Smackdown
Date: December 27, 2019
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the final show of the decade and that means….well probably not much really, as we are in the period just before the build to the Royal Rumble starts up. This time around though we are in for a big match with Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. King Corbin for the #1 contendership to the Universal Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Elias to sing about how bad things were in 2019, such as Bayley and Shane McMahon. But hey, at least this show doesn’t have the Lana/Bobby Lashley wedding.

Opening sequence.

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. King Corbin

Hold on though as Corbin needs to brag about his success before Miz can even come out. Miz and Bryan have a lot in common: they’re terrible fathers, they’re former World Champions and they’ve both main evented Wrestlemania. They aren’t doing it again next year though because Corbin is getting the shot and taking down the Fiend.

Miz thinks he’s an action hero but he’s not a real hero in the ring. Cue Roman Reigns as the throne falls over, meaning it’s Reigns taking over on Corbin with a bunch of uppercuts. The Superman Punch off the steps looks to set up the spear but Corbin bails over the barricade instead. No match of course.

Post break, Corbin demands that the triple threat match be postponed.

New Day/Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Sami Zayn/Cesaro

Cesaro headlocks Kofi to start so it’s off to Nakamura, who is elbowed in the face in a hurry. A clothesline puts him on the floor so Sami grabs Kofi’s foot to take over. Sami actually comes in legally for the first time (well the first time where he does anything) in months. Kofi gets sent outside and Cesaro hits a heck of a running uppercut to knock him over the announcers’ table.

We take a break with Cesaro feigning innocence and come back with Kofi’s hot tag attempt being cut off. Cesaro uppercuts the heck out of him for two and it’s Nakamura coming in for his own spanking abdominal stretch. Strowman grabs Nakamura’s hand but Cesaro makes the save. Kinshasa is countered with the jumping double stomp to the chest and they’re both down. Graves: “Kofi just waffle stomped him in the middle of the ring.” I hope he managed to do the Watusi and watch I Love Lucy too.

The hot tag brings in Strowman and it’s time to clean house, setting up the running shoulders around the ring. Strowman chases Sami but runs right into the jumping knee to the chest from Nakamura. Back in and Strowman blasts Nakamura with a clothesline, only to get caught with a great looking springboard uppercut from Cesaro. Nakamura tries to use the pancake platter but Kofi hits him with it instead, setting up the running powerslam for the pin on Nakamura at 13:32.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable tag match here and it helps set up Strowman vs. Nakamura, likely for the title at the Rumble. I’m not sure if Strowman is going to win the title, but it’s a different match that we haven’t seen before. New Day still needs opponents, but they’re the perfect placeholder champions for a time like this.

Post match, Strowman dances with New Day. Corey, in the mod deadpan voice ever: “A ‘get these hips’ chant has broken out in the Little Caesars Arena.”

We recap the opening sequence.

Corbin has demanded that the triple threat match be postponed so it’s Miz vs. Bryan in a singles match.

Here’s the dog food segment again.

Sonya Deville is signing some autographs when Mandy Rose comes up to get her for a match. Sonya isn’t interested because Mandy wasn’t there for her last week and storms off. Otis comes in and offers Mandy a homemade fruit cake. He apologizes for the sweat last week but Mandy is cool with it. Otis wants to say something else but Mandy has to leave.

Carmella vs. Mandy Rose

They to to the mat to start but Mandy slips out and hits a running knee. We hit the cross arm choke on Carmella, who is right back up for the slugout. They trade some near falls, including Mandy getting two off a backslide. The O’Connor roll is blocked though and Carmella hits a superkick for the pin at 2:30.

Rating: D+. Carmella’s theme music saying “ain’t got time for this” sums up where about half of the Smackdown women’s division is at this point. These matches are like from back in the old days and while they aren’t that bad, they’re feeling like something that means nothing at all. It’s not a good sign that they could slip back into that reality all over again but it seems to be the case.

Sheamus is still coming back.

