joe has spent eighteen years mowing everyone down to get here. Joe doesn’t want to hear about HHH any more because this interview is about him. He’s not some guy like Sami Zayn who is just happy to be here. Cole brings up all the people HHH has given opportunities to and then turned on them (including Shawn Michaels) but Joe says that’s not happening because he doesn’t need HHH. The Destroyer has been unleashed.

WOW this was great. Joe looked like one of the most natural stars ever here and a lot of that is likely because that’s the Samoa Joe character who has been around for a long time. I could go for Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn (assuming Zayn isn’t facing Jericho again) and as soon as Joe can strike out on his own and not be another HHH project, he’ll be in the main event in about five seconds. Finally: BAHAHAHAHAHA TNA SCREWS UP AGAIN!!! They had this guy and decided that he needed to put over Sting instead of keeping the World Title. That’s freaking hilarious.

Sami Zayn vs. Rusev

Sami backs away from a kick to the head to start but gets taken to the mat. The fans want Lana but have to settle for Sami fighting out of a headlock and chopping away. Sami knocks him outside for the big flip dive but Rusev just blasts him with a kick to the head to take us to a break. Back with Rusev grabbing a bearhug and throwing Sami off a fall away slam. Sami finally avoids a charge in the corner and they head outside, only to have Rusev blast him with a clothesline. As they get back in though, Sami scores with the Helluva Kick, his only major move of the match, for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C+. I can go for the idea of Sami getting the heck beaten out of him and then coming back for the pin with his finisher. It worked for Randy Savage back in the day and it’s going to work for someone like Sami, who is one of the best underdogs ever. If it gets us to Joe vs. Sami, so be it.

Post match Sami says he never gives up or sells out like Samoa Joe, so here’s Joe to jump him. The beating begins and Sami gets choked out.

Teddy Long Hall of Fame video.

Ariya Daivari vs. Akira Tozawa

Brian Kendrick is on commentary and takes credit for the indy movement in WWE. They slug it out to start with Daivari looking freaked out by Tozawa’s shouting. A kick to the chest and a backsplash get two but Tozawa misses a charge into the corner. Daivari drops a knee and grabs a sleeper. That goes nowhere so some fast kicks (with fast camera cuts) drop Daivari setting up the snap German suplex to give Tozawa the pin at 3:11.

Rating: C. The shouting got a bit annoying but the idea of Kendrick claiming to be the mentor while Tozawa never acknowledges it is intriguing. I don’t know if it’s going to go anywhere of note but 205 Live is the land of simple stories being done well so maybe they can pull something off. Anything that involves Kendrick taking a beating is a good thing at least.

This was EXCELLENT and you could tell the crowd completely bought into the whole thing. The key here is simple: Jericho was doing something nice for his friend and Owens turned on him anyway. It makes Owens out to be a jerk while Jericho was a nice guy who was on the wrong side. That creates sympathy for Jericho and will make his face turn feel much more natural. Of course a lot of the heat goes away if Goldberg takes the title (though Jericho costing Owens would be nice) but Lesnar vs. Goldberg just couldn’t get over on its own.

A bloody Jericho is stretchered out.

Cesaro vs. Enzo Amore

Before Cesaro comes out, Enzo accuses him of being a James Bond villain. Cesaro uppercuts the heck out of him to start and there’s the gutwrench suplex. Back in and Enzo grabs the middle rope DDT, only to eat Swiss Death for the pin at 2:43.

Black History Month video on Rosa Parks.

Charlotte yells at Sasha Banks for being injured.

Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Charlotte

A big celebrating ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this WAY more than I expected to and the big reason might be the match length. Save for Sami vs. Rusev (which had a commercial), nothing broke ten minutes until the main event. One of Raw’s biggest problems is the show feeling like it takes forever, which is often due to some very long matches that aren’t very good in the first place and are clearly there to fill in time. I never felt that way this week and it made for a MUCH more entertaining show.

As odd as it seems, Raw is looking a lot hotter than Smackdown at the moment with Owens looking like a monster heel, Jericho ready for the big (albeit short) face run and the women doing their usual thing. There are still problems but it’s looking good at the moment, which I never would have said even a week ago.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Anderson and Gallows via DQ when both attacked Reigns at once

Kofi Kingston b. Bo Dallas – SOS

Jack Gallagher b. Noam Dar – Running corner dropkick

Braun Strowman b. Mark Henry – Powerslam

Sami Zayn b. Rusev – Helluva Kick

Akira Tozawa b. Ariya Daivari – German suplex

Cesaro b. Enzo Amore – Pop up uppercut

Bayley b. Charlotte – Bayley to Belly

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/01/27/kbs-reviews-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

Main Event – February 9, 2017: This One Crushes The Others

Main Event
Date: February 9, 2017
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Austin Aries, Byron Saxton

I suddenly have hope for this show with New Day appearing last week. There’s already more than enough talent on Raw so just have one of the names show up here instead. It’s not like you can’t fit someone on here for a five minute match and have them cut a quick promo or make a quick appearance on the big show. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Curtis Axel vs. Bo Dallas

Axel goes with a dropkick to start before taking Bo into the corner. Curtis: “I BELIEVED IN YOU BO!!!” Now that’s just insulting. That earns Curtis a throat first drop across the top rope and we hit the cravate. It’s off to an American chinlock for a change before Axel comes back with a clothesline into the Hennig necksnap. The PerfectPlex puts Dallas away at 3:48.

Rating: D+. Just a match here as Dallas’ de-push continues (as you had to expect) and this is Axel’s latest instance of getting one win and then never doing anything with it. As usual this isn’t his fault because he’s on Main Event where pushes don’t really exist, unless you’re Darren Young of course.

To Raw for the first time.

Here are Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho with something to say. Owens brags about retaining the Universal Title but Jericho had something more important to get to. Last night someone won a little game and that means they’ve been calling themselves the G.O.A.T. No one steals Jericho’s name so Tom Brady JUST MADE THE LIST.

With that out of the way, Jericho wants to talk about a champion vs. champion match at Wrestlemania when he challenges Owens for the Universal Title. Owens doesn’t know if he can do that but here’s Goldberg to interrupt. Goldberg gets straight to the point and accepts the match with Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Kevin likes this idea because Goldberg vs. Lesnar could be a great undercard match for KO Mania II.

That’s not quite what Goldberg meant though because Owens doesn’t have anything for Fastlane. Therefore, maybe Goldberg should get the next shot at the Universal Title. Jericho interrupts and threatens Goldberg with a spot on the list but Goldberg puts himself on it. That makes Jericho accepts the shot for Owens, who certainly isn’t pleased.

And now the second time.

US Title: Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn

Sami is challenging and Owens is at ringside. Feeling out process to start with Sami grabbing a rollup for two which sends Jericho out to the floor. Back in and Sami’s high crossbody gets two on the champ but it’s way too early for the Helluva Kick. Instead Jericho bails to the floor, meaning it’s time for a big flip dive to put Chris down.

We come back from a break with Jericho getting his head taken off with a clothesline. Another Helluva Kick attempt is countered into the Walls but Sami reverses into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. One day that’s going to win a match and the roof is going to come off the place. Sami’s tornado DDT is countered into the Walls but he’s right in front of the ropes. Owens throws in a superkick though and the Codebreaker retains the title at 9:45.

