Smackdown
Date: December 15, 2023
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re getting closer to the end of the year and that means the Royal Rumble build is getting underway. In this case, that means we have a rare appearance from Roman Reigns, who is going to need a challenger for one of the biggest shows of the year. Odds are we don’t find that out this week, but we might get closer to narrowing it down. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is the Bloodline to get things going. Roman Reigns tells the fans to acknowledge him before telling them to shut their mouths. It’s promotion season because he is a fair Tribal Chief. If people are doing well, you praise them, but if they’re doing wrong, you smash them. Reigns says this man is the next in line if something happens to him and….after we pause for a RANDY chant, Reigns tells Jimmy Uso to congratulate Solo Sikoa.

Cue Randy Orton and, after a break, Orton promises that he’s coming for Reigns. After 18 months off, Orton wants everything from Reigns, so he’s starting by challenging him for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. Reigns laughs it off, saying he hasn’t thought about Orton in eighteen months. Orton has to earn his chance, but Orton calls Reigns a legend. Since Orton is a Legend Killer, who crouches down like he’s loading up the RKO, remember that Daddy is back.

Video on Carmelo Hayes, who is in the tournament to crown a new #1 contender to the US Champion.

US Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller

During Hayes’ entrance, US Champion Logan Paul insults Hayes, saying that while Hayes says he doesn’t miss, Paul has missed his entire career. After that pretty great line, Hayes starts flipping around to start and hits a quick dropkick. Waller is back up with a right hand and a hard kick to the face drops Hayes again. Hayes grabs a hurricanrana out of the corner and ties Waller in the ropes for the Fade Away (springboard legdrop with Hayes jumping backwards).

A springboard forearm and a running clothesline put Waller on the floor as we take a break. Back with Waller hitting a rolling Downward Spiral for two but Hayes gets a spinning faceplant for the same. Waller gets a boot up in the corner and hits a spinning Rocker Dropper off the middle rope (that’s a new one) for two more. Hayes’ springboard DDT gets him another near fall and Nothing But Net (top rope Fameasser) finishes Waller at 10:22.

Rating: C. The action was good enough and felt like a nice NXT match, which is about what you would have expected. Hayes is one of the biggest stars in NXT right now so giving him a shot in a tournament like this isn’t a bad idea. While I don’t think he’s going to win the whole thing, giving him a chance to show what he can do is a good thing as he is all but guaranteed to be up here sooner than later.

LA Knight runs into Randy Orton in the back and they both seem to want Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Orton doesn’t seem to like that.

US Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory

Owens has a broken hand thanks to Theory (and Grayson Waller). Logan Paul gets in another insert promo here, insulting Owens’ physique and wardrobe. Owens works on a headlock to start before shifting into an armbar. The backsplash connects but Owens comes up favoring his hand, allowing Theory to bail out to the floor. A Cannonball from the apron hits Theory again but it’s too early for what looked like the Swanton. Theory is right back with a suplex onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Owens hitting the frog splash but the hand means it’s a delayed near fall. The Swanton only hits raised knees though and Theory gets a breather. Owens strikes him right back down and strikes away though, setting up a one armed DDT for two. With Owens taking too much time going up again, Theory grabs a springboard Spanish Fly for a near fall of his own.

Theory puts Owens on top and tries a superplex, which even Graves knows is a bad idea as Owens reverses into his swinging superplex. They head outside again with Owens being sent over the barricade but he beats the count. That means a Blockbuster can give Theory two but Owens ties him in the Tree Of Woe. The Cannonball into the Swanton gets two but Theory kicks the hand to block the Stunner. Owens gets smart by hitting him with the case for the pin at 13:55.

Rating: C+. The hand played enough of a role in the match and that’s what it was supposed to do. What matters is that Owens seems all but guaranteed to be in a title match with Logan Paul sooner than later, which is a perfectly fine way to go. Theory’s fall continues, as he and Grayson Waller do well together but neither of them exactly win much of anything anymore.

Roman Reigns isn’t happy about Randy Orton and wants him handled. Jimmy Uso suggests Solo Sikoa but Reigns wants Jimmy to do it himself. A yeet, followed by an awkward stare from Reigns, is shared. Jimmy: “No yeet.”

Karrion Kross promises to recycle everything around here and suggests a bunch of destruction. Like Bobby Lashley destroyed him?

Kevin Owens is ready to face Carmelo Hayes, who comes in to say he respects Owens, but he’s coming for him. Owens isn’t sure what to make of him.

Commentary reveals that Charlotte will be out of action for nine months after a knee injury last week.

Bayley is happy with Asuka injuring Charlotte and hypes up the Kabuki Warriors. The rest of the team wants the rest of the titles, with Bayley seemingly entering the Women’s Royal Rumble and promising to take Rhea Ripley’s title.

Kabuki Warriors vs. Zelina Vega/Michin

Michin and Vega jump them in the aisle to start and we’re ready to go after a break. Joined in progress with Michin in trouble and getting taken down on the floor. Sane hits the sliding D to Michin in the corner for two and the Warriors hit stereo sliding kicks for two more. Asuka hits a clothesline but Michin manages a suplex for the tag off to Vega.

A running knee gives Vega two and a 619 connects, only to have Asuka hit her in the face. Vega flips out of the Asuka Lock for two and everything breaks down. With Vega being dropped onto the announcers’ table, some double teaming sets up the Insane Elbow to give Sane the pin at 6:17.

Rating: C. It’s nice to have the Warriors back, even if it was in a match that was little more than a squash. The team is valuable to have around as they have a history of success and can be used as he final bosses for the next hero champions. For now though, this was just a step ahead of a squash and makes other teams realize what they’re up again.

Jimmy Uso is worried that he’s being set up but Solo Sikoa doesn’t have much to say. Instead, he flexes the finger.

Santos Escobar is ready for Bobby Lashley.

Lashley, with the Street Profits, isn’t scared and the Street Profits say Escobar is losing.

Randy Orton vs. Jimmy Uso

Orton doesn’t waste time and starts hammering Uso into the corner to start. That’s enough to send Uso bailing out to the floor where he requests a time out, meaning we take a break. Back with Orton dropping him onto the announcers’ table for two and grabbing an armbar. Some right hands in the corner have Uso down again as commentary talk about how Roman Reigns might be making a mistake by picking Solo Sikoa.

Uso enziguris his way out of trouble and the running Umaga Attack gets two on Orton. A backdrop puts Orton on the floor again and we take another break. Back again with Orton making the clothesline comeback, followed by the powerslam. The hanging DDT connects but here is Solo Sikoa. Cue LA Knight to cut Sikoa off though and the RKO finishes Uso at 14:26.

Rating: C+. Orton is already looking like his old self in the ring and that is a good sign for his future. He would still seem to be on track for the big shot against Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, as other than Knight, I’m not sure who else would be in the running. Uso can still take loss after loss without being hurt and that was the case again here, as he should be fine in this role for a pretty long time to come.

Post match Orton stares at Knight, who keeps looking at his watch. Cue Roman Reigns to take Knight out and then go after Orton. Uso gets back in and Orton is beaten down, with the invading Knight getting taken out as well. Cue the returning AJ Styles to make the real save, with the Bloodline bailing. Styles decks Knight and stares at Orton though, which makes things all the more interesting to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show about starting the turn towards the Royal Rumble, with AJ Styles’ return at the end being the big moment. Other than that, the tournament moved forward just a bit and we seem to be on the way to Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns. The wrestling wasn’t exactly tearing the house down but it did well enough. Things can really pick up for the Rumble build soon enough and they planted some seeds this week.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Grayson Waller – Nothing But Net
Kevin Owens b. Austin Theory – Punch with a cast
Kabuki Warriors b. Zelina Vega/Michin – Insane Elbow to Michin
Randy Orton b. Jimmy Uso – RKO

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

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Smackdown
Date: December 8, 2023
Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Kevin Patrick

It’s a big night as CM Punk is on Smackdown for the first time in about ten years, but it’s also a special event. This is the annual Tribute To The Troops, which is taking place on Smackdown rather than as a stand alone show. That should make for a pretty important show, especially with so much time to kill before the Royal Ruble. Let’s get to it.

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

There are several troops in the crowd, including opposite the hard camera.

The War And Treaty sing God Bless America.

US Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee

Survivor Series rematch. Hold on though as here is Dominik Mysterio (defending the NXT North American Title against Lee tomorrow night at Deadline) to watch. Lee sends Escobar to the floor to start and there’s the big flip dive to follow. Back in and a superkick gives Lee two as JBL compares Mysterio to Gandhi. Escobar grabs a suplex for two and yells a lot as he takes Lee into the corner. Lee’s hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb onto the apron and we take a break.

Back with Lee slugging away and hitting a running forearm. A German suplex drops Escobar, who drops Lee with a superkick for two. The Phantom Driver is broken up and Lee grabs a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. Lee gets caught on top though and the Phantom Driver is good for the clean pin at 9:05.

Rating: B-. That’s a confusing way to go, as Dominik was right there to cost Lee the match but instead Escobar just beat him. I’m fine with Escobar moving forward in the tournament but do you have to weaken a #1 contender on the way to a title match? Either way, nice opener, even if it is part of a tournament with what should be an obvious winner (and it’s not Escobar).

Post match Dominik mocks Lee.

We look at Randy Orton signing with Smackdown last week. And RKOing Nick Aldis of course.

Aldis comes in to see Orton, who isn’t happy about teaming with LA Knight against the Bloodline. Orton doesn’t know Knight but Aldis says both of them want the Bloodline so it’s ok. With that out of the way, Orton gives him the check to pay for the fine from last week’s RKO, but he gives twice as much as needed. Orton: “That’s for next time.” That was funny.