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

Feeling out process to start with Miz shouldering him down, setting up some staring. Bryan kicks him to the floor but gets backdropped to the apron. They hit stereo crossbodies for a double knockdown….and here are Corbin’s helpers for the double DQ at 3:30.

Post match Miz and Bryan clean house.

Post break Corbin says he’s in on the triple threat, so here are Bryan and Miz to jump him.

It’s time for a Moment of Bliss with Nikki Cross joining Alexa. This week’s guest is Lacey Evans, who did NOT like Sasha Banks insulting her daughter last week. We see a clip of the beatdown and Lacey talks about how that was crossing a line. It brought out Mama Bear and she isn’t happy with the idea of standing out here with her back to the entrance. She’s ready to fight right now so let’s have this match.

Lacey Evans/Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks/Bayley

Hold on though as Sasha and Bayley drag (kind of) Dana out here with Sasha calling Lacey a terrible mother and friend. The fight is on and we take a break before the opening bell. Back with Bayley jumping Lacey but getting taken into the corner for the tag off to Brooke. Dana hammers away but gets taken into the corner so Banks can start beating on her as well.

A little taunting brings Lacey in, allowing Dana to get double teamed in the corner. Bayley kicks her down again and Banks gets two off a Meteora. Brooke finally gets in a shot to the face though and the hot tag brings in Lacey to face Bayley. Some knees to the ribs have Bayley down and a picture perfect double jump moonsault gets two as Banks makes the save. The case lets Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly for two but Dana tags herself in. There’s the Woman’s Right to Bayley but the Bank Statement makes Dana tap at 6:35.

Rating: C. The heat on Dana was longer than it needed to be but this keeps Lacey vs. Bayley going and it’s not like Dana can sink any further. I do like the fact that she is now trusted to be in matches like this and she is far from embarrassing herself. Dana is never going to be a star, but she’s improving and that’s what matters most.

Dolph Ziggler hits on Mandy, who still has the fruit cake. He asks about her New Year’s plans and thinks the cake is for him. Some suggestions that everyone has gotten a piece of Otis’ cake makes Ziggler put it down though and he steps on it. Cue Corbin to get Ziggler out of there in a hurry though.

Mustafa Ali talks about how this year didn’t go as well as he was hoping for but 2020 will be better.

Otis is crushed, just like his cake.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan vs. King Corbin

The winner gets Wyatt at the Rumble, though Cole calls Bryan the Fiend as we get things started. Miz and Bryan kick away at Corbin to start so he bails to the floor, leaving Miz to roll Bryan up at one. Bryan posts Miz on the floor and hits the big running knee off the apron, only to get sent over the barricade by Corbin (with Bryan seeming to hurt his knee). The chokebreaker drops Miz as well and it’s Corbin completely dominating early on. Back in and the Reality Check drops Corbin, setting up the running corner dropkicks. Corbin runs both of them over though and we take a break.

We come back with Miz and Bryan trading near falls until Miz sends him outside. Miz fires off the kicks to Corbin in the corner, including some to the leg to set up the Figure Four. Bryan comes in with the headbutt for the save and gets two, as Miz looks on in shock for a cool visual. The hold is turned over so Bryan grabs the LeBell Lock on Corbin in a combination you don’t often see.

With that broken up, the End of Days gets two on Miz as Corbin has to make a save. There’s the running knee to Corbin but Ziggler runs in for the superkick to give Corbin two as Reigns makes the save. Reigns knocks Corbin over the barricade and we take another break. We come back with Corbin and Reigns gone, leaving Miz to hit the running corner clothesline.

Bryan gets taken up top and it’s a super shinbreaker (that’s a new one) to work on the knee. A Codebreaker to the knee drops Bryan again and a DDT to the other leg has Bryan in more trouble. Bryan grabs a quick cross armbreaker but Miz bites his hand to break up the LeBell Lock. The running knee is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale for two so Miz goes right back to the Figure Four. That’s reversed as well and Bryan slaps on the LeBell Lock for the tap at 20:18.