Rating: C+. This was fine though I’m glad Sami didn’t win the title. He needs to get one someday but at the moment, this was the right way to keep things going. Eventually they can pull the trigger and set up Owens vs. Jericho but they’ll probably wait until after Fastlane, which isn’t the worst idea in the world.

Sin Cara vs. Rusev

Again with the somewhat known name. If nothing else this means we get Lana’s rather fetching new haircut. Lana even introduces him as Handsome Rusev, who still has the face mask to protect the broken nose. Rusev wastes no time in stomping Cara down in the corner and slowly pounds him down. A dropkick staggers Rusev but Cara gets knocked out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Rusev throwing him around even more as the camera stays on Lana (very wise). Cara makes the mistake of rolling him up for two so Rusev cranks on his arm. The comeback consists of a springboard elbow to Rusev’s jaw and something like an Angle Slam. Cara’s frog splash gets two but the Swanton hits knees. The Accolade makes Cara tap at 10:11.

Rating: C. Better match than I was expecting here with Cara getting in some offense. Rusev worked fine as the arrogant monster who let Cara get back into it, only to crush him in the end. On top of that, Lana has flat out mastered the evil heel manager role. She has so much confidence to her and that makes for a great character.

We’ll wrap it up with this.

Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns

Joe jumps Reigns before the bell and Reigns is in trouble as we take a break with no bell. Back with the bell ringing and Reigns taking it to the floor for a whip into the barricade. Joe comes right back with an enziguri and pops Reigns in the jaw with an elbow. A slugout goes to Joe and he drops the backsplash for two more.

You’re not about to keep Reigns in trouble for that long though as he comes back with a Samoan drop. The Superman Punch is loaded up but Joe is smart enough to roll outside. That earns him the apron dropkick and a Superman Punch but here’s Strowman for a distraction. Joe gets back up and hits a Rock Bottom for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. That’s the smart ending as you want to make Joe look strong in his debut but you also keep Reigns protected at the same time. The match was little more than a power brawl but that’s what both guys do best. The Strowman distraction was the right call and the match at Fastlane could be interesting as well.

Post match Strowman cleans house and powerslams Reigns through the barricade to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was better than I was expecting and one of the better shows they’ve done in a good while. It really does help to have bigger names on the card for a change as it almost automatically enhances the interest. I know there isn’t going to be an upset or anything but at least it keeps things from being as boring.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/01/27/kbs-reviews-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

Monday Night Raw – September 9, 2002: The Long Form Joke

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 9, 2002
Location: Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

So there’s a new World Champion and that means we get to hear about how amazing HHH really is. That’s been the case around here for a long time but you can feel it cranking into a much higher level around this point. We’re a few weeks away from Unforgiven and the only match that seems to be coming up is HHH vs. Rob Van Dam for the title. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Un-Americans vs. Kane/Bradshaw

Lance Storm and Christian are defending after another failed flag burning last week. After the standard AMERICA ROCKS speech from Bradshaw, the brawl is on in a hurry. Bradshaw shoulders Storm all the way out to the floor and it’s off to Kane for some right hands of his own. Christian comes in and takes just as much of a beating as this is one sided, just as it probably should be to start.

Kane’s side slam gets two on Christian but a Canadian crotching against the post lets the champs take over for the first time. Ah so it’s one of those matches where low blows work on Kane. You never know how that’s going to work. The fans think Canada sucks (racists) but a hot tag to Bradshaw makes them a bit happier.

House is cleaned with one heck of a powerbomb on Christian and Kane’s top rope clothesline to Storm. The ref gets bumped though and here’s Test with the big boot to Kane. Bradshaw makes the save but William Regal comes in to knock him out with the Power of the Punch, giving Christian the pin to retain.

Rating: C+. This was better than it had any right to be but the ending really dragged it down a bit. They didn’t need to have new champions here but just have Regal or Test instead of both of them. I was surprised by the action here though and that’s how Raw should start: a fun match instead of a long talking segment.

Speaking of a talking segment, here’s Eric Bischoff to announce a four way for the #1 contendership with Jeff Hardy vs. Big Show vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho. That brings us to Smackdown and Stephanie (you knew that was coming) with this week’s commitment ceremony getting publicity in the New York Times, the New York Post and ESPN. Bischoff has his own idea though: HLA, Hot Lesbian Action. As my head hurts, I can kind of appreciate them for not hiding what they’re going for. They’re just flat out admitting that the women are sex objects, which I can take over a horrible attempt at “wrestling”.

Chris Jericho eats an apple and says he has a plan to get the World Title back. This means apple being spit on Terri.

HHH doesn’t care who he faces for the title at the pay per view. Cue Bubba Ray Dudley to accuse HHH of being a coward and can’t wait to see HHH vs. Spike Dudley tonight. Steven Richards, Bubba’s opponent for tonight, jumps him from behind as I wonder why Bubba is the one getting this push.

Terri and Trish Stratus walk past the lesbians’ dressing room, which has an actual “LESBIANS” sign on the door. They’re not exactly subtle here.

Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Steven Richards

Bubba charges down the ramp to jump him from behind and it’s time for some early elbow drops. The fans want tables as Lawler plays Who’s The Lesbian. Richards comes back with a forearm and a swinging neckbreaker, only to have Bubba hit a surprisingly good looking sunset flip for two of his own. The Flip, Flop and Fly actually gets Jerry’s mind off the lesbians for a change but Richards gets two off a superkick (and a very strong pop). Steven breaks up a super Bubba Bomb but can’t get out of a super sitout powerbomb for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was a bit more energetic than I was expecting and that finish looked great. That being said, I’m not sure I can get behind the idea of a Bubba vs. HHH match. I know they’re building Bubba up fairly well but that doesn’t mean I want to see him have some long match way above his talent range. Just stop doing things that you aren’t ready to pull off, like separate titles.

Victoria/Stacy Keibler vs. Terri/Trish Stratus

Stacy, in black shorts and a matching tied off top, sends Lawler even further over the edge. Terri and Stacy catfight to the floor and it’s time for a lot of slapping. Lawler: “Oh they like it rough.” Victoria and Terri (oh dear) start things off with Terri getting slammed for an elbow drop. Stacy does her long legged choke in the corner as Lawler has binoculars. JR has just about had it here and I can’t say I blame him.

Terri slips out of an over the shoulder backbreaker and some heel miscommunication goes nowhere because Terri isn’t smart enough to make a hot tag. Thankfully it’s off to Trish thanks to a missed moonsault so we actually get a little wrestling. It’s back to Stacy for the awkward looking kicks but Trish easily knocks them both silly. Terri hits a high crossbody to put Stacy away.

Rating: D-. What exactly is there to say here? The wrestling only existed when Trish and Victoria were in there, which of course was the smallest percentage of the match. I can’t stand this nonsense and it’s not fair to people who have the ability to work a decent match. Why do we need Stacy and Terri in there other than for eye candy? I mean…..I just answered my own question.