We look at some previous Tributes To The Troops.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes says this is a special night because it is Tribute To The Troops. He is proud to be part of the team to carry on this tradition and thanks everyone here and around the world. We get a video on Tribute To The Troops over the years. Rhodes thanks the troops again and introduces the United States Army Drill Team.

Brad Nessler, who calls tomorrow’s Army vs. Navy football game, joins commentary.

Montez Ford, a veteran of the Marine Corps, wishes the troops Happy Holidays.

US Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Karrion Kross vs. Bobby Lashley

Scarlett is here with Kross. An early Hurt Lock attempt is blocked so they head outside where Lashley takes over. Back in and Lashley snaps off an overhead belly to belly as we take a break. We come back with Kross taking over and the camera going over to commentary. A Downward Spiral plants Kross and a suplex puts him down again. The spear finishes for Lashley at 6:39.

Rating: C. This was barely long enough to rate and was little more than a squash for Lashley. Given that Lashley is an Army veteran, it would have been stunning to see him lose on this show, or to Kross in general for that matter. Not much of a match here, but it was cool to have Nessler (who was fine) on commentary as a bonus.

We look back at Bayley accidentally costing Kairi Sane a match against Bianca Belair last week.

Bayley apologizes to Damage CTRL and volunteers to stay in the back for tonight. The rest of the team seems cool with it but Bayley looks nervous.

Here is CM Punk for a chat. He says this is the top of the hour so he won’t get his time cut, so chant for him all you want. Adam Pearce is trying to sign him to Raw and maybe those Raw fans were a bit louder. Punk says the fans are going to play a part in where he signs, so where do you want him to go? The fans seem to be pro-Smackdown, but they are even more pro-Punk winning the Royal Rumble, climbing a turnbuckle and pointing at a sign before main eventing Wrestlemania.

Apparently some people aren’t happy with this version of CM Punk so instead of “what do you all want to talk about”, it’s who do you want to talk about. Maybe Cody Rhodes? Punk has some stories, but what about someone who isn’t here? Like say, Roman Reigns? Punk acknowledges him, but remember that Paul Heyman was his wise man first. He knows Reigns’ cousins and shoutout to Main Event Jey Uso. If he scraps with Jimmy Uso, he has to deal with ALL OF THE COUSINS so he might need some help. Who could that be?

Maybe Randy Orton? LA Knight? Kevin Owens? He’s not sure about the prickly Owens, because the two of them are too much alike. Punk: “I don’t know who would feel comfortable teaming with someone who just punches people in the face backstage. I mean it’s 2023 ladies and gentlemen. You just can’t be doing stuff like that people. It’s insane.” After the big grin off that line (and a CM Punk chant), Punk talks about how there is one person who isn’t happy he’s back.

Punk isn’t putting any stock in that person though because he has a whiny voice and isn’t even the Man in his own household. The fans do the Seth Rollins song and Punk is glad that he’s having fun. He is going to announce his decision about where to sign on Monday and he is back to finish his story. That means main eventing Wrestlemania, which the fans again seem to like.

The Brawl Out/Jack Perry (pick one) reference was great (though the Heyman line was up there too) and this was much more the Punk promo people were wanting to see last week on Raw. Like him or not, Punk knows how to talk and it was on full display here. Good stuff, with Punk feeling it a lot more than he did on Raw.

Post break Punk runs into Kevin Owens, who doesn’t seem thrilled to see him.

Charlotte vs. Asuka

The rest of Damage CTRL, minus Bayley, is here too. Hold on though as Zelina Vega, Shotzi and Michin take care of the rest of the team so it’s one on one. They strike it out to start and head to the floor, where Charlotte is sent into various things. Charlotte gets in a shot of her own though and scores with the top rope moonsault (or some of it as least) as we take a break. Back with Charlotte sending Asuka face first into the buckle and grabbing the Figure Eight. Cue Bayley to break it up though and the distraction lets Asuka grab the rollup for the pin at 6:17. Not enough shown to rate, but this was about the Bayley interference.

Cody Rhodes runs into CM Punk in the back and finds it interesting that Punk might be in the Royal Rumble.

Video on a soldier who won the Medal Of Honor in 2015.

We look at Logan Paul getting into it with Kevin Owens last week, plus Owens suffering a hand injury in a match against Grayson Waller.

LA Knight meets Randy Orton, but CM Punk pops in to say good luck. Orton to Knight: “You ready for tonight?” Knight: “Yeah.”

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Roman Reigns.

Randy Orton/LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso/Solo Sikoa

Orton pounds Jimmy down into the corner to start and it’s off to Knight for a sliding dropkick. Orton tags himself in (Knight doesn’t seem pleased) and it’s off to Sikoa for a rather serious showdown. Uso gets in a cheap shot from behind and we take a break. Back with Orton hitting a belly to back suplex on Jimmy to put both of them down. Knight comes back in and grabs a swinging neckbreaker but Uso offers a distraction.

That’s enough for Sikoa to grab a belly to belly and the slow beating is on. The running Umaga Attack connects in the corner but Knight knocks Sikoa off the ropes. A middle rope bulldog is enough for the tag off to Orton and house is cleaned. House is cleaned and Orton hits the powerslam before dropping Uso onto the announcers’ table. The hanging DDT (with a YEAH) connects but Sikoa breaks up the RKO. Knight takes out Sikoa and loads up the BFT but Orton hits the RKO for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: B-. Oddly enough this match was mainly about Uso in a few different ways. First off, Uso might as well have come into this with a shirt on that said “I’m here to take the RKO” and that’s exactly what went down (as it should have). At the same time, Uso is clearly having a blast with the over the top selling and movements, which is making him such a goofy heel who works perfectly in this spot. Nice house show style main event and the ans went nuts for Orton, as expected.

Knight and Orton seem to share some respect post match.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a surprisingly strong show, with the wrestling being fine, but the focus was on Orton and Punk. The two of them bring so much star power to the show and they feel like the biggest things in the world. That’s on top of Lashley getting a dominant win and Roman Reigns being back next week, plus Cody Rhodes here as a guest star. The star power was on full display here and it really does make the show feel that much more important. They also managed to weave in the troops stuff without going overboard and it worked pretty well. Good show, as they’re slowly veering towards the Rumble.

Results
Santos Escobar b. Dragon Lee – Phantom Driver
Bobby Lashley b. Karrion Kross – Spear
Asuka b. Charlotte – Rollup
Randy Orton/LA Knight b. Jimmy Uso/Solo Sikoa – RKO to Uso

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

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Smackdown
Date: December 1, 2023
Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re done with Survivor Series and that means it is time to start getting ready for the Royal Rumble. As a result, we are likely to need a new challenger for Roman Reigns and wouldn’t you know it, Randy Orton happens to be here tonight. That should be enough, but we also have some Damage CTRL issues to cover. Let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

Here is Bianca Belair to get things going so we see a video on the women’s WarGames match. Belair thanks her teammates for helping her in WarGames but she’s not done with Damage CTRL. She wants her title back from Iyo Sky so here is Damage CTRL (minus Bayley) to interrupt. Dakota Kai says if Belair wants the title match, she’ll have to go through the entire team. That works for Belair, but here are Charlotte and Shotzi to interrupt. The brawl is on, with Damage CTRL being cleared out rather quickly.

Post break, Damage CTRL runs into Bayley, who needs to be out there tonight when Kairi Sane faces Bianca Belair. Bayley looks worried.

Butch vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley has the Street Profits with him. Before the match, Lashley (who is rather popular) says this isn’t what Butch wants to do. Butch goes right after him and gets powered into the corner for his efforts. Back up and Butch dropkicks him to the floor for a dive off the apron and a knockdown.

We take a break and come back with Lashley snapping off a suplex. The high angle spinebuster puts Butch down again and Lashley sends him outside. The spear hits buckle though and Butch manages some enziguris. A standing Sliced Bread gives Butch two but Lashley is right back with a running powerslam for the same. There’s the spear to finish Butch at 8:08.

Rating: C+. I’m really not sure what they’re doing with Lashley here, as he’s one of the biggest stars in WWE but he’s just kind of there on Smackdown. You could easily swap him into a main event or title program and it wouldn’t be a problem, but here he is instead. On the other hand you have Butch, who is stuck without anyone to help him and not being able to do anything on his own. If that’s the case, just make him Pete Dunne again already.

Video on the men’s WarGames match.

Paul Heyman comes in to see Nick Aldis and asks about Randy Orton being here tonight. Aldis is planning to sign Orton to an exclusive Smackdown contract tonight, even if it costs him the entire Bloodline. If that doesn’t work for Heyman, what is he going to do about it? Heyman: “Anything it takes.”

A banged up Butch doesn’t know why Ridge Holland walked out last week but Pretty Deadly comes in to mock him. The fight is on, with Butch getting knocked down by the numbers’ game.

Video on Santos Escobar turning on the LWO.

Santos Escobar is ready to teach Joaquin Wilde a lesson.

Santos Escobar vs. Joaquin Wilde

Wilde starts fast and knocks him to the floor to start for a nice looking top rope flip dive. Back in and Escobar ties him in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick to take over. Escobar cranks on the arm for a bit until Wilde fights up. A dropkick to the knee slows Escobar down and a rolling DDT gives Wilde two. Escobar isn’t having that though and runs him over, setting up the Phantom Driver for the pin at 3:59

Rating: C. Escobar’s rise continues and it makes perfect sense to have him take out some of the LWO. Granted you might not remember that Wilde is part of the team as he has barely been around in such a long time. The big showdown with Rey Mysterio is coming but WWE is doing a nice job of getting him ready on the way there.

Post match Escobar stays on Wilde but Dragon Lee runs in for the save.

Adam Pearce comes in to see Nick Aldis, because he has his own contract offer for Randy Orton.