Rating: C+. They went with some different stuff here and of course we can’t beat Corbin because the show needs his head or whatever they want to call it. At least they got to the right result and we can move on to the big Fiend vs. Bryan rematch. That being said, oh come on with starting with the triple threat, going to a singles match and then doing a triple threat which turned into a singles. You think they might be overdoing it a bit there?

Post match Bray pops up on screen to say Bryan is about to have all kinds of fun. See, HE isn’t done with Bryan so Bray wants to know if Bryan will let him in. Bryan: “YES!”

Overall Rating: C. There was a bit of a spark to this one and it helped out a good bit. Now what we had other than that wasn’t all that great, but at least they have set up a few things on the way to the Rumble. The problem is more that the characters being presented, outside of Wyatt and Bryan, just aren’t very interesting. The women’s division matches are terrible and I’m not exactly going to get into Mandy and Otis’ oddball potential romance. Corbin and Ziggler aren’t helping things, but there are other problems besides the two of them.

Results

New Day/Braun Strowman b. Sami Zayn/Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura – Running powerslam to Nakamura

Carmella b. Mandy Rose – Superkick

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz went to a double DQ when King Corbin’s throne carriers interfered

Sasha Banks/Bayley b. Dana Brooke/Lacey Evans – Bank Statement to Brooke

Daniel Bryan b. The Miz and King Corbin – LeBell Lock to Miz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: December 13, 2019
Location: Firsev Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for TLC and I’m going to assume that at least three more matches will be added to the card tonight. We also have the big angle between Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin, though for once I actually liked what they were doing last week. Granted I have no confidence in them to continue such a streak. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Corbin vs. Reigns.

Here is Corbin on his throne, complete with security around the ring and Dolph Ziggler waiting on him. Ziggler says he can’t get away from the stench of dog food and Corbin goes over his accomplishments over the year. Corbin is ready to become the new star of the company and isn’t worried about Reigns being off the leash tonight.

Last week Reigns was put in his place and Ziggler is going to speak for the locker room when he says Reigns got what he deserved. Reigns says a new day is dawning so here is the New Day to interrupt. They don’t like Corbin using the term “new day” but Corbin brings up Kofi losing to Brock Lesnar in six seconds. Kofi: “It was more like eight seconds.”

Kofi brings up Corbin talking about his year so far, so remember when Kofi won the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania and then defended it against Corbin’s court jester Dolph Ziggler? It’s true that Kofi lost but then he came back and became a Tag Team Champion again. Corbin laughs it off so Kofi slaps him in the face. That’s not cool so Corbin promises to humiliate him later tonight. This really didn’t need to be nearly fifteen minutes long to set up either a single or tag match (or maybe both) later.

We recap Bray Wyatt targeting the Miz and his family.

Corbin and Ziggler find two backstage people out cold and their locker room ransacked. Oh dear.

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. Fire & Desire

Bliss and Cross give an interview from backstage but Mandy and Sonya run in to jump them from behind and start the fight on the stage. They get the ring for the opening bell and Bliss is sent outside. Cross gets beaten up in the corner and it’s a double suplex being loaded up, only to have Bliss pull Mandy to the floor. The Purge (which the camera misses at first) finishes Deville at 1:37.

Sami Zayn runs into Heavy Machinery and Otis has a Secret Santa present for him. It’s some Milwaukee ham, but Sami is disgusted because he’s a vegan. Sami yells at him for the mistake so Otis gets mad, only to have Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura come up to take care of things. They’ll fight later. Cesaro throws the ham on the ground and Otis shouts. Now I want ham.