Jerry is disappointed in the lack of HLA and you can hear JR getting more and more annoyed.

Regal dumps Christopher Nowinski to join the Un-Americans. Chris talks about HLA and Regal slaps him in the face because Chris is an embarrassment. Preach it brother.

Here’s Nowinski with something to say, including a few jabs at Iowa State’s football team. Back at Harvard they have a chant: “Five, ten, fifteen bucks. We’ll own the company, you’ll drive the trucks.” Cue Tommy Dreamer with offers of Singapore cane shots, triggering a brawl with Dreamer getting the better of it. Nothing to see here though Nowinski was kind of funny.

Spike runs into the Lesbians and really doesn’t care. Again I say, preach it brother.

HHH vs. Spike Dudley

Non-title. Spike wants nothing to do with a handshake and it’s time to fight over wrist control. A rollup annoys HHH so he slaps Spike in the face. Spike slaps him right back so Lawler calls him a pervert. Those running forearms drop HHH as you can feel the attempts at HHH vs. Taka Michinoku from 2000.

Back in and Spike charges into a boot, followed by a few backbreakers. The third is countered into a headscissors though and Spike hits a dive to the floor. Back in again and HHH clotheslines him out of the air with Lawler blaming thoughts of hot lesbian action for Spike’s issues. The Pedigree gets no cover so Spike gets in a low blow, followed by the Dudley Dog for two. Another Dudley Dog is blocked though and HHH grabs a sleeper of all things for the win, drawing a weird face pop in the process.

Rating: D+. They tried here but there’s only so much that can be done with Spike Dudley vs. the World Champion. On top of that, what in the world was the point in finishing with a sleeper? Are we really supposed to buy the idea of a sleeper as a main event finisher? I know HHH fancies himself as a huge old school style star but come on now.

HHH keeps stomping until Bubba comes out for the save.

Jeff Hardy is talking about his main event tonight when he sees Bischoff and goes to yell about next week. Why Jeff just suddenly saw him when it looks like Bischoff has been standing there for awhile and Jeff was looking in the same direction the whole time isn’t clear. Jeff threatens violence if there’s another 3 Minute Warning.

Chris Jericho offers Big Show a deal and leaves. Johnny the Bull of all people comes in and hears about Jericho’s offer of an alliance, complete with the statistics to go with it. Johnny thinks it’s a good idea and gets thrown into a chair.

Booker is ready to face the Un-Americans tonight when Goldust comes up wearing a Kane mask. Of course the real Kane comes up and comedy ensues. Since it’s Booker and Goldust though, it’s actually funny. Bradshaw comes up and tells them to go beat up the Un-Americans, but first let’s watch the HLA. Goldust is aghast but Kane says he’ll go.

Booker T./Goldust vs. William Regal/Test

Test knocks Booker into the corner to start so it’s off to Goldust for a hip attack on Regal. That’s about it for the offense as Test stomps Goldust down in the corner before Regal adds in a few knee shots to the head. Goldust’s clothesline allows the hot tag off to Booker for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Regal gets in the Power of the Punch, only to have Kane and Bradshaw come in for the DQ.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but I’m sure the fans will have fun chanting USA for most of the time. Despite not being the strongest team in the world, the Un-Americans will be fine enough for a midcard act for the next few months. I’m not sure if Bradshaw and Kane are the best options for opponents but at least we’re getting some entertaining promos.

It’s HLA time with Bischoff moderating. Bad acting ensues, there’s a bit of stripping and a kiss before 3 Minute Warning comes in for the obvious finish. So to clarify: Bischoff teasing us with HLA is a heel move but Stephanie not delivering a fake gay wedding is going to make her the big face. That’s how WWE works here and it’s really rather confusing.

Ric Flair gives Rob Van Dam a pep talk.

Rob Van Dam vs. Big Show vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho

Non-title and under elimination rules. Show beats on Van Dam in the corner to start while Jeff is backdropped to the floor. Poetry in Motion fails completely and Show tosses Van Dam down as well. Back in and Rob teams up with Jeff to put Show down but the Swanton only gets two.

Rolling Thunder gets the same with Rob being launched onto the referee. Jericho cleans house with a chair but Show takes it away and Jericho teases getting hit….for a DQ. You mean Big Show can’t take a Swanton for a pin in a nothing four way elimination match and has to get disqualified instead? Seriously?

We take a break and come back with Van Dam diving onto Jericho, followed by Hardy running the barricade for the double clothesline. A double springboard moonsault gets two on Chris and a double superplex makes it even worse for him. The good guys follow it up with a double springboard leg lariat to put Chris outside. With the Canadian gone, Van Dam DDT’s Jeff for two but Jericho breaks up the Swanton and steals the pin.

Van Dam is right back up with a spinning kick to Jericho’s face but he gets caught in one heck of a release German suplex. Back up and Jericho posts himself in the corner but manages to remove a turnbuckle pad. Rolling Thunder hits knees to give Chris two more and the Lionsault is good for yet another near fall. Cue HHH to watch as Van Dam sends Chris into the buckle and drops the Five Star to go to Unforgiven.

Rating: B. It’s like Wrestlemania XVI all over again: once you get rid of Big Show, the match gets a lot better in a hurry. The key thing here is Van Dam winning as he was supposed to and getting the pin for the final victory. It makes him look like a bigger deal because just being the Intercontinental Champion doesn’t mean much around here. I mean, was his title pulled out of a briefcase just a week ago?

Overall Rating: D+. While the main event is good, it’s not enough to pull a lot of this show up out of the muck. As usual, the biggest problem around here is the one joke dominating the whole thing. That HLA segment was as pandering as you could get and that’s not the way I like my wrestling shows. There’s some good stuff here but the big problems are too much for it to overcome.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Monday Night Raw – February 6, 2017: Getting Onto the Exit

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 5, 2017
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s that time of the year when just talking about a match in about two months is a big deal. In this case that means Goldberg is back to answer Brock Lesnar’s challenge for a match at Wrestlemania XXXIII, which is likely main eventing the show in April. Other than that we might get a few more details about what’s coming up in about a month at Fastlane. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of HHH’s speech from last week about how tired he is of Seth Rollins not doing what he wanted Rollins to do. HHH blames this whole thing on Rollins getting hurt (the first time).

Stephanie McMahon and an unhappy Mick Foley are in the ring to start with Foley bringing out Samoa Joe, much to his annoyance. Joe hasn’t signed his Raw contract yet but first of all we need Stephanie to yell at Mick for not doing his job (whatever that means here). Foley doesn’t want to sign Joe, who goes on a rant about how there is nothing Foley can do to stop him.

For eighteen years Joe has been trying to get here and if one man giving him a shot means he has to hurt Rollins, so be it. Joe signs and here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Roman gets in Joe’s face and says that if Joe is putting Raw on notice, that means he’s putting Roman on notice. Foley immediately makes the match for tonight.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Bayley goes right after her to start and literally bounces off the monster. That means it’s time for the slow beating to begin, including a hard slam and a lot of shouting. Nia misses a charge into the corner though and Bayley fires off some forearms, only to get sent even harder into the corner to send us to a break.