Here is Logan Paul for his championship celebration. Paul has a message to everyone who has been against him to start: WHERE ARE YOU NOW? There are people backstage who hate that he’s so good and now he has the US Title. Now he wants some challengers and we are going to have a tournament to crown his new challenger. People involved include Santos Escobar, Dragon Lee, Karrion Kross, an unnamed NXT star, Austin Theory, Grayson Waller and Kevin Owens.

The tournament starts next week but here is Owens to interrupt. Owens insults Paul’s energy drink and says the nightmare is ending when he wins the US Title. Paul says six seconds is five more than he needs to KO Owens, who says this is his world. Cue Austin Theory and Grayson Waller (the latter being Owens’ opponent tonight) to run their mouths, earning a right hand from Owens.

Kevin Owens vs. Grayson Waller

Logan Paul is on commentary and Austin Theory is at ringside. Owens starts fast but Waller gets in a shot to the back of the head to take over. A superkick takes Owens down as Paul isn’t worried about the winner of the tournament. Waller’s middle rope elbow gets two but Owens is back with a suplex. It’s still too early for the Cannonball so they head outside, with Owens nailing a clothesline. A splash off the apron connects as well as commentary asks if Paul is ready for Owens. Paul: “Even if I’m not, I’m going to pretend I am.” Theory offers a distraction though and Owens’ hand is crushed in the steps.

We take a break and come back with Owens hitting a frog splash, only to bang up his hand in the process. Owens manages a DDT and superkicks Theory into the corner. Ow the Cannonball connects and a Swanton gets two. Waller goes after the hand to block the Stunner and we hit the armbar. With that broken up, Waller ties the hand in the corner and tries a running kick, which is reversed into a rollup to give Owens the pin at 10:50.

Rating: B-. There is something nice about having the match built around Owens’ hand injury and then going with a rollup rather than Owens hitting his finisher in spite of the injury. Owens winning the tournament is a very real possibility and he already has the match with Paul set up. If nothing else, the talking alone will be worth the whole thing.

Video on CM Punk’s return. He’ll be on Smackdown next week.

Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane

Charlotte and Shotzi are here too. We go to the back, where Bayley seems worried so Iyo Sky tells her to stay here instead. The rest of Damage CTRL goes to the ring and we’re ready to go. Belair runs her over to start and snaps off a dropkick to take over. Asuka offers a distraction so Charlotte does the same. Only Charlotte gets caught so she’s caught, but Asuka tries to come in. That’s too much for the referee, who ejects everyone else as we take a break.

Back with Sane cranking on something resembling a Boston crab, followed by a double arm choke. Belair fights up and snaps off some slams, setting up the handspring moonsault for two. Sane is back with a shot to the face and another forearm from the top gets two more. They go out to the floor, where Belair Glam Slams her onto the apron. Cue Bayley to go after Belair, only to have the Insane Elbow broken up. The KOD gives Belair the pin at 10:36.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see two stories in a single match like this with Damage CTRL’s issues with Bayley, plus Belair having to fight through the entire team to get a title shot. That could open up more than a few doors and I’m interested in seeing where both of the stories go. Either way, Nice main event here, as Belair gets a win while Damage CTRL’s issues continue.

Here is Nick Aldis, with Adam Pearce next to him, to introduce Randy Orton. The fans are rather pleased to see Orton but the GM’s start fighting over him. Pearce offers Orton the winner of Jey Uso vs. Seth Rollins (Orton is intrigued) while Aldis counters with the guys that took Orton out (Orton is again intrigued). Cue Paul Heyman to interrupt, saying there will be no RKO’s this evening, nor will Orton get to make a decision tonight.

The Bloodline will make Orton’s decision for him, so here are Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa to interrupt. The fight is on with Orton being beaten down, only to have LA Knight run in for the save. Jimmy is left alone for the beating and the RKO, leaving Orton to pick up the contracts. Heyman: “GO TO RAW! YOU’RE SAFE ON RAW!” Orton signs with Smackdown and Heyman isn’t happy. Orton says Heyman needs to call Roman Reigns because daddy is back. Aldis celebrates with Orton, who drops him with an RKO. Heyman calls Reigns to end the show. I’ll take that over a long running back and forth ordeal over where Orton should sign.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show that was going at a slower pace, which makes sense as they have almost two months before the Royal Rumble. That being said, Orton signing and the announcement of the tournament, plus Bayley and Damage CTRL’s issues continuing make for a pretty packed show. They can start really hammering home more for the Rumble in the next few weeks, though they’re off to a good enough start.

Results
Bobby Lashley b Butch – Spear
Santos Escobar b. Joaquin Wilde – Phantom Driver
Kevin Owens, b. Grayson Waller – Rollup
Bianca Belair b. Kairi Sane – KOD

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

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AND

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Survivor Series 2023
Date: November 25, 2023
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re back to WarGames this year with a pair of the big team fights. The big story for the men’s edition is the return of Randy Orton after a year and a half’s absence due to a back injury. Other than that, Damage CTRL is up against a team who can’t get along and Gunther defends the Intercontinental Title against Miz. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at WarGames, talking about how important it is to go to war.

Quick WarGames rules rundown:

• Two wrestlers start and fight for five minutes.

• After five minutes, the team with the advantage (as determined before the match) gets a three minute advantage.

• The teams alternate until all ten are in and then it’s first pin/submission to win.

• No it isn’t the original WarGames rules. Let it go already.

Women’s WarGames

Charlotte, Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Shotzi
Bayley, Iyo Sky, Asuka, Kairi Sane

Becky and Bayley start things off with Bayley getting in a few shots to take over. Becky knocks her off the top but gets sent hard into the cage to even things up. They go in between the rings to fight over a suplex until Bayley finally drops her on the steel. Becky is sent into the cage again as Shotzi comes in to give the good women the advantage. A bunch of chairs and a trashcan are thrown in so Shotzi can launch herself at Bayley a few times.

Bayley cuts off Shotzi’s dive but Becky is up with some hard kendo stick shots. Bayley climbs the cage to get away from both of them but she can only get so far. Sky is in to tie things up and throws Shotzi down with a chain. A double superplex drops Becky again but Bianca Belair unevens things again. Belair drops Bayley onto a trashcan in the corner and hammers away on Sky. A double suplex drops the villains until Kairi Sane does a weird dancing skip to the ring.

Sane grabs a trashcan lid to clean house before Shotzi is buried underneath a bunch of chairs. That means a pop up elbow so Sane can crash onto the pile but Belair is back with a gorilla press toss. Charlotte comes in to complete the team but is quickly powerbombed into the cage to cut her off. That doesn’t last long as Charlotte fights up and hits a double Natural Selection off the top.

Hold on though as we get a Charlotte vs. Becky faceoff until Damage CTRL rams them into each other. Sky goes up to the top of the cage and drops a chain down so Dakota Kai can tie it around a trashcan. That lets Kai go up top, put the can over her head, and dive onto everyone else. Asuka completes the team but has to throw in a bunch of kendo sticks before getting in. Oh and of course a table. And a fire extinguisher.

The match officially begins with Damage CTRL standing up with the sticks and…just kind of standing there as the other team is all down. Becky and Belair are tied together with the chain for a four way dropkick. Shotzi is up but gets misted down by Asuka, who dropkicks a trashcan with Becky inside. The table is set up but the delay lets Damage CTRL get powerbombed out of the corner.

Charlotte goes to the top of the cage for a moonsault onto everyone and a near fall on Bayley, leaving almost everyone down again. Becky and Charlotte start wrecking people before hugging for the big friendship moment. Stereo submissions go on but Becky and Sane make the saves. Becky is right back with the Disarm-Her to Sane but Bayley makes another save.

Sane and Becky slug it out until Bayley is over with the Rose Plant to put Becky down. Belair gets in a fire extinguisher blast but a parade of shots to the face leave almost everyone down. Bayley takes Charlotte’s spear to save Sane, setting up a top rope backsplash, the KOD and the super Manhandle Slam through a table to destroy Bayley for the pin at 33:36.

Rating: B-. The violence was good and they had some good spots but there were so many times where you might as well have watched them set everything up before the show. As usual in modern WarGames matches, there was a lot of standing around and reliance on weapons rather than violence and hatred. It’s certainly not bad, but as usual, cutting of a good ten minutes would do wonders.

A bunch of wrestlers eat Ruffles (sponsor) with Pretty Deadly and Otis arguing over what to call them. R-Truth pops up for his first appearance in over a year but says he’s been here the whole time. Akira Tozawa comes in to dance.

Sami Zayn and Jey Uso are a bit nervous because Randy Orton isn’t here yet. Zayn says it’s ok because they have history and are ready to fight together.

We recap Gunther vs. the Miz for the Intercontinental Title. Gunther doesn’t think much of Miz, who is fighting for the title and respect.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending. Miz kicks away at the leg to start before ducking a chop in the corner. Chops and left hands in the corner have Gunther in trouble until a shot to the face gets on his nerves. The chase is teased but Miz grabs the leg and wraps it around the post in a smart move. The Figure Four around the post has Gunther in more trouble but he boots a diving Miz out of the air.

Gunther gets in his own shots in the corner and a German suplex has Miz’s eyes bugging out. Another big boot has Miz trying to get up but he reverses a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Miz strikes away some more and goes back to the leg in a smart move. More kicks to the leg set up kicks to the chest and a tornado DDT gives Miz two. Back up and Gunther’s powerbomb gets two, leaving more than a few people shocked.

Gunther smacks him around a bit and grabs a sleeper until Miz grabs a turnbuckle pad. With that ripped of, the referee has to make some repairs, allowing Miz to kick Gunther low. The Skull Crushing Finale gets two but the sleeper goes on again. Gunther is driven into the corner but the sleeper goes on again. This time Miz flips backwards into a rollup for two, only to have Gunther blast him with the clothesline. A not perfect top rope splash hits Miz’s back and the Boston crab retains the title at 12:21.