Shorty G./Mustafa Ali vs. Revival

Wilder trips and falls down during his entrance. Gable gets sent outside to start as Revival takes over early on. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Gable gets in a few rollups for two. Wilder drives him into the corner but Gable suplexes his way out of the powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination. Ali hurricanranas Wilder to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Gable flipping out of a moonsault and grabbing a belly to back suplex on Dawson, with Ali adding a top rope double stomp for two. Dawson grabs a tiger driver for two on Gable but he’s right back with Rolling Chaos Theory. Wilder dives in with a frog splash for the save but Ali hits a 450 on Wilder to put everyone down again. Ali goes up again and dives straight into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. They were starting to roll here with the technical stuff against the flying and it was getting entertaining. Revival wasn’t going to lose two days before a title match but they were still having a good match as a result. It’s ok to know the way a match is going to go if they are making things work and that’s what they did here.

Bayley complains about Lacey Evans not being entertaining and brags about her and Sasha’s high level of awesome. We hear some guitar though and it’s Elias serenading Dana Brooke, which doesn’t sit well with Bayley. She yells at him so Elias sings about Bayley wanting a threesome with him and Banks (seriously) but she looks too manly after the haircut. Anyway, Bayley vs. Brooke later.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

Non-title. Bayley slaps her to start so Brooke knocks her outside for a handspring elbow against the barricade. Another one connects back inside but Bayley elbows her in the face for two. Bayley loads up a superplex but gets reversed into a sunset bomb for two. Brooke gets sent into the corner though and that arm trap bulldog driver gives Bayley the pin at 1:52.

We look at Miz/Wyatt from last week again.

Sheamus is still coming.

We get a sitdown interview with Miz at his home in Los Angeles. Miz hasn’t seen Bryan and doesn’t have much to say to him. We see the near legendary promo battle on Talking Smack and Miz says he thinks it’s finally time for him to do the right thing. Last week Bray took a step too far because family is what matters most.

We hear Maryse scream from somewhere else and Miz runs over to hear. Bray has hacked a tablet and the Firefly Fun House puppets are in their daughter’s crib. Miz and Maryse run upstairs to check on her and everything seems ok, though Willow is a bit scared. There’s a Bray doll in her crib and Miz tells the cameras to get out. I know it’s rushed and I know the match isn’t going to work, but they’re trying with these two and the promos have been good.

And now, the Firefly Fun House with the Bray doll sitting on the table. Bray was just trying to be nice and she told him a long time ago that no one likes a snitch. Miz was so busy trying to defend Bryan that he ended up exposing himself. Bryan is with, ahem, him, but Miz is with Bray. See, Bray has taught himself that pain is just a chemical reaction and you can train yourself to not feel pain at all. He bangs his head into the table and smiles, saying you can train yourself not to feel love either. All you have to do is let him in. Oh and Marine 5 was FIRE! See you at TLC!

Corbin and Ziggler find the throne toppled over and more people down.

Heavy Machinery vs. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura

Tucker dropkicks Cesaro to start and hits a spinning middle rope crossbody for a bonus. Otis comes in and shoves Nakamura down before sending Cesaro outside as we take a break. Back with Tucker fighting out of a front facelock as the fans want Otis. Tucker rolls him away and brings in Otis for the gyrating but Nakamura breaks up a charge in the corner. Nakamura’s sliding knee gets two but Kinshasa is broken up. So is the Compactor though, leaving Otis to send Nakamura outside. The Caterpillar is broken up but Sami offers a distraction, allowing Nakamura to blast Tucker with Kinshasa for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C. Just a match here and I continue to be surprised by how long the Caterpillar has stayed over. The fans are just digging it every single time and that’s a cool situation to have. Otis and Tucker shouldn’t have a lot of staying power but Otis’ ridiculous charisma is enough to keep them fine enough. Not a bad match, and again the right team won after breaking a sweat.

Batista and the NWO are going into the Hall of Fame.

Kofi Kingston vs. King Corbin

Kofi kicks at the ribs to start but gets shouldered down in a hurry. Corbin is knocked outside and Kofi drops him again as we take a break. Back with Corbin shoving Kingston off the top and driving him into the barricade a few times. Corbin takes him back inside for more shots to the ribs, followed by a big boot for two. End of Days is countered into the SOS for two but a Ziggler distraction breaks up Trouble in Paradise. That’s good for an ejection but he comes back to the ring for the brawl with Big E….and the double DQ at 10:21.