Back with Bayley fighting out of a waistlock and forearming Nia in the jaw. Another beal into the corner sets up a running splash though and Nia mocks Bayley’s dancing. Nia turns her inside out with a clothesline but misses a charge into the post. Bayley sends her in again but here’s Charlotte for a distraction, allowing Nia to Samoan drop Bayley for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C. I know they’re doing a very similar formula to what worked for Bayley down in NXT but that’s not going to work in such an abbreviated form, especially with so much else to focus on. Bayley hasn’t quite clicked on Raw yet but you know she’s going to get the title at some point. The question is when that’s going to be the case.

Braun Strowman vs. ???/???/???/???

It’s back to the old formula here as Strowman runs over everyone in sight, sending one of the four running up the ramp. The running powerslam plants one of them and the other two are piled on top for the pin at 1:54.

Strowman tells Foley this isn’t competition and heads to the back to find the boss. In the back, Strowman says he wants everyone so Foley gives him a match with Reigns at Fastlane.

Video on Akira Tozawa.

Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak

The announcers make sure to plug Tozawa’s resume so it’s clear he’s going to be a big deal. Some early strikes have Gulak in trouble and a backsplash (WAY too popular anymore) gets two. Gulak’s comeback goes nowhere as Tozawa kicks him to the floor for a suicide dive. A Shining Wizard sets up the snap German suplex to end Gulak at 3:40.

Rating: C. Just a squash here but it made Tozawa look like the killer he needs to be. This could be a hint that Tozawa is going to be one of the next challengers for Neville’s Cruiserweight Title and I’ve heard far worse ideas. The cruiserweights are starting to come together and that’s a good thing all around, especially if it gives us something like Tozawa vs. Neville. Gulak is fine as a punching bag but PLEASE don’t try to make him any kind of a focal point.

Post match Brian Kendrick comes out to shake Tozawa’s hand.

In theory this sets up Owens vs. Jericho, but at the same time it also likely means Goldberg gets the title. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he squashes Owens either, which is another great salute to someone who has spent months being awesome, only to get taken down by someone who doesn’t need the title for their Wrestlemania match.

Post break Owens isn’t happy with Jericho but Chris says he always has Kevin’s back. That’s not enough though because having his back doesn’t mean making matches for the Universal Title.

Tag Team Titles; Cesaro/Sheamus vs. Gallows and Anderson

Gallows and Anderson are defending with Enzo and Big Cass watching at ringside. Sheamus takes over on Anderson to start before Cesaro comes in with an ax handle to the shoulder. A Regal Roll into a double stomp from Cesaro gets two so the champs regroup on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sheamus fighting back and getting two off a top rope clothesline. The assisted Irish Curse gets two on Anderson but Gallows kicks Enzo in the face, drawing Cass in for the DQ at 9:00.

Rating: C-. THAT MEANS THIS FEUD GETS TO CONTINUE! WHY IS THIS FEUD CONTINUING??? I’m so sick of these teams fighting as there’s just no chemistry or charisma anywhere to be found. Maybe Enzo and Cass being added in could help things out a bit but sweet goodness this isn’t interesting so far. Fix this up already because it’s killing any show they’re on.

Black History Month video on Jackie Robinson.

We look back at Rollins being attacked last week. Rollins has a torn MCL and his Wrestlemania status is “very much in doubt”.

New Day vs. Shining Stars

Before the match, Kofi wants to know who has actually been to the Shining Stars Resort. That would be no one, because it’s not real. New Day gives people what they want, including magic, music (via Francesca II: Turbo) and cereal. Big E.: “What else can we give them? ICE CREAM???”

This is joined in progress after a break with Woods hitting a splash for two on Primo until an enziguri knocks Xavier into a Russian legsweep. We hit the chinlock for a long while, followed by a top wristlock for a change of pace. Woods fights back and gets in a missile dropkick, allowing the hot tag off to Big E. Everything breaks down and New Day cleans house, setting up the Midnight Hour for the pin at Primo at 5:48.

Rating: C. I’ve seen far worse six minute tag matches and that’s fine for a way to fill in some time on a show like this. New Day hasn’t done much of value since the title loss and I’d love to see them go somewhere. Unfortunately I’m not sure what there is for them to do other than go after singles gold.

Goldberg vs. Owens is official for Fastlane.

Jericho doesn’t think Sami Zayn can defeat him two weeks in a row. Kevin comes in to say he’ll have Jericho’s back.

The Rock N Roll Express are official for the Hall of Fame.

US Title: Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn

We look at Goldberg challenging Owens earlier tonight.

Sasha Banks is getting her knee looked at when Charlotte comes in to mock her for not even having her health. Charlotte promises to keep a seat open for Banks next week when her best friend gets a shot at the title.

Austin Aries is in the ring for an interview with Neville. With Rich Swann out with an injury, it’s time for a new #1 contender to be crowned. As luck would have it, there’s going to be a five way elimination match between Jack Gallagher, Noam Dar, Cedric Alexander, Tony Nese and TJ Perkins in a five way elimination match for the #1 contendership. Neville doesn’t care who he faces so here are all five challengers to interrupt each other while saying they’ll win. A big brawl breaks out with Neville being the last man standing, mainly because he’s one of the only ones who didn’t try a big dive.

Emmalina debuts next week.

Neville/Noam Dar/Tony Nese vs. Jack Gallagher/Cedric Alexander/TJ Perkins

Joined in progress as we come back with Gallagher taking a snap suplex from Neville. Nese grabs a front facelock but has to stop for the sake of forearming Perkins and Alexander off the apron. Gallagher gets in a headbutt to put Nese down so Neville demands Dar allow him to take the tag. Apparently Dar isn’t the best listener though as he tags himself in, only to have the also tagged Perkins dropkick him in the face. Neville won’t have any more of this and walks out on his partners, leaving Nese to take the Detonation Kick. A Lumbar Check puts Dar away at 5:05.

Rating: C. Not a bad match here and it did a decent enough job of setting up tomorrow’s five way. There should be some good action there and that’s what we got here as well. I’m still digging the heck out of Neville with his logical actions as he has no reason to stick around when someone isn’t going to listen to the King’s orders.

Jericho pitches an idea for next week: the Festival of Friendship. Owens is skeptical but goes along with it.

We look at Reigns and Samoa Joe from earlier.

Video on the Elimination Chamber. Cole says this is a new Chamber but doesn’t elaborate. What sloppy journalism.

Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns

Post match Strowman cleans house and powerslams Reigns through the barricade to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I liked this better than most shows because, for once, it wasn’t so much about the in ring product. Sometimes it gets annoying to have long matches for the sake of having long matches but this week was more about setting up stuff for the future, especially Fastlane. The wrestling was perfectly acceptable this week but the important part was knocking out a bunch of stuff that they need to get done with a month before the next pay per view. Totally fine show this week and a nice upgrade over recent weeks if memory serves me right.