Rating: B-. I was thinking they might have pulled the trigger on Miz here but they did the smarter thing here and saved that for a bigger deal with Gunther. The match was structured well with Miz trying to get under Gunther’s skin and take out the legs as often as they could. Gunther adds another win, though I’m not sure who is going to be the next challenger as he’s running out of people to smash.

Judgment Day is excited because Randy Orton isn’t here yet. Even if he shows up, there’s always the chance that he turns on his team.

We recap Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee. Escobar turned on the LWO so Carlito stood up for the team, only to be hurt by Escobar as well. Lee is standing up for all things good.

Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee

Escobar starts fast and stomps him down in the corner, setting up a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Lee gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some stomping, setting up a running dropkick for two. Lee avoids getting his knee crushed in the steps and snaps off a hurricanrana from the apron. There’s the big running flip dive to the floor, followed by a running knee to the head back inside. They both wind up on top, with Escobar snapping off a super hurricanrana for two of his own.

We get the almost required mask tearing until Lee is sent to the apron. Lee manages to tie him in the Tree of Woe for the top rope double stomp but walks into a superkick. They slug it out until Lee muscles him up for a sitout powerbomb and another near fall. Back up and Escobar snaps off a Destroyer, followed by the Phantom Driver to finish Lee at 8:19.

Rating: B. I was a bit surprised by the clean ending but it was nice to see Escobar get a big win like this. He’s the new big bad in the story and it wouldn’t have made sense for him to lose here. At the same time, I would have expected Lee to have some more protection in the loss. For now though, I can go with a rather good match and the right result.

New Day arrives in the Slim Jim car.

We recap Rhea Ripley vs. Zoey Stark for the former’s Raw Women’s Title. Ripley is the dominant monster but Stark wants her shot at the belt.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Zoey Stark

Ripley is defending and they go to the mat for the slugout to start. Stark knocks her outside for the dive, followed by a springboard missile dropkick for two back inside. Ripley drops her as well before they head to the apron. That works better for Stark, who hits a DDT and a springboard corkscrew splash for two back inside.

Ripley posts her hard and takes it back inside for some headbutts. The double arm crank and some stomps have Stark down again but she fights back up. A kick to the face gives Stark two but Ripley kicks her even harder. Riptide is escaped and Stark gets in a sliding kick to the face for two. The Z360 is cut off and it’s a headbutt into Riptide to retain at 9:16.

Rating: B-. There was only so much that could be done here as there was no reason to believe that Stark was going to take the title. Ripley is a force in the women’s division right now and her title reign isn’t going to end until some big moment on the major stage. Stark did well though should be fine going forward, even if Ripley was the star here, as she so often is.

Seth Rollins assures his teammates that Randy Orton will be here.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. Judgment Day (with Drew McIntyre as an associate) is the dominant force on Raw and a bunch of other people are trying to do something about it. The question now is whether Randy Orton, who has been out of action for a year and a half, can come back and turn the tide.

Men’s WarGames

Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Randy Orton
Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Drew McIntyre

There’s no Orton to start as they’re milking the heck out of this. Balor and Rollins start fast with Rollins diving right at him to get it going. Balor is sent into the cage a few times but slips out of the Buckle Bomb and hits a clothesline. Rollins is sent into the cage as well but comes right back with a Sling Blade. A running knee to the face puts Balor down as McDonagh comes in to give the villains control.

Kendo sticks are brought in as well and the double beating has Rollins down. McDonagh moonsaults from one ring to another to drop Rollins again and more kendo sticks make it worse. Uso evens things up and hammers away with right hands and kicks to the head. McDonagh manages a running Spanish Fly to Uso but he and Rollins are back up with stereo superkicks. The four of them split off as the clock runs down….and Priest tells McIntyre that he’s going in instead.

Priest comes in and is quickly double teamed but the numbers game gets him out of trouble. Some baton shots have the good guys in trouble, setting up Priest’s flip dive off the top. The beating continues until Zayn comes in, though only after slamming the door on Balor’s head. A table is brought in to clean house, including a Blue Thunder Bomb to Balor. McDonagh catches Zayn going up but gets knocked back down, leaving Zayn to pull out a pipe.

With things slowing down, McIntyre comes in to wreck a variety of people until Uso cuts him off with some right hands. A 1D cuts McIntyre down and it’s Rhodes in to even things up again. Rhodes pulls out a bullrope but Rollins wants to know if Orton is going to be here. Mysterio is in to complete the Judgment Day and loads up Three Amigos on Rhodes. The rest of the other team surrounds Mysterio though and the big beatdown is on fast.

The rest of Judgment Day gets up, with McIntyre and Priest hitting stereo moonsaults. Priest Razor’s Edges Rollins through a table as the clock expires….and here is Rhea Ripley with the Money in the Bank briefcase but heeeeeeeeere’s Randy, meaning WarGames is officially on.

House is quickly cleaned and we get the staredown with McIntyre as the fans are impressed. Orton and company start cleaning house, including the quintuple hanging DDTs. Hold on though as Jey and Orton have a staredown (remember the Bloodline put Orton out in the first place) but Jey takes a shot aimed at Orton. Back up and Judgment Day is beaten down, with McDonagh trying to run. That’s cut off and McDonagh is thrown down into the RKO. Cross Rhodes finishes Priest off at 34:21.

Rating: B+. This was a better match than the first, if nothing else due to the match not feeling like it was trying to stretch out time. The Orton return was the big moment, even if he didn’t exactly do much. There was a better story here and it was a heck of a fight, which is how WarGames is supposed to feel. Best match on the show here, which is a good sign given that it was by far the most important.

The winners pose…..and CM PUNK RETURNS! Punk comes to the entrance and hits IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME before hugging some fans to end the show. Well that’s quite the shock.

Overall Rating: B. I kind of like the slimmed down match card, as two matches combine to be almost seventy five minutes counting entrances. The show was all about WarGames with three other matches in the middle doing little more than bridging the gap between the featured showcases. Those matches worked well enough though and it was a good show overall, with the big surprise at the end likely overshadowing everything else.

Results
Team Lynch b. Damage CTRL – Super Manhandle Slam through a table to Bayley
Gunther b. The Miz – Boston crab
Santos Escobar b. Dragon Lee – Phantom Driver
Rhea Ripley b. Zoey Stark – Riptide
Team Rhodes b. Judgment Day/Drew McIntyre – Cross Rhodes to Priest

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I’ve always loved Survivor Series and but it is the show that has evolved more than any othe other Big Four pay per views. The days of the elimination tag matches are long gone but now things are more focused on the ideas of survival. We have a pair of WarGames matches this year, which should be more than enough to carry the show. Other than that, the show is looking decent enough so let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Zoey Stark

We’ll start with what should be the easy one here as Ripley is by far the biggest star in women’s wrestling and needs a victim. The good thing is that we’re getting someone fresh in Stark, who only had her one shot in a five way, which barely means anything. This is a match we haven’t seen before and it should make for a nice showdown, even if there might not be the most drama.

So of course Ripley retains here, as it could be a very, very long time before she loses the title. I’d be rather surprised if we don’t get a Becky Lynch showdown at WrestleMania next year and that isn’t going to be derailed by Stark winning here. Stark will definitely get in some offense, but this is going to be Ripley hitting Riptide and doing her dominant cover to retain and move on to something bigger.

Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar

This is an adjusted match as Lee is replacing Carlito, who was injured by Escobar on Smackdown. What has me interested here is that this could be part of a much bigger story, especially with Rey Mysterio out of action for the next good while. It’s pretty clear that WWE sees a lot in Lee and it would make sense to push him in a spot like this one. That leaves some questions here though and that makes it a bit more interesting.

I’ll take Escobar winning here, likely through some shenanigans. There are more than a few other people who have to be accounted for in this story and I’m expecting some of them to get involved here. If Escobar is supposed to be the new big bad, there is little reason to care about what he is going to be doing with Mysterio later on. Escobar wins here, albeit with some shenanigans.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther(c) vs. The Miz

Now this one could go either way and that makes for a good bit of fun. The thing is, now that Gunther has the record, there is a much greater chance that he could finally lose the title. Other than the total combined days record, which he would break some time in February, there isn’t much else for Gunther to do with the title. Miz also has a nice track record of winning matches where he seems to have no chance and that would be the case again here.

Now that being said, as much as I believe there is a chance Miz could pull off the big upset here, I think I’ll go with Gunther to retain. I could see the Imperium minions causing drama here, but Gunther deserves a better ending to his title reign than that. I’m not sure how that is going to happen, but I don’t think it’s going to be at the hands of Miz and what would probably be a fluke win.

Women’s WarGames

We’re getting to the meat of the matter here with one of the two matches that really matter and what will probably open the show. This is the latest band of thrown together heroes against Damage CTRL, though the villains are hardly all together either. Smackdown focused on the issues between Lynch and Charlotte, but that could very well be a red herring going into the big showdown.

I’ll go with Lynch and company winning here, as Damage CTRL seems to be ready to fall apart, with a loss coming here making sense. I could see Lynch and or Charlotte saving the other in a Sting/Nikita Koloff way (look it up) and Bayley taking the fall, earning her big trouble from the rest of the team. Having this at four on four helps a lot as it could shorten the match, which has been one of the biggest problems in WarGames past. But yeah, Damage CTRL loses here.

Men’s WarGames

Here’s the real main event as an even rag taggier band of good guys are getting together to fight Judgment Day/Drew McIntyre. On paper, this should be Judgment Day going over and causing a bunch of chaos on Raw, though any match where JD McDonagh is included means a chance of the good guys picking up a win. That’s just one of the ways this could go though and that has me wondering.

I could see this going either way but I’ll take Judgment Day/McIntyre winning here. At the end of the day, it makes more sense to have them win, perhaps even with a Money In The Bank tease as Seth Rollins will be right there. What matters here is keeping McIntyre strong though, as he is freshly turned heel and you don’t want him to lose in his first big match on the new side. The villains win, after a war that goes on a good bit long.