Rating: C. Yeah yeah just ring the bell for the tag match. They might as well have had a big sign up saying this was coming and there was no way they were going to do anything else. I can appreciate them not doing a clean finish here but it was a bit annoying waiting around for the ending that they telegraphed like no other.

New Day vs. Dolph Ziggler/King Corbin

Joined in progress with Ziggler hitting Big E. with a Fameasser for two and it’s off to Corbin for some choking. The belly to belly gets Big E. out of trouble and it’s off to Kofi for the top rope chop to the head. Ziggler is sent outside but Corbin clotheslines Kofi to cut things off. Ziggler busts out the handcuffs to tie Kofi up and that’s a DQ at 2:39.

Post match Kofi gets tied up ala Reigns last week and here’s the Revival for a Shatter Machine to Big E. Corbin brings out the dog food so here’s Reigns (who was so ENRAGED that he waited until the match was over and Corbin had a huge numbers advantage at the end of the show) to wreck everyone. Reigns gets the scepter but Ziggler superkicks him down. Big E. saves him from a ladder elbow through the table, allowing Reigns to throw him through the table instead. Reigns frees Kofi as Corbin bails to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. They really can’t help themselves with Corbin. He starts getting a little traction in the King role and then he’s all over the show AGAIN, which is what caused so many of his problems in the first place. WWE does this every time and it never works, which is why we’re so likely to see it happen again and again. That’s going to headline on Sunday too and Corbin will keep getting a push as WWE fails to see why it isn’t working. The rest of the show didn’t seem to matter but it was all about Corbin with Reigns thrown in at the end.

Results

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. Fire & Desire – Purge to Deville

Revival b. Shorty G./Mustafa Ali – Shatter Machine to Ali

Bayley b. Dana Brooke – Arm trap bulldog driver

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Heavy Machinery – Kinshasa to Tucker

Kofi Kingston vs. King Corbin went to a no contest when Big E. and Dolph Ziggler started brawling

New Day b. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler via DQ when Ziggler used handcuffs

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 18, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Corey Graves

We’ve got four shows left between now and Wrestlemania and that means it’s time to really crank things up. This time around it means that Brock Lesnar is actually here for a change and is likely going to get in Seth Rollins’ face. We also get to find out who will face Kurt Angle in his retirement match. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar to open things up. The fans boo a lot so Lesnar holds up the title, drawing a BURN IT DOWN chant. Since commentary can’t be quiet, Cole points this out for everyone. Heyman takes a shot at the fans and then moves to Seth Rollins, who necessitated an appearance from Lesnar tonight. Rollins acts like he’s a Suplex City arsonist (good line) who suggests that Lesnar has a problem with the smaller guys. Heyman points out the problem with that theory: Lesnar won all the matches.

Now Rollins is out here talking about Lesnar on the same night he has to fight a career killer like Drew McIntyre. Heyman: “WHAT ARE YOU THINKING SETH ROLLINS???” This brings out McIntyre for the showdown I’ve wanted to see for a long time. Last week he took out Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns and after tonight, Lesnar is going to need a new challenger. Cue Rollins with a chair to knock McIntyre silly before chasing Lesnar out of the ring. It’s nice to have Lesnar around, but I still don’t really want to see Rollins win the title. He’s just kind of there, but at least he’d be around every week.

We look back at Bobby Lashley regaining the Intercontinental Title last week.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat before a tag match. Last week the luck of the Irish wasn’t with him but he’ll get the title back. This brings out Lashley and Rush with Lashley showing off his new favorite pose: holding up the title, because Chicago doesn’t get many championships. Balor says enjoy the pose, because he’s getting the title back soon. He has a partner tonight though.