Results

Nia Jax b. Bayley – Samoan drop

Braun Strowman b. ???/???/???/??? – Running powerslam

Akira Tozawa b. Drew Gulak – German suplex

Anderson and Gallows b. Sheamus/Cesaro via DQ when Big Cass interfered

New Day b. Shining Stars – Midnight Hour to Primo

Chris Jericho b. Sami Zayn – Codebreaker

Jack Gallagher/Cedric Alexander/TJ Perkins b. Tony Nese/Noam Dar/Neville – Lumber Check to Dar

Samoa Joe b. Roman Reigns – Rock Bottom

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Thoughts On the Rumored Wrestlemania XXXIII Card

Just…..wow. This has been floating around for a bit and if this is the case, I have no idea where we are on a lot of these things. Here it is with a thought or two per match.

WWE Universal Championship
Goldberg (c) vs. Brock Lesnar

Someone explain to me why this is the main event and for a title. Please, someone tell me why that’s what we need. I can almost buy this as the main event (assuming Goldberg can go more than five minutes) but why in the world does this need to be for the title? Does the winner really need to take the title on hiatus for weeks at a time? That’s their best idea?

WWE Championship
Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Randy Orton

If this happens, Wyatt better win. Orton doesn’t need this and Wyatt is considered a choker so let him defend the title here and eventually drop it to someone over the summer. This should be a layup so I don’t buy it happening, unfortunately.

RAW Women’s Championship
Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

Again, this should be a layup (as well as a singles match but WE MUST GO FOUR WAYS!) and by that I mean…..actually it should be Sasha turning heel and getting the big title win, setting up Bayley with the big singles win around Summerslam. I know people want to see Bayley win the title here but she’s not ready yet.

Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker

This is one of two schools of thought. If they try to have Reigns go in as the mega face, it doesn’t matter who wins because Reigns will be blown into the Atlantic by the booing. If they have Reigns as the heel monster who spears old man Undertaker over and over until he can’t get up anymore, I’m sold like Hercules to DiBiase.

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H

If they just absolutely have to do this (and they clearly do because it’s HHH at Wrestlemania), please don’t screw it up by having it go half an hour. This is nowhere near as big a match as WWE seems to think it is but it seems to be what we’re getting, assuming Seth can walk again. I’ve heard rumors of Shane McMahon replacing Seth if he can’t go but either way, HHH needs to go down here.

Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho

I could go for this being for the US Title and all they have to do is have Jericho put Owens on the List for some reason. This is the match that should happen, has been planned for months and needs to take place by schedule. Stop messing with the good ideas you have and everything will be fine.

AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon

Of all the matches on the card, I think this one makes me madder than all the rest. AJ had one of the best years in company history but for some reason he’s stuck babysitting the boss at Wrestlemania. The match will have some big spots and entertaining moments but how much praise do you think AJ is going to get for it? This is going to be the Shane McMahon Show and that’s a very sad moment for AJ.

John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse

BRING BACK SHANE! Word on the street says this is Nikki’s last match with Cena possibly proposing after the match. You know, because WRESTLEMANIA needs to be a Nikki Bella night. Cena isn’t going to be around much longer and now we get to hear about how Nikki has just overcome so much and how she’s earned all this and should get her happiness or whatever, because somewhere along the line she because Trish Stratus and Lita combined. I can’t stand this for everyone involved as they all, save for Nikki that is, deserve so, so much better.

The Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal

You knew this one was going to happen and while that doesn’t make it much better, it’s still the case. This is going to eat up about fifteen minutes with all the introductions and pre-match shenanigans and that’s fine really. It’s going to come and go with no one remembering it so let’s get it over with and worry about the rest of the show. I just don’t care enough to get annoyed about it and that’s fine.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

So….this is Ambrose’s spot I suppose. I mean, it’s not like you could do one last match against Styles or have him defend against Baron Corbin. While the latter is still a possibility, it seems more likely that they’ll put them both in the battle royal or on the pre-show because Nikki’s proposal needs more time. I’ll actually take Corbin winning again here, which would be a great idea for him.

This isn’t the strongest card in the world but there’s more to like about it than last year’s show. At least there’s no reason to believe New Day will lose to the League of Nations again. I still want to know what was up with that.

Main Event – January 26, 2017: Now With 100% Less Horrible Arm Injuries!

Main Event
Date: January 26, 2017
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Austin Aries

Hopefully we can get by without another broken arm. It should be interesting to see where they go with no Darren Young for a change as he’s been the one constant of this show, which isn’t the best idea in the world. It’s also the final show before the Royal Rumble so expect some high quality highlight packages. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Lince Dorado vs. Brian Kendrick

After Aries tells us that Dorado used to be a meringue champion, Kendrick is sent head first into the buckle and then out to the floor. A baseball slide takes Dorado down and we have a jarred knee. Back in and the knee is fine enough for a moonsault press onto Brian for two, followed by a hurricanrana for the same. A springboard Stunner gives Dorado another two but the shooting star hits knee, setting up the Captain’s Hook for the tap at 5:10.

Rating: C+. I was really surprised here but the match was a lot better than I was expecting. Dorado is fine for a generic cruiserweight and his offense was rolling until the end. Kendrick is still very hit or miss and while I’m rarely a fan of someone winning with two offensive moves in a five minute match, this was a very nice match.

To Raw!

US Title: Roman Reigns vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending but Reigns starts fast and knocks him to the floor for a running dropkick. Back from an early break with Owens on commentary and telling Byron to shut up. Naturally we LOOK AT THE ANNOUNCERS’ TABLE TO SEE PEOPLE TALKING while the match is going on. Jericho grabs a chinlock as the announcers pepper Owens about his upcoming title defense.

Ever the arrogant heel, Jericho slaps Reigns in the face a few times so Roman uppercuts him out of the air. The Samoan drop into a rollup is botched so Jericho hammers away, only to have the drop hit a few seconds later. The Superman Punch is countered with a dropkick but the Codebreaker is easily powered away. Now the Superman Punch connects but Owens comes in for the DQ at 9:45.

Rating: C-. This was fine while it lasted and thank goodness they didn’t change the title back already. Owens interfering is fine and thankfully they didn’t have another champ lose all over again. The match wasn’t terrible and Reigns wasn’t entirely booed out of the building so this is one of the better possible outcomes.

Post match Reigns is beaten down but manages to lock Owens in the cage and spear Jericho. Coolish moment I guess, though wouldn’t it make more sense to have Jericho locked in the cage and beat Owens down as a preview for Sunday?

Video on HHH winning the 2002 Royal Rumble.

From Raw again.

Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins

Only the winner goes to the Rumble. It’s a feeling out process to start as the announcers talk about how these two used to be friends and even roommates. Neither can get anywhere in the first few minutes so Seth turns it into a fist fight and scores with a suicide dive as we take a break. Back with Seth missing the springboard knee and getting caught in the Blue Thunder Bomb so CUE THE CROWD REACTION SHOTS!!!

A Michinoku Driver gets two more on Seth but Rollins runs the corner and throws Sami down for the Blockbuster. Seth grabs the Falcon’s Arrow for two more and a jumping knee to the face just sounds painful. There’s the Sling Blade but Sami reverses the Pedigree into a tornado DDT.

The Helluva Kick misses but Sami backdrops him to the floor for a big crash. Back in and a sunset powerbomb gets two more on Seth, followed by the exploder into the corner. Rollins bails to the apron and manages a Pedigree to knock Sami cold…..and here’s HHH. Or at least his music hits, allowing Sami to small package Rollins at 15:57.