Overall Thoughts

This is a show with a shorter card and in a way that makes sense. Save for LA Knight not being on the card, there isn’t much missing from the show and we could be in for a good night. I’m liking the idea of the women’s WarGames match going a bit shorter, as it should make for a better match. This show doesn’t really have a marquee matchup but in a way that works, as it’s more about the team showdowns anyway. Now just don’t have WarGames be an overly long and bloated mess and everything will be fine.

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Smackdown
Date: November 24, 2023
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It’s the last show before Survivor Series and as usual that means the best thing WWE can do here is not screw anything up. Becky Lynch is the last member of Team Not Damage CTRL but her issues with Charlotte could create a problem. Other than that, the Street Profits get a Tag Team Title shot so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Becky Lynch joining the opposition to Damage CTRL last week.

Here are Lynch, Charlotte, Shotzi and Bianca Belair for a chat. Lynch steps around the idea that she is teaming with Charlotte and is rather excited about getting in a cage. Belair is ready to make it violent against Damage CTRL and Shotzi is WAY too excited about the violence. Charlotte: “Yeah what Shotzi said.” Cue Bayley, who brings up Becky and Charlotte’s issues and points out that Becky was a last resort. Becky wants a fight so let’s do the tag match main event tonight. Bayley is in, with a partner to be named.

We look at the announcement (or close enough to one) of the return of Randy Orton on Raw. At least Orton is shown in this package.

Damage CTRL picks Bayley and Asuka for the main event.

Tag Team Titles: Judgment Day vs. Street Profits

Judgment Day, with Rhea Ripley, is defending. Priest knocks Dawkins down to start but Ford comes in with a dropkick to take over. A clothesline puts Priest on the floor and Ford dives onto Balor. That’s fine with Priest, who throws Ford over the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Priest missing a charge into the corner and the diving tag bringing in Dawkins to clean house. A Doomsday Blockbuster gives Ford two but Balor grabs a Sling Blade. The Revelation doesn’t quite connect perfectly for two on Priest but Ripley breaks up the frog splash. Something close to a Bro Derek into the Coup de Grace retains the titles at 9:48.

Rating: B-. I was thinking there was a chance of a title change here to get the belts away from the stable before WarGames but instead they mostly played it straight. The Profits losing again is a bit weird but it might lead to more angry Bobby Lashley. On the other hand, Judgment Day has some momentum heading into the pay per view and that is a smart way to go about things.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte aren’t seeing eye to eye but Bianca Belair plays peacemaker.

Video on Dragon Lee, the future of lucha libre.

Here is Grayson Waller for the Grayson Waller Effect. He gets to the point by bringing out his guest Kevin Owens, which is Austin Theory in a costume. Cue the real Kevin Owens to say he is unsuspended and has never looked better. Waller says Owens cost him a match against LA Knight. Cue Knight to say he was going to let them talk, but then his name was brought up. That made him come out here and violence ensues with a tag match feeling likely.

Video on Cody Rhodes helping LA Knight against Judgment Day last week.

Austin Theory/Grayson Waller vs. Kevin Owens/LA Knight

We’re joined in progress with Owens running Waller over and handing it off to Knight to do it again. Theory is taken outside for some rams into the announcers’ table but Waller gets in a clothesline. We take a break and come back with Knight still in trouble on the floor. That’s broken up and the diving tag brings in Owens to clean house. The Swanton gets two on Waller but it’s too early for the Stunner.

The rolling dropkick hits Owens but Knight distracts the referee. A rolling Blockbuster gets two on Owens and a backbreaker keeps him down. Waller takes too much time following up though and Owens is able to get over to Knight for the needed tag. Everything breaks down and Knight powerslams Theory into the LA Elbow with Waller making the save. Back up and the BFT finishes Theory at 12:34.

Rating: C+. This was the latest step in rehabbing Knight after his loss to Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel and the process seems to be mostly complete. Knight has won on the last three Smackdowns and should be in for something big after Survivor Series. It’s a little weird for him to not be on the show, but at least he was in a big enough match the night before. That should wrap up this feud, as Owens has dominated it since the start and got another win here.

Bianca Belair talks to Becky Lynch and asks her to be on the same page as the rest of her team for tomorrow night.

Here is Carlito for a chat but first we look at Santos Escobar turning on the LWO and Rey Mysterio in particular. Back in the arena, Carlito rants against Escobar in Spanish and says turning on Mysterio was a mistake. Cue Escobar to argue over who was the REAL member of the LWO. The fight is on until referees break it up, only to have Escobar get in a cheap shot to leave Carlito laying with a bad shoulder.

Post break Escobar jumps Carlito again but Dragon Lee makes the save.

Pretty Deadly vs. Brawling Brutes

The Brutes have been having issues in recent weeks. Holland cleans house to start but gets knocked into the corner where Butch tags himself in. The stereo ten forearms to the chest are broken up, with Holland not looking pleased. Holland walks out, meaning it’s an assisted gutbuster for two on Butch. The comeback is on and Butch kicks Prince in the face for two. The Bitter End is broken up though and Wilson gets the rollup pin at 3:30.

Rating: C. This wasn’t so much of a competitive match as much as it was a way for Holland to walk out on Butch. The team has been teasing a split for a good while now and it makes sense to all but pull the trigger. I would assume that Sheamus is going to be back soon because he either has to pull them together or side with one of them, as he has always been the focal point of the group.

Shotzi wants Charlotte to talk it out with Becky Lynch.

Nick Aldis says Carlito is hurt and his match with Santos Escobar is postponed. Dragon Lee comes in to say he’ll take Carlito’s place so Aldis signs off on the idea.

Judgment Day promises to win WarGames.

Bayley/Asuka vs. Becky Lynch/Charlotte

All of the partners are here too. The villains are sent outside with Charlotte moonsaulting onto everyone less than a minute in. Back from a break with Asuka working on Becky’s arm until Becky fights up. The tag bring sin Charlotte to clean house with a boot to the face into a slingshot rollup gets on Bayley. Asuka breaks up the Figure Four with a Codebreaker, followed by a middle rope elbow/reverse DDT combination.

Becky makes the save so Charlotte kicks her way to freedom for the big tag. Everything breaks down and Becky hits a double DDT for two. A missile dropkick into the Disarm-Her has Bayley in trouble but Asuka makes the save. There’s the Manhandle Slam to Bayley but Charlotte spears Asuka onto the cover for the unintentional break. Becky yells at Charlotte so Bayley rams them together and rolls Lynch up for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: B-. And that’s how you build more tension going into the big match tomorrow. Becky and Charlotte have a long, long history together and bringing up the short form version of it here is a good idea. If nothing else, it would make them getting along tomorrow feel all the more important as they couldn’t even hold it together here. The heels get momentum going into WarGames again, and that should spell well for them tomorrow.

Becky yells at Charlotte some more and walks off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. While the wrestling wasn’t entirely the focus here, they did a very nice job of firming up some of the Survivor Series card. The men’s WarGames match is the big feature so giving the women some time made sense. The good thing is Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee got some focus, along with some things that have nothing to do with Survivor Series. This show had a nice balance and it flowed by quickly so we’ll call it a win.

Results
Judgment Day b. Street Profits – Coup de Grace to Ford
Kevin Owens/LA Knight b. Austin Theory/Grayson Waller – BFT to Theory
Pretty Deadly b. Brawling Brutes – Rollup to Butch
Bayley/Asuka b. Becky Lynch/Charlotte – Rollup to Lynch

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

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Smackdown
Date: November 17, 2023
Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick, Road Dogg

We’re eight days away from Survivor Series and the women’s WarGames match seems all but set and announced. Both sides could still use some adjusting and we might be seeing some of that tonight. We also have to deal with the fallout from Santos Escobar turning on Rey Mysterio and the LWO last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week, with Asuka seemingly joining Damage CTRL as she turned on Charlotte and Bianca Belair. This is in no way similar to Drew McIntyre turning on Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso to seemingly join forces with Judgment Day because….well of course it’s pretty much the same thing.

Here is Damage CTRL, now with Asuka, for a chat. Bayley brags about how awesome it was to bring Asuka into the team and how powerful the team has become. She steals the NOT READY FOR ASUKA catchphrase, but Kai says not everyone in the ring is officially part of the team. Bayley looks scared, but Kai says it’s because Asuka hasn’t officially joined the team yet. Them she joins.

The challenge is officially on for WarGames against Shotzi/Charlotte/Bianca Belair, so here is Shotzi…..’s tank, as Shotzi comes in from behind. Charlotte and Belair come in as well but the numbers game catches up with them. Damage CTRL clears the ring without much trouble, despite Kai still being injured.

Post break Shotzi, Charlotte and Belair want revenge but need a fourth. Charlotte might know someone and Nick Aldis comes in to say he needs to know their fourth by the end of the night.

Street Profits vs. Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly

For a Tag Team Title shot next week. Prince, Butch and Ford start but Dawkins comes in to shoulder Butch down. Butch gets stomped in the corner as the Profits take over. Wilson is back up for some standing switches with Ford, leaving Butch to jump over them and bring Holland in. A DDT puts Wilson down but the ten forearms to the chest are broken up. Instead the Profits get hit with them until Pretty Deadly sends Holland into the steps. We take a break and come back with Butch cleaning house, including a tornado DDT off the steps to Prince.

Back in and a standing Sliced Bread gets two on Dawkins to leave everyone down. Holland superplexes Wilson but Prince tags himself in. Ford frog splashes the still down Holland, leaving Prince to hit the top rope legdrop for two. Bobby Lashley is watching in the back when B-Fab joins him. Back in the ring and Holland cleans house but Butch accidentally Brogue Kicks him down. The Revelation hits Holland to give the Profits the win at 10:57.