Bobby Lashley/Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor/Braun Strowman

This would have been better if Cole hadn’t said it was going to be a MONSTROUS tag match before the break. Strowman and Lashley take turns shoving each other around before Lashley bounces off of him to send us to a break. Back with Balor kicking Rush into the corner, allowing Lashley to run in and break up a hot tag attempt. The Downward Spiral gets two and Lashley punches him in the head to stop the tag again.

The missed charge sends Lashley into the corner and Balor dives over for the tag. Rush gets thrown off some hiptosses but Lashley breaks up a powerslam with a spear. A frog splash gives Rush two with the kickout sending Rush into the corner. He heads outside but is suddenly surrounded but Strowman runs Lashley over instead. There’s a chokeslam to Rush as Lashley leaves, followed by the running powerslam for the pin at 7:26.

Rating: D+. I could go for Strowman being added to the Intercontinental Title match, if nothing else for the sake of having something new over just Balor vs. Lashley. The feud isn’t exactly on fire and getting Strowman involved with something like this is certainly better than just being the celebrity guy.

We look back at Ronda Rousey wrecking Dana Brooke last week, including slapping a referee.

Rousey, with husband Travis Browne, arrives and gets yelled at by a referee for being late. The referee now has his own security.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss, with Alexa Bliss throwing it to the announcers for a rundown of the big matches. Bliss talks about how the show deserves a big host, just like her. Now it’s time for her guest, so ladies and gentlemen, Elias. Bliss announces that Elias has an announcement: he’ll be the headlining musical act for Wrestlemania. Last year’s interruption serves as motivation for this year because he hates being embarrassed.

This is going to be better than Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison or Queen at Live Aid. Cue No Way Jose’s conga line (minus Jose), with Heavy Machinery included. Bliss apparently invited them but they’re here way too early. As she yells, one of the people in the line jumps Elias and reveals himself as Jose.

Elias vs. No Way Jose

Jose, with the green braids, runs Elias over to start and armdrags him into an armbar. A running clothesline in the corner sets up a missed high crossbody and Elias unloads in the corner. Elias drops a knee to set up a top rope elbow, followed by Drift Away for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: D. It’s such a relief to have Elias as a heel again, but it feels like he’s right back where he was a year ago. I’m sure someone is going to interrupt him at Wrestlemania to do something and it should be entertaining, but there’s nothing new for him to do other than the same thing again?

Here’s Kurt Angle to announce his opponent for his final match. There are a lot of people he wants to face but only one he wants to beat. That would be Baron Corbin, which the fans don’t seem to like. As for tonight though, Angle gets to have one final match in Chicago.

Kurt Angle vs. Chad Gable

Gable says the pleasure is all his and that this is an honor for him because Angle is a hero to him. A running shoulder takes Angle down to start so he wrestles Gable to the mat. Chad walks into an overhead belly to belly to send him outside for a breather. Back in and they hit the mat with Gable starting in on the arm.

Angle whips him into the corner and grabs a front facelock but Gable kicks him to the floor. Some shots to the knee have Angle in trouble and we take a break. We come back with Gable skinning the cat but walking into some clotheslines. The ankle lock is reversed so Angle grabs a German suplex, which is reversed into an ankle lock from Gable. That’s broken up but Gable misses the moonsault, allowing the ankle lock with the grapevine to make Gable tap at 12:16.

Rating: D. I know I’ve seen Angle looking worse at a steady pace but this was the first time where it was actually hard to watch. He looked like he was laboring to pick Gable up for another German suplex and that’s very tough to take after seeing him in his prime. Even his TNA days were better than this and he only had sparks there. I’m very glad he only has a few matches left because it’s getting worse by the week.

Post match Corbin comes out to say how much he’s looking forward to humiliating Angle.

Post break Corbin talks to the Revival when Apollo Crews comes up. He doesn’t like what Corbin did out there and a match is made for later tonight. Corbin says the Revival likes him. Revival: “H*** no!”