Rating: B-. This match had some of WWE’s greatest hits for stupid ideas, including ALL THE CROWD REACTION SHOTS and that stupid music fake out. I’m looking forward to Wrestlemania but unfortunately it’s so we can get done with this HHH vs. Rollins feud. Why in the world we need to sit around and wait for so many months on this feud isn’t clear but odds are it’s “well, you can’t expect TRIPLE H to lower himself to any other show.”

Shawn Michaels won the 1995 Royal Rumble.

Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke

Rematch from last week. Brooke hiptosses her down and does a one arm pushup (Aries: “I usually do no arm push-ups.”) but gets headscissored into an armbar. An arm crank sends Dana outside and we take a break. Back with Dana stomping away in the corner and slapping on a bodyscissors. Brooke’s cartwheel moonsault hits knees and Fox gets in the northern lights suplex for two of her own. The ax kick puts Brooke away at 10:10.

Rating: D+. Just a match here as they basically did the exact same thing last week. Fox is in a weird place as she’s talented enough to beat up some of the women but WAY out of her league against the top of the division. Brooke has fallen off a cliff lately and I don’t see a way back up for her at the moment.

One more Raw trip to wrap us up.

Here’s Goldberg for the closing segment. The chants cut him off and Goldberg seems to forget his lines a few times. He finally gets them right by talking about facing twenty nine other men in the Royal Rumble for the right to face Owens or Reigns. Cue Paul Heyman to talk about who Goldberg might be facing on Sunday. It could be Randy Orton, Braun Strowman or even this man: Brock Lesnar. Brock comes out while Heyman keeps talking but Goldberg says get in here. The fight is almost on when the gong strikes. Undertaker shows up and we get the big three way staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not much to see on this one with the first match being fun but meaningless and the second match being something we saw just last week. In other words, it’s your run of the mill Main Event with the highlights carrying things as far as they’re going to be able to.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Monday Night Raw – September 2, 2002: They Almost Broke Me

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 2, 2002
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

So uh, we don’t have a World Champion around here anymore because Brock Lesnar is the second latest casualty of the Brand Wars. The latest casualty is the Undertaker, who went back to Smackdown when Stephanie basically just told him to come because that’s how this era works. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eric Bischoff to open things up and he’s got a briefcase. Bischoff gets right to the point: Raw needs a champion so here’s the REAL #1 contender: HHH. Eric praises HHH by saying WCW would have won the Monday Night Wars with HHH on their side. HHH takes credit for running Lesnar off and says his wife knew what was best for the company (Wouldn’t that be signing HHH?).

It’s time for the briefcase which contains the Big Gold Belt because HHH is the brand new World Heavyweight Champion (Thereby beginning its lineage. I’ve heard people say it’s the same lineage as the WCW and/or NWA World Titles and it’s still nonsense. This belt began here and that’s all there is to it.).

HHH starts in on the big speech and here’s Ric Flair to cut him off. No one ever handed him a title in a briefcase (True. When Kevin Nash literally gave him the title for reign #16, there was no briefcase involved.) so Flair thinks he should get a title shot tonight. Bischoff makes the match and both guys say it’s going to be an honor. Are we in TNA all of a sudden? HHH gets in a cheap shot before leaving.

Post break, HHH and Bubba Ray Dudley run into each other and Bubba is declared jealous. HHH talks about how Bubba could be champion one day. Bubba isn’t pleased and calls the belt Raw’s salvation before saying he’ll win the title soon enough. Uh, right.

Bubba Ray Dudley/Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly/Christopher Nowinski

Tables match. Earlier today, Chris said that after their opponents are put through tables, he’ll burst through something else. I’ll quote the following line: “And by that, I mean Molly’s hymen.” What is with these disturbing stories involving Molly? First she’s fat (not really but whatever), then she’s horrible because she’s a virgin and now it’s about taking her virginity. I know they need characters but this is ridiculous.

The guys start with Nowinski actually taking over before it’s off to Molly. That means a failed powerbomb attempt as Molly grabs a waistlock. King: “What’s that? The hymen maneuver?” It leads to some dancing as Molly’s pointless humiliation continues. I speak too soon as Bully takes her pants down (King: “IS THAT HER HYMEN???”), allowing Trish to get in a few spanks.

A WE WANT PUPPIES chant starts up as Molly gets in a neckbreaker, only to have Trish grab her own to put both women down. Bubba comes in and cleans Nowinski’s clock, giving us the “Chris falls into Molly’s crotch” spot. Chris takes What’s Up and it’s finally table time. The Molly Go Round drops Trish but Bubba saves her from the table. Nowinski misses a splash to drive himself through a table and that counts as an elimination, likely as the referee wants this to end. Molly is sent through to finally end this.

Rating: No. In every possible sense of the word, no. This wasn’t funny, this wasn’t amusing, this wasn’t something that belongs on any wrestling show ever. Just imagine someone saying ANY of these jokes on a wrestling show today and think how long they would last before being fired. This was horrible and I feel so sorry for Molly having to deal with this nonsense.

Christian and Lance Storm don’t think much of American pride or Kane for that matter either. Storm laughs off the idea of such a fat country celebrating Labor Day. Test teases more flag burning.

Bischoff gives Terri and Stacy a lingerie pillow fight. Eric gets a preview of their attire and makes various jokes.

Chris Jericho yells at Flair for getting the title shot but Ric brings up Jericho tapping out at Summerslam. Jericho hopes Flair wins so he can get the title back. These two have good chemistry together.

William Regal vs. Booker T.

Regal slugs away to start but King wants to talk about the pillow fight. Booker’s right hands don’t have much effect as Regal knocks him to the floor. Back in and the Regal Cutter gets two, only to get caught by Booker’s collection of kicks for the pin.

Rating: D+. Well…it could have been worse. The problem here is that there’s no real reason to have the match but at least the right guy won. Regal hasn’t been doing anything of note in recent weeks but Booker is getting more and more over every week. I mean, it would be nice if they went somewhere with that (say, across a few continents, like something INTERCONTINENTAL, but that’s just nonsense of course) but for now it’s just Spinaroonis all around.

Booker does the Spinarooni.

We look back at Shawn Michaels winning at Summerslam but getting attacked by HHH.

Shawn is in a wheelchair and doesn’t know if he’ll ever get his mobility back (though he does have feeling in his legs). What he does know is that it was all worth it and as far as HHH goes, what goes around comes around. Shawn picks up a sledgehammer and stares.

HHH is rubbing the title and smiling way too much.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Ric Flair

HHH is defending of course. Flair quickly takes him down so we can hit the technical sequence. One heck of a chop sends HHH to the floor before it’s time to work on the arm for a bit. The technical, which means boring here, pace continues as HHH stomps in the corner and whips Flair over the corner and out to the floor.

HHH cranks up the speed with a suplex so Flair gives him a belly to back version. The kneedrop misses and HHH very, VERY slowly starts working on it but makes sure to walk around a bit in between. The Figure Four is countered into a small package for two on HHH, followed by an Irish whip into a chop. I’m still waiting on them to top that suplex.