Rating: C+. You kind of had to tease some Brutes tension at some point as other than a one off win on NXT this week, I don’t remember their last important win. It also sounds like a way to bring Sheamus back to settle things, as he was always the focal point of the team anyway. For now though, the Profits winning a shot at Judgment Day the night before Judgment Day is in WarGames sounds like quite the setup for a title change, which would be a nifty way to get the titles away from the stable.

Bianca Belair talks to Michin.

Post break, Damage CTRL has jumped Michin.

We recap Santos Escobar turning on Rey Mysterio and the LWO last week.

Dragon Lee vs. Axiom

Axiom is a guest star from NXT and we get a quick highlight package (because WWE is starting to get the little things that go a long way). Lee takes him down with a headlock to start and hits a big running flip dive to the floor. Back in and a running corner dropkick hits Axiom as we take a break. We come back with Axiom hitting his own dropkick to the floor, followed by a springboard moonsault.

They get back in with Lee tying him in the ropes for a top rope double stomp. Axiom hits a dropkick into a running kick to the chest, only to have Lee grab a brainbuster. Something like flipping piledriver hits Lee but he’s right back up top. Axiom’s enziguri sets up a super Spanish Fly for two but Lee blasts him with a running knee. Operation Dragon (Destino) finishes Axiom at 9:30.

Rating: B-. This was the showcase that you would have expected from these two as they can do the high flying rather well. Lee continues to feel like a major project in the making and putting him out there week after week to pile up wins is a good idea. I could also go for more of Axiom, who has shown that he can work well with just about anyone.

Here is Santos Escobar for his big explanation. Escobar talks about the saying of “never meet your heroes”. He comes from a famous wrestling family, but Rey Mysterio was his hero. Escobar wanted the future generation to see him as the new Rey Mysterio, who became a father figure to him. Then last week, he realized that Dominik Mysterio was right all along.

Escobar earned the US Title shot and wanted to rebuild the LWO, but guess who did it instead. And then Rey brought in an outsider like Carlito! Escobar will only apologize for not hurting Rey even more and hopes he loses his leg. Cue Zelina Vega to yell at Escobar and slap him in the face. Cruz del Toro and Joaquin Wilde come in so Escobar asks whose side they’re on. They try to talk him out of it and get jumped as well so here is Carlito for the save. Escobar was bringing the venom here and the justification makes sense. Rey vs. Escobar should be a hot feud when he gets back too.

We look at Kevin Owens filling in on commentary last week but getting suspended for attacking Grayson Waller and Austin Theory.

Grayson Waller vs. Cameron Grimes

Austin Theory is on commentary. Waller takes him down to start and hammers away before grabbing a chinlock. Grimes fights up and strikes away, only to miss the Cage In. Theory offers a distraction though, allowing Waller to hit the Dingo Driver (John Cena’s old Throwback) for the pin at 2:42. It’s sad to see Grimes as nothing more than a jobber to the stars as he’s done well when he has been given some chances.

Classic Smackdown Moment: Steve Austin vs. Booker T in a grocery store (the Green Frog Grocery Store for you history geeks).

Damage CTRL jumps Zelina Vega.

We look at Solo Sikoa crushing John Cena at Crown Jewel.

Here is the Bloodline (minus Roman Reigns of course) in the ring, with Paul Heyman honoring Sikoa for beating Cena at Crown Jewel. We get the tease of Cena showing up but naturally he’s not here tonight. Cena will never appear in a WWE ring again and Heyman gives him an official goodbye. Heyman counts down to Cena’s run in but there’s no Cena, because you’ll never experience that again and it’s all because of Sikoa. If Cena ever does come back, he has to go after Sikoa, because that’s who Cena is, but now he can’t speak.

Cue LA Knight (scheduled to face Jimmy Uso) to interrupt, saying the Bloodline is the only reason Reigns is still champion. That’s a problem and Knight is a problem solver. Knight is going to take out each member of the Bloodline until it’s just him and Reigns. We get a mocking of Heyman mocking Cena’s theme song before Knight promises to take Uso out.

Carlito vs. Santos Escobar is set for Survivor Series.

Out of options, Charlotte reluctantly agrees to make the phone call to….someone.

LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso

Heyman gets a phone call and walks out with Sikoa, leaving this one on one. We start with the stomping in the corner until Knight is right back with a hard shot for two. Back up and Jimmy grabs a Samoan drop for a breather but Knight sends him outside. There’s the running dropkick through the ropes and Jimmy gets rammed into the announcers’ table over and over. Jimmy is sent over that table so we take a beak and come back with Knight avoiding a running Umaga attack. Knight grabs a DDT and a belly to back faceplant gets the same. BFT is broken up but the second attempt finishes Jimmy at 9:20.

Rating: B-. Knight loses big match, Knight comes back with some wins to regain momentum. This is wrestling 201 or so and it still works to this day. Knight very well could get a rematch with Reigns at the Royal Rumble to wrap up his story with them, though I’m not sure how you get out of that without Knight getting pinned again in a big moment. For now though, he’s doing well and keeping his momentum, with the back to back wins helping a lot.

Post match cue Solo Sikoa, with Jimmy knocking Knight to the floor. The Samoan Spike drops Knight…and Cody Rhodes runs in for the save. That’s interesting, as Knight could be brought in to even out Drew McIntyre, or it could be a red herring.

Charlotte made the phone call but she’s not sure if the fourth woman will be here in time.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here are Bianca Belair, Charlotte and Shotzi to announce their fourth team member. First, they officially accept the challenge but Charlotte talks about knowing what it means to turn on a best friend. There is a thin line between love and hate but if she’s going to war, there is only one person she wants by her side.

Cue Damage CTRL to interrupt before the announcement and say the three of them aren’t making it to WarGames. The fight is….well hang on as here is Becky Lynch as the fourth woman. NOW the fight is on and Charlotte goes up for the moonsault, which misses more wrestlers than Becky missed on Jeopardy. Cole even gets in a Jeopardy reference as Damage CTRL is in trouble to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the Smackdown (or any wrestling show) that I like: they covered a bunch of things and had some good enough action at the same time. The focuses were on setting up the women’s WarGames match, plus LA Knight’s continuing issues with the Bloodline. Throw in a Tag Team Title match being set up for next week, plus the Santos Escobar/LWO stuff and this was a good show as WWE is rolling on the way to Survivor Series.

Results
Street Profits b. Brawling Brutes and Pretty Deadly – Revelation to Holland
Dragon Lee b. Axiom – Operation Dragon
Grayson Waller b. Cameron Grimes – Dingo Driver
LA Knight b. Jimmy Uso – BFT

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

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Smackdown
Date: November 10, 2023
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Owens, Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick

Crown Jewel is out of the way and that means it is time to get closer to Survivor Series. That could make for some interesting situations around here, as we already have a WarGames match set on Raw. I’m not sure what they have around here for a Smackdown version, though Damage CTRL vs. etc. is an option. Let’s get to it.

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

Kevin Owens is brought out as the guest commentator since Corey Graves is at home with his new baby. That old excuse?

Here is the LWO (Owens is a fan) to get things going. Rey Mysterio talks about losing his US Title at Crown Jewel, but the reality is that Logan Paul stole it. Paul needed brass knuckles to win the title, but here is Carlito to interrupt. He wants to talk about Crown Jewel, where Santos Escobar left the knuckles on the apron. The argument is on and Escobar walks out, much to Rey’s chagrin.

Bobby Lashley vs. Carlito

The Street Profits and the LWO are at ringside. Lashley runs him over to start and hammers away in the corner as B-Fab is watching backstage. The Hurt Lock is countered with a jawbreaker and Carlito manages a suplex. They head outside where Lashley gets in a posting and we take a break. Back with B-Fab still watching as Ashante Thee Adonis comes up to ask what she’s doing before they leave together. Carlito fights back and the seconds get in a fight outside. Montez Ford gets in a cheap shot to Carlito though and Lashley hits the spear for the pin at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This feels like it was more about the pre-match deal with Escobar than anything here. That being said, despite Carlito’s recent return, he wasn’t in Lashley’s league on his best day so this was the right way to go. Lashley feels like he could be an easy step away from the main event scene again, so beating Carlito, even with an assist, makes sense.

Post match Santos Escobar doesn’t get in to help but Rey Mysterio runs in with a chair for the save. Rey yells at Escobar and checks on Carlito….and Escobar jumps Rey from behind. Escobar gets knocked to the apron but he crushes Rey’s leg in the steps.

Post break Escobar is leaving and says Rey had it coming.

Kevin Owens says he’s turned on a lot of people, but even he wouldn’t turn on Rey Mysterio.

We look at Iyo Sky defeating Bianca Belair to retain the Smackdown Women’s Title at Crown Jewel with an assist from the returning Kairi Sane.

Here is Bayley for a chat. She has had a lot of success since Damage CTRL started and we hear about everything Iyo Sky has done. Then Kairi Sane returned and Bayley would like an explanation. Cue the rest of Damage CTRL, plus Sane. Sky said she had her own plan and it involve Sane helping her keep the title. Bayley brings up her knocking Sane out of WWE back in 2020 (and we get a clip).

Dakota Kai says Sane makes the team stronger and they’re just trying to take some weight off of Bayley. Sane says she respects Bayley as the leader of Damage CTRL. We get the tentative hug but here is Bianca Belair to interrupt. Damage CTRL points out the numbers game so here is Charlotte…..and Asuka. Apparently tonight it’s a six woman tag.

Video on Dragon Lee.

Dragon Lee vs. Cedric Alexander

Joined in progress with both of them running the ropes until Alexander dropkicks him to the floor. Back in and Alexander snaps off a tornado DDT, setting up the running kick to the back of the head. Lee is back with a dropkick to the floor for a running flip dive, followed by a sitout powerbomb back inside. Alexander sends him hard into the corner and they slug it out. Lee hits a basement superkick but charges into a running Spanish Fly. One heck of a Michinoku Driver gets two on Lee but the Lumbar Check is blocked. Destino finishes Alexander at 5:51.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match where you knew exactly what you were going to get as soon as the match was announced. They were able to go out and fly all over the place for about six minutes and that made for an entertaining spectacle. Alexander might not be doing anything important at the moment but he can still turn it on when he gets in the ring.

We look at Logan Paul winning the US Title at Crown Jewel.

Here is LA Knight for a chat before his match. Knight says Crown Jewel didn’t go as he planned and he could come out here and say things didn’t go as planned. The fans still seem to like him, so Knight talks about coming within an inch of winning the title. But then Jimmy Uso got involved and Knight was robbed. Roman Reigns needs to give Jimmy a raise but Knight isn’t done with the Bloodline until he wins the WWE Title.

Cue Grayson Waller (Knight’s scheduled opponent) to say Knight is blaming everyone but himself. Maybe Knight just isn’t the guy. Knight calls Waller a jackass and says the Grayson Waller Effect sounds like an STD. Waller doesn’t like being accused of being in his mother’s basement and the fight is on, with Waller taking some water to the face.

LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller

Knight clotheslines him down to start and cranks on the arm, with Waller bailing out to the floor. A slingshot shoulder hits Waller as this is one sided so far. Knight’s swinging neckbreaker seems to wake Waller up a bit as he hits Knight in the face. That doesn’t seem to bother Knight, who backdrops him to the floor, setting up the rams into the announcers’ table. Waller manages to send him into the steps and hit a hard clothesline though and we take a break.

Back with Waller stomping on the back and grabbing a half crab. With that broken up, the rope walk elbow gives Waller two. Knight avoids another elbow though and snaps off some alternating jabs. A DDT gives Knight two and the LA Elbow into the BFT finishes Waller off at 11:24.

Rating: C+. That’s all it needed to be as Knight needed a nice win to give him a boost after last week’s loss. Knight lost the biggest match of his career but he is already at least somewhat back on track. Waller is the definition of someone who can be built back up with a few annoying chats.

Owens gives us a slow motion video looking at his punch to Grayson Waller and Austin Theory two weeks ago. Telestrating is included.

Classic Smackdown moment: John Cena debuts and gives Kurt Angle a run for his money.

We look at Solo Sikoa laying out John Cena and possibly knocking him into retirement.

Owens shows us the punch again….so here are Austin Theory and Grayson Waller in person. They throw an empty water bottle at Kevin Patrick, so Owens says he’s about to get suspended (the penalty for getting physical tonight) and goes after them for the brawl.

Jimmy Uso is ready for LA Knight next week. He calls Roman Reigns, who makes him be a bit more serious.

Damage CTRL vs. Bianca Belair/Asuka/Charlotte

Belair slams Bayley down to start and the villains are sent to the floor in a heap. Charlotte boots Bayley outside as well and we take a break. Back with Charlotte sending Bayley flying with a fall away slam so it’s off to Sane. Belair comes in with a delayed vertical suplex but Sane gets in a shot to the face.

Some double teaming drops Belair on the apron for two and the beating ensues. Belair fights out of the corner but Sane pulls Charlotte to the floor. A shot to Bayley lets Belair get over for the tag….but Asuka pulls away and mists Belair. Asuka and Sane hug, with Bayley and Sky joining in. Charlotte breaks it up and the big beatdown is good for the DQ at 7:31.

Rating: C+. In a way, this felt like a way to turn this into a WarGames match, but they don’t have a ton of time left to make that happen. With only two shows left before Survivor Series, we have two weeks to find Damage CTRL a fourth opponent and announce the match. That could still be done, but that isn’t exactly leaving them a ton of time.

Post match the beating is on, with Shotzi’s save attempt not working well. Belair is back up but the beatdown is on, with the Insane Elbow leaving Shotzi laying. The villains pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a pretty by the book show and that isn’t a bad thing. On one hand, they seemed to set some stages for Survivor Series, but at the same time, it needed to be the kind of show that got things ready rather than getting ready to set things up later. What we got wasn’t bad, but I was expecting a little big more with the show less than three weeks away. Good enough show, even it might not have been the right kind.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Carlito – Spear
Dragon Lee b. Cedric Alexander – Destino
LA Knight b. Grayson Waller – BFT
Charlotte/Asuka/Bianca Belair b. Damage CTRL via DQ when Damage CTRL attacked Charlotte

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

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Smackdown
Date: October 20, 2023
Location: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

We’re just over two weeks away from Crown Jewel and as expected, Roman Reigns defending against LA Knight has been made official for the show. That takes care of the main event, but there are still some other things that need to be set up. There is also a good chance that we will be seeing something from Jey Uso tonight after his brother Jimmy cost he and Cody Rhodes the Tag Team Titles on Raw. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of LA Knight/John Cena confronting the Bloodline last week.

Here is Paul Heyman to get things going. Knight talks about how Jimmy Uso cost Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes the Tag Team Titles on Raw before moving on to LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel. Heyman insults the Texas crowd and says everyone here is a fan of Knight, just like him. Therefore, you must watch Crown Jewel because Knight is going to get smashed for the last time.

Cue Knight, to say he isn’t here to talk to Heyman, so get Reigns out here right now. Heyman goes to leave (as Knight said he could) but Knight calls him back in here right now. Knight asks what Reigns is going to be doing to him but won’t let Heyman answer. As Heyman goes to leave again, Knight threatens to knock his hair back to gray. The word on the street is last week’s spear was just a warning shot and Knight knows Reigns is scared. As fast as Knight has risen up through WWE is as fast as he’ll take that title from Reigns.

Knight tells Heyman to say YEAH. Heyman: “Yeah.” Knight: “You’re pathetic.” Knight wants to know whose game this is and tells Heyman to tell Reigns whose waiting for him at Crown Jewel. Heyman calls Reigns as Knight leaves. This was straight fire from Knight and he has the eyes to back it up. Those are the eyes that you would see from people like Steve Austin, where you can feel how serious he looks and it works so well.

Bobby Lashley and Angelo Dawkins fire up Montez Ford.

Santos Escobar vs. Montez Ford

The rest of the LWO and Dawkins are here too. Ford starts fast and runs him over for an early two, followed by a heck of a dropkick. This allows commentary to say that Carlito is back in WWE for the first time in a decade as last year’s return is already being erased from history. Escobar tries to fight back but gets knocked to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Ford coming off the top with a backwards bulldog (that was different) but Escobar knocks him to the floor. There’s the big dive to take Ford down but Dawkins pulls him to the floor. The fight is on outside, allowing Ford to grab a rollup with tights for the pin at 8:51.

Rating: C+. This was a way to get Ford and the Street Profits a needed win to calm Bobby Lashley down. At the same time, it makes me wonder how much longer it is going to be before Escobar turns on the LWO. He keeps losing and that is likely going to result in him snapping, which is almost long overdue at this point.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Carlito runs in with a chair for the save.

Post break Rey Mysterio says the LWO is family (despite not being out there for the match) and says he has to deal with Logan Paul. Zelina Vega offers to be there wit him but he respectfully declines.

Pretty Deadly have a spa day and brag about winning last week. They’re sure they’re done with the Brawling Brutes, who then jump them from behind.

Jimmy Uso brags about costing Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes the Tag Team Titles last week but Paul Heyman sees John Cena arriving on the monitor.

Here is John Cena for a chat. The fans give him the usual THANK YOU CENA chant, which seems to get to him a bit more than usual. He says he had a rough day with some honest truths hitting him. Cena talks about how Reigns has had an incredible streak as Universal Champion, but Cena has a streak of his own: 2,002 days since he last won a televised singles match.

That’s all the way back in 2018 and he’s been talking a lot about retirement. It’s time that we all face facts. The fans say he still has it….and Cena says he still believes in all of this and says it’s time to turn the math around. He wants someone to come through that curtain right now and they’re going to get smoked.

John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa

The fight is on (no bell or referee) but here is Jimmy Uso to jump Cena. Jey Uso (in disguise) comes in to to after Jimmy but security and referees beak it up (with Jimmy calling for a time out). Sikoa loads up the Spike but gets caught with the AA. No match.

We look at Logan Paul winning a boxing match last weekend.

We look at Judgment Day regaining the Tag Team Titles on Raw.

Jimmy Uso is brought to Nick Aldis’ office, where Adam Pearce is here too. Aldis fines Jimmy $10,000 and has him thrown out of the building. Pearce can be thrown out too. Pearce: “Let the games begin.”

Here is Logan Paul for a chat. He talks about winning a fight in London six days ago, even if it was a pathetic excuse for a fight. If he wanted real competition, he should have come here. He got to beat up someone who hides behind the mask of the internet, and speaking of here with people who wear masks…..but no he isn’t here for Rey Mysterio. See, he already beat Mysterio in his first ever WWE match.

The last time he beat Rey Mysterio, Dominik was still Rey’s son and Roman Reigns actually showed up to wrestle. Mysterio does have one thing that Paul wants though and that is the coveted US Championship. Paul beat up a deadbeat dad last week and he’ll have to do it again at Crown Jewel.

Cue Mysterio to say Paul reminds him of Dominik. There is all of the natural ability in the world, but he needs some humbling. He was a little hesitant to beat some sense into Dominik but he won’t hesitate to do it to Paul. The title match is on for Crown Jewel. Rey says something in Spanish, with Paul responding with “Good luck friend” in Spanish. They tentatively shake hands. As usual, Paul is an absolute star and him winning the title isn’t the craziest thing in the world.

Video on Charlotte vs. Iyo Sky.