A very basic whip into the corner sets up a way too big bump over the corner to send HHH to the floor. Back in and the shinbreaker sets up the Figure Four but HHH makes the ropes. The referee is sent to the floor, low blow, Pedigree and the title is retained. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: D-. I can accept the idea of a slower paced match but this felt like two seventy year olds who were on a reunion show. I’m sure HHH had a blast wrestling a rather old school style match against Flair but isn’t one big present enough in one night? HHH can be entertaining but this was taking everything that made him work (as a heel that is) and putting it in slow motion.

Post match Jericho comes out to put Flair in the Walls but Rob Van Dam makes a save.

Big Show yells at Bischoff, demanding to be #1 contender. Bischoff says go impress him and Show leaves. Eric gets a call and yells in his exposition voice that someone is jumping from Raw to join a family member on Smackdown.

Kane vs. Lance Storm/Christian

Kane shrugs off a double team and throws Storm at Christian for the early advantage. The slow (WAY too common of a theme tonight) pace begins again with Kane getting beaten down in the corner, allowing some cheap double teaming to put him down for two. The Unprettier is broken up and an electric chair puts Christian down. Kane’s comeback is cut off by even more double teaming as this is just BORING. How can you have three talented guys putting on such an uninteresting match? Storm superkicks Christian by mistake and it’s a chokeslam for the pin.

Rating: D. The Tag Team Champions, as in the ONLY Tag Team Champions in the company, just got beat clean in less than six minutes by someone who hasn’t had a match in four months. Normally I would call this an issue of the era but champions losing will always be an issue in WWE.

Post match Test tries to burn the flag but Bradshaw returns for the save. Oh. Great.

Big Show vs. Tommy Dreamer

Show throws him around with ease, then throws him around with no effort, followed by throwing him around like he’s nothing. The referee tells him not to use a chair though so Dreamer uses it and Show wins via DQ.

Dreamer beats the heck out of Show because we’re to the point where TOMMY DREAMER might be an option.

HHH wants to fight RVD tonight (HHH? Wanting to have three major segments on one show? You don’t say!) so Bischoff makes a tag with HHH/Jericho vs. Flair/Van Dam. At least Jericho and HHH argue to keep up some continuity.

Jeff Hardy vs. Crash

…..Crash is the one jumping isn’t he? This show has been so bad and so dull that it would be the only possible choice. Bischoff comes out before the bell and accuses Jeff of being the jumper so he sends out 3 Minute Warning for the big beatdown.

Jeff gets destroyed and OF COURSE CRASH IS THE ONE LEAVING. Bischoff is shocked because someone whose last (non-instant Hardcore Title match) win on Raw was in June 2001 is jumping to Raw.

Stacy Keibler vs. Terri

There’s a carpet, bed and pillows in the ring with Jerry Lawler doing running commentary. There’s spanking, stuffed animals, a slam onto a bed, a Bronco Buster and a rollup gives Terri the pin in less than two minutes. Holy sweet goodness END THIS SHOW ALREADY.

Post match Stacy hits her with a loaded pillow and covers her with a bucket of oil, which just happened to be underneath the ring. Feathering ensues. I’m so glad they had Stacy stop being the sexy assistant (as in the role she was born to play) to be….whatever this is.

HHH/Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam/Ric Flair

Van Dam goes after the heels before Flair can come out for no apparent reason, meaning Ric gets to make the save. We settle down to Jericho suplexing Van Dam for two so Lawler starts talking about the hymen again. Flair struts in as we hit the WOO before Jericho easily drops him. HHH gets in some right hands of his own but Jericho crotches himself, allowing the hot tag off to Van Dam.

One heck of a chair shot drops Rob but the fans are too busy chanting FOZZY SUCKS. Van Dam takes every main event tag team beating that you’ve ever seen in about three minutes until HHH throws Flair to the floor. Rob comes back with a few kicks to HHH but Jericho breaks up the Five Star. The Lionsault gives HHH two and Flair puts Jericho in the Figure Four on the outside. That allows HHH to bring in the title and very blatantly hold it up for the Van Daminator. The Five Star puts HHH away.

Rating: D+. See? He puts people over! All it took was a belt shot and Van Dam being fresh while HHH was in his second match. The match wasn’t half bad actually and sets up the title shot, but it’s WAY too late to save this show, especially with a match that wasn’t all that great in the first place.

Overall Rating: F. This was horrible and I have no idea how else to describe it. Between making jokes about taking Molly’s virginity and King going on and on about her various body parts to HHH taking his sweet time getting the World Title to the AWFUL Flair vs. HHH match to the pillow fight to a story about Crash freaking Holly (good thing he was on the show tonight) to the Tag Team Champions doing a clean job, I can’t think of a single good thing on this show. I’ll give Bischoff this much: I feel like I’m watching Nitro more and more every single week.

This show got as close to breaking me as anything has in a good while. It felt like there was no effort being put in here other than to amuse the people who put it together while making HHH into the most boring top star in history. I really could not stand this show and if this is where we’re going for the next several months, they’re in a lot of trouble.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Best of 2016: Wrestler of the Year

We’re down to the final series with the most important of them all: Wrestler of the Year. Someone has to be the biggest name with the best year and that’s what we’re going to be looking at today. WWE has had a great year and some very talented wrestlers put on a strong series of matches. As usual, these are in no particular order and again: I don’t watch much New Japan so there’s no Omega or Naito.

1. Sasha Banks

It seems fitting to start with one of the women. As great as Charlotte has been this year, I really can’t bring myself to say she’s been that much better than Banks. When the women were put into the new division around Wrestlemania season, it was Banks that the fans wanted to see. She’s been the most popular name in one of the best divisions of the year and that’s noteworthy.

The thing to remember about Banks is that while she’s only twenty four, she’s been wrestling for about six and a half years, putting her way ahead of Charlotte on the experience chart. Banks is also more interesting and had more steam coming up to the main roster, making her a bit more polished than Charlotte for a long stretch of the year.

Above all else though, Banks was right there with Charlotte every step of the way as they rocketed through the history books to become the most important feud in women’s history. These two main evented a pay per view together and it wouldn’t be fair to only give Charlotte praise and credit for doing so. Banks won just as many titles as Charlotte and that’s more than worth a spot on this list.

2. Charlotte

We might as well get this one out of the way now as Banks and Charlotte are basically joined at the hip more often than not. Charlotte showed that she’s one of the best female workers of all time and one of the best workers regardless of gender in wrestling today. She’s just so far ahead of almost anyone else in wrestling and it’s unfair to compare her to most of the female wrestlers in WWE.

I know it’s been harped on over and over but she and Banks main evented a pay per view. Really, that can’t be emphasized enough and the fact that most of the matches between the two of them were good made things even better. Charlotte has been praised by her father as one of the best female wrestlers of all time and for once, Flair actually seems to be accurate in his praise.

The fact that Charlotte has become someone people want to see is such a telling story. She’s become a star and just looks so natural doing so. Charlotte has only been in wrestling for a few years now and she’s already one of the best of all time. If she can stay this good for even longer, I’m really curious to see how far she can go because the sky is the limit.