Cameron Grimes/Dragon Lee vs. Austin Theory/Grayson Waller

Lee takes over on Waller to start and everything breaks down with all four heading outside. The villains are sent into various things and we take an early break. Back with Grimes kicking away and sending Waller to the floor. Lee hits a big flip dive and the flipping powerslam gives Grimes two on Theory. Waller sends Lee into the announcers’ table and grabs the rolling Downward Spiral on Grimes. A Town Down finishes Grimes off at 6:01. Not enough shown to rate but this was mostly a squash until the ending.

Earlier today we got a sitdown interview with Kevin Owens, who is upset at being split up from Sami Zayn so soon after losing the Tag Team Titles. That being said, he’s glad to be back on Smackdown with a clean slate. He has a history with the Bloodline and yes the Yokozuna shirt is just a coincidence. Owens talks about the names that he hasn’t faced around here and asks Cathy Kelly who she wants him to punch. She says she has to be professional….but people do say that Austin Theory and Grayson Waller have punchable faces.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Charlotte

Sky, with the rest of Damage CTRL, is defending and is knocked to the floor for a break 17 seconds in. Back with Charlotte being sent into the corner but managing to kick Sky in the face. Bayley offers a distraction though and Sky kicks Charlotte to the floor, setting up a big dive. Back in and Sky grabs a chinlock but Charlotte suplexes her way to freedom. Charlotte misses a charge in the corner though and Sky strikes away before leveraging Charlotte out to the floor. Sky follows her out and gets dropped face first onto the apron as we take another break.

Back with Sky hitting a sunset bomb for two more, followed by the running knees in the corner. A crossface goes on to put Charlotte in more trouble but she reverses into a wheelbarrow suplex. Charlotte hits back to back fall away slams, followed by a super Samoan drop for two. Sky slips out of the Walls of Jericho and avoids a knee to her own knee. Over The Moonsault hits raised knees though and a spear gets two, with Bayley putting the foot on the rope. Charlotte goes after Bayley so Dakota Kai offers another distraction, allowing Sky to use the title to block the spear and retain at 16:08.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match you would expect from them and it was kind of nice to avoid Charlotte getting the title back. Sky went a good bit more heelish to retain the title here and that could set up a rematch down the line. For now though, it was a solid main event and Charlotte couldn’t overcome the odds so we’ll call it a success.

Post match the beatdown is on but Bianca Belair returns for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a very talking heavy show and thankfully the talking was mostly good. That being said, I could go for more than three matches in two hours with one of them not even being long enough to rate. The good thing is they added some stuff to Crown Jewel or at least build up the card a bit more. Overall though, this just wasn’t a great show as it had such a long stretch between matches. I’m fine with a focus on things other than matches, but having nearly an hour without a match is a bit much to take.

Results
Montez Ford b. Santos Escobar – Rollup with trunks
Austin Theory/Grayson Waller b. Cameron Grimes/Dragon Lee – A Town Down to Grimes
Iyo Sky b. Charlotte – Belt shot

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

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Smackdown
Date: October 6, 2023
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It’s the night before Fastlane and that means we’re in for the final push towards the show. There is a lot going on here, with John Cena and LA Knight officially teaming up to fight the Bloodline, but Judgment Day is lurking around as well. Other than that, we might be seeing something new added to the card as there are only five matches set. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of LA Knight saving John Cena from the Bloodline last week and agreeing to team with him at Fastlane.

Opening sequence.

Here is LA Knight to get things going but the Bloodline cuts him off almost immediately. Paul Heyman gets annoyed at the WHAT chant before saying that Knight will be the next megastar in this business. Him being that impressive is an achievement but now Knight has Heyman’s attention.

The Bloodline is going to have to do something about it, but Knight asks if Heyman is done running his mouth yet. Knight pulls out his receipt and indeed he didn’t buy any of Heyman’s BS. Jimmy Uso is ready to fight but John Cena runs in for the save. The Bloodline leaves, with Knight accusing them of not having Roman Reigns’ permission. Knight is thinking about tonight though and wants to face Jimmy.

The Judgment Day, with JD McDonagh, arrives.

Charlotte/Asuka vs. Damage CTRL

Dakota Kai is here with Damage CTRL. Charlotte and Sky start things off with Sky flipping out of a suplex. Asuka comes in to chop away as we hear about the stacked lineup for this week’s NXT. Bayley saves Sky from a running dropkick in the corner. Asuka missile dropkicks both of them down and we take an early break.

Back with Bayley suplexing Asuka and Sky coming in to grab a bodyscissors. Asuka fights up but gets kicked into the corner for her efforts. A shot to the face finally gets Asuka out of trouble though and it’s back to Charlotte with a high crossbody. Charlotte’s front flip clothesline gets two and everyone goes to the corner and it’s a Tower Of Doom to leave them down. Charlotte boots Bayley in the face but gets kneed down by Sky. Another big boot accidentally hits Asuka but Charlotte kicks Bayley into Sky and hits Natural Selection for the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C. This wasn’t the smoothest match in the world, with Natural Selection being more of a shove to Bayley’s back than a flipping cutter. Other than that, it was a great way to make Charlotte look dominant again as she took out her partner, plus both opponents before getting the pin. Not an awful match and it set things up for tomorrow, but more Charlotte is not exactly an interesting way to go.

The Bloodline goes into their locker room but runs into the Judgment Day, who say they’re right where they should be. Post break Solo Sikoa and Damian Priest are having a staredown, but Rhea Ripley says everyone out so she and Paul Heyman can have a chat. Ripley and Heyman assure them that they’re fine and everyone else leaves. Ripley: “Let’s talk.”

Bobby Lashley vs. Rey Mysterio

Non-title and the Street Profits and the LWO are here too. Lashley powers him into the corner to start but Rey manages to kick him down. A Lionsault gives Rey two with a rather strong kickout and we take a break. Back with Rey caught in a bearhug and then being tied up in the Tree of Woe. Rey manages to slip out and starts going after Lashley’s knee, followed by a spinning DDT for two.

The 619 is cut off and Lashley goes after the LWO at ringside. Rey’s dive is pulled out of the air but Rey manages to post Lashley for a breather. Back in and the 619 hits the ribs and there’s the regular version to the face. Montez Ford offers a distraction though and the fight is on outside. Rey intervenes but walks into the spear for the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C+. Good stuff, though the LWO might have actually been destroyed right in front of our eyes. Much like the first match, this was designed to build towards tomorrow’s match, though I could have gone without the champion getting pinned. It helps that it was to a former WWE Champion, but there’s something wrong about a reigning champion losing like that.

The LWO is mostly destroyed on the floor.

Rhea Ripley has apparently proposed an alliance with the Bloodline and Paul Heyman likes the idea. He hasn’t been himself lately, but this is really good. If Ripley will excuse him for a moment, he’ll make a phone call and get this authorized. Ripley asks what he means by authorized, with Heyman saying the Tribal Chief needs to authorize it. Heyman says it’s authorized for the Judgment Day, but not for the Bloodline. Ripley: “Paul, acknowledge me.”

Heyman says she’s in the wrong locker room to say that, but Ripley says he’ll acknowledge her just like Jey Uso did. Ripley says we’ll see which team is stronger, and authorizes him to make his phone call. She leaves, and a slightly shaken Heyman calls Reigns. If you didn’t realize Ripley was a top level star, this is about all the proof that you need.

Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre tease us with magic.

Dragon Lee vs. Austin Theory

Before the match, Theory brags about how big of a star he really is. Lee snaps off a hurricanrana to start but here is Grayson Waller for a distraction. Lee’s German suplex sends Theory outside but Waller’s distraction cuts off a dive. Theory scores with a rolling dropkick and we take a break.

Back with Lee hitting a superkick and rolling into a powerbomb for two on Theory. Waller offers another distraction though and Lee gets crotched, setting up a powerbomb into a faceplant (cool) to give Theory two. Lee cuts him off on top for the double stomp but Theory rolls out to the floor. Of course that means the big running flip dive to take out both villains but Waller cheap shots Theory. Cue Cameron Grimes to take Waller out, allowing Lee to roll Theory up for the pin at 9:17.

Rating: B-. Lee is one of those guys who is so smooth in the ring and it makes sense for him to move up tot he main roster. With not much room for growth in NXT, putting him up here where he can be the new high flier is a good idea. He’s looked good in his two matches so far and he very easily could turn into a much bigger deal rather quickly.

Rhea Ripley and Jimmy Uso have a talk that we can’t hear.

Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro are out of tomorrow’s six man tag, but Rey Mysterio has an idea.

Video on Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins. Damian Priest is shown watching with his Money In The Bank briefcase.

LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso

Paul Heyman is here with Uso, who runs Knight over to start. Knight gives him an elbow to the face but it’s too early for BFT. Instead Uso enziguris him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Knight hitting a sunset flip into a Backstabber (cool) and stomping away. The LA Elbow connects but Solo Sikoa runs in for the DQ at 7:42.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere with the break cutting off about half of the match. What I did like here was they didn’t hand either of them a loss before their big match. I get that you don’t want to do that in all three matches, but it was nice to see before what is likely going to be the pay per view main event.

Post match John Cena runs in for the save but here is Judgment Day to uneven the odds. Cue Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes and the fight is on, with Sikoa superkicking Cena. Knight clotheslines Sikoa to the floor and hits BFT on JD McDonagh. A bunch of other big moves lay out JD and the good guys glare at the villains to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was about getting things ready for Fastlane and they have done that well enough. In addition to all of the matches, we also have the mystery of who Rey Mysterio is going to get to join the team in the six man tag. On top of that, there is the Bloodline/Judgment Day alliance which could go a very long way in the future. Fastlane should be good and while this wasn’t a blow away show, it accomplished its goal and that is no easy task.

Results
Charlotte/Asuka b. Damage CTRL – Natural Selection to Bayley
Bobby Lashley b. Rey Mysterio – Spear
Dragon Lee b. Austin Theory – Rollup
LA Knight b. Jimmy Uso via DQ when Solo Sikoa interfered

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

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

AND

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