3. Shinsuke Nakamura

This is an interesting one as Nakamura hit the ground at a full on sprint with an amazing match against Sami Zayn at “Takeover: Dallas”, went on to defeat Finn Balor and then went on to become NXT Champion by the end of the summer. After that things started to go downhill a bit as he traded the title with Samoa Joe before coming out with it again.

However, Nakamura hit the ground running so hard and was so much better than most of the roster for the majority of the year that it’s hard to argue against him being so high up on a list like this. The key here is that Nakamura comes off as a major star and just destroyed so many big NXT names. It was even better because someone caught up with him and gave Nakamura a great feud.

Nakamura seems destined for the main roster in a hurry and that’s a good thing. His signing back in January was one of the top news stories of the year and he’s certainly lived up to the hype so far. I’ve had a great time watching Nakamura kick and knee people very hard and when he’s on his game with someone who can hang with him, he’s one of the most entertaining acts in wrestling.

4. The Miz

I know he might not be the most popular but I’ve been very high on Miz for a long time and this might have been his best year yet. The guy just gets better and better and it’s very nice to see him get the recognition he deserves. His matches have been getting better and better and if you add in that whole promo of his life thing against Daniel Bryan on the debut of “Talking Smack”, it’s hard to suggest otherwise.

The big changing point for Miz might have been having Maryse return as his manager on the “Monday Night Raw” after “Wrestlemania XXXII”. There’s just something so easy to hate about a loudmouth who won’t shut up but has a gorgeous wife. The fact that it’s his real wife makes thing even better because while a lot of things might be fake, their marriage is real. How can you bare to stand him as a result?

All that being said though, it’s getting harder and harder for people to argue that Miz isn’t one of the best around. There are very few holes in his game and 2016 was more proof that he’s ready for the main event scene all over again. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he picked up another World Title this year and, much like the first time, he’s certainly earned it.

5. AJ Styles

If anyone is flat out ahead of Styles in this race, I don’t know who it is. Styles debuted at “Royal Rumble 2016” and took the company by storm. After a bit of a surprising loss to Chris Jericho at “Wrestlemania XXXII”, Styles was almost immediately in the World Title scene with a pair of great matches against Roman Reigns. Styles went on to defeat John Cena in back to back pay per view classics before winning his first WWE World Title.

This was a coronation after so many years spent toiling in TNA and then a few more taking New Japan Pro Wrestling by storm. Styles was widely considered one of the best of all time to never set a full time foot in WWE and once he got there, he was on fire the whole way. The debut at the Royal Rumble was one of the best moments of the year and he followed it up with classic match after classic match.

Styles has had one of the best years in WWE history and it should be amazing to see where he goes from here. At his age (he turns 40 in June) you can only get so much out of Styles and thankfully he’s doing some of his best work at the moment. I can’t imagine how good he’s going to be when he gets to be at the top of his game on the grandest stage of them all but 2016 was more than enough to earn the chance.

6. Samoa Joe

This is a great example of someone showing up in NXT and then waiting for the right moment before breaking loose like a runaway train. Samoa Joe debuted in NXT last summer and didn’t really do much at first. Eventually he got into a feud with Finn Balor and the two main evented “Takeover: Dallas” in an unintentional bloodbath. Samoa Joe would go on to win the title at a house show and then spent the rest of the year feuding with Nakamura.

The interesting thing about Samoa Joe is how different he really is than the rest of the NXT roster. Yes he’s a big guy and fights against people half his size but he comes off as a huge bully who can back it up in the ring. Not only did he beat Balor and Nakamura but he did so to become the first ever two time NXT Champion. For someone who is considered completely outside the NXT mold, it’s rather telling that he’s the first double champion.

What I like about Samoa Joe is you get what you see: a big guy who wrestles a power style but can throw in more submissions than he knows what to do with almost every time he’s in the ring. Couple that with some surprising athleticism and some GREAT promo work and it’s no wonder that he’s a star on the roster. If nothing else, he’s yet another name on the long list of names that TNA had and let go without much effort.

7. Kevin Owens

How can you not include the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion of all time? Owens might not be having the greatest ending to a year of all time but he was on fire earlier in the year. What started off as a pretty forgettable Intercontinental Title reign turned into a rekindling of the awesome Sami Zayn feud and wound up with him winning his first World Title after Finn Balor went down with an injury.

While Owens can go in the ring, he’s actually far better on the microphone. What I love about Owens is how he turns what should be mundane parts of a match into something either amusing or interesting. Who else do you know who can turn a chinlock into an event? That shows that he’s both thinking and putting in the effort while so many other people just lay there with the hold on and figure out what to do next. The wrestler’s job is to entertain the fans and Owens always seems to be trying to do just that.

Owens is a very interesting case and it’s a shame he’s been saddled with such horrible booking. He’s been the Raw World Champion for several months now and for some reason he’s been playing up to third fiddle on the show. Oddly enough he was better without the title but I have no issue at all with him holding the title this long. The guy is just good and there’s no other way to put it.

8. Chris Jericho

You can’t have one Canadian villain without a second (it’s a law or something). Every time you expect Jericho to be over the hill and running on fumes, he finds a way to reinvent himself all over again. With the power of something as simple as a list of names and things that get on his nerves, Jericho is putting on some of the most entertaining performances of his career at the rather advanced age (for wrestling) of 46.

Jericho is WAY past the point of needing titles but I wouldn’t mind seeing him win any title available to him. You can almost write the Jericho vs. Owens feud from here and given how much the fans are begging to cheer for Jericho, the reaction would be absolutely incredible when they hear that Owens just made the list.

If there is a wrestler who has turned himself into something fresh as many times as Jericho, I’ve yet to see them. Jericho is easily the most entertaining thing about “Monday Night Raw” at the moment and that’s been the case for several months now. He’s outshining everyone and the rest of his year has been incredibly strong as well with some solid matches to back up the talking. Not bad for a guy who debuted over twenty six years ago.

9. Asuka

I know she hasn’t had the most competition in the world but Asuka has run through the NXT women’s division (and some main roster women) like they’re not even there. I’m not sure who could possibly hold up against her strikes but it’s certainly fun to imagine someone having a chance against her.

The idea of Asuka facing off against some of the main roster women is rather interesting and that’s the best thing that can be said about her. Well, aside from the fact that she’s rather awesome in the ring and has a sweet entrance with a catchy theme song. I’m not sure how much else I can say about her but she’s made one heck of an impact with almost no one else being able to touch her.

The difference between Asuka and someone like Brock Lesnar is the simple fact that she doesn’t just do the same stuff over and over again. Let her go out and do her freaky strikes and then finish with either the Asuka Lock or even more strikes. Everyone comes out looking great and Asuka is on top of that list.

With all that being said, of course it’s Styles. It’s been Styles for months now and no one (save for MAYBE Jericho) really came close. When you add up the outstanding matches, great character development and awesome talking plus all the expectations that he had to deal with from the day he made his debut with the company, Styles has risen WAY above what anyone could realistically expect from him. He’s been nothing short of incredible this year and continues to surprise me almost every week. Styles is the wrestler of the year by a landslide.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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