Here’s the Boss N Hug Connection for a chat. Sasha Banks isn’t happy with the IIconics saying they’re ducking them but Bayley says they’ll be on Smackdown tomorrow. This brings out Natalya and Beth Phoenix with Beth talking about wanting to contend for the titles….when she was active. She was happy as a commentator but then she saw Nia Jax and Tamina’s pettiness. They awoke the dragon and now she’s thinking that the one missing thing could become a reality.

Beth is ready to step out of retirement and challenge for the titles along with Natalya. Bayley thinks Beth needs to train a bit more but Natalya points out that Bayley is talking to a Hall of Famer. The fight is on and we have a referee. This was another terrible, terrible example of WWE having no idea how women talk to each other as Bayley felt out of character and there was no real reason for the champs to turn down the challenge.

Natalya vs. Sasha Banks

At least it’s not the non-title match. Natalya slams her down for her running basement dropkick and knocks Sasha outside….and here’s Nia to talk about how Beth is jealous of her. She’s more successful and the prettier version of the Glamazon. Tamina superkicks Beth and Bayley as the bell rings at 2:35. Nia says she’ll see them at Wrestlemania.

Mojo Rawley is looking in the mirror again (after about a two month break) and talks about how much he hates potential. Mojo: “FIGURE IT OUT!”

Ricochet vs. Jinder Mahal

Ricochet starts fast and hits the springboard missile dropkick, followed by the moonsault into the superhero pose. Back in and the Singh Brothers breaks up another springboard, allowing Mahal to get two off a slam. We hit the chinlock with Jinder adding in some shots to the ribs. Ricochet fights up and rolls into a dropkick, followed by a springboard….kind of a crossbody (more like a rib attack) to send Mahal outside. The Space Flying Tiger (as called by Graves) takes out everyone and the 630 finishes Mahal at 6:45.

Rating: C-. There was no reason for Mahal to get in this much offense but it’s nice to see Ricochet getting to showcase what he can do. He’s just fun to watch and it’s more impressive when you consider Ricochet is more average sized than most high fliers. Throw in the cool look in general and it’s really easy to cheer the guy.

Warrior Award announcement for Sue Aichison, who has worked for the company for 33 years.

Seth Rollins is ready to burn Suplex City down.

Dana Brooke says this is the Road to Wrestlemania and she’s ready to shake things up.

Raw Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Dana Brooke

Ronda is defending and if there is any justice in the world, Dana shouldn’t lay a finger on her and then lose in about thirty seconds. Rousey knees her in the face, knees her in the ribs and the armbar finishes Brooke in 19 seconds.

Rousey won’t let go of the arm until some referees come out. Ronda beats them up too and goes over to her husband, who hits a guard for trying to hold her back. Browne pulls Ronda over the barricade.

Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews

Corbin charges at Corbin to start and slides underneath the ropes, where Crews nails a moonsault. Back in and Corbin nails a shot to the face, followed by an elbow into a chinlock. That’s broken up in long order so Corbin grabs Deep Six for two. The fans get on Corbin as Cole and company talk about fans not being happy with Corbin being Angle’s opponent. Crews loads up the End of Days but gets reversed into a small package for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: D. Please let that be a sign that Corbin is being swapped out for anyone else. I can’t believe how pathetic Corbin is every week and it just never stops. Corbin is like a low level infection that you can’t get rid of: he doesn’t harm much, but he just won’t leave no matter what.

We recap last week’s argument between HHH and Batista.

Batista joins us via satellite and says he doesn’t like HHH. He’s wanted one more match with HHH but can’t get his attention. Batista has heard about how he owes his career to HHH but all HHH ever did was groom him to be the muscle. There’s more to him than just being a meathead and it was HHH who caused him to quit nine years ago. There were goals that Batista wanted to accomplish but HHH was cutting him off. Now look at what Batista has accomplished since leaving WWE.

Cole defends HHH but Batista doesn’t buy it. HHH is a cerebral assassin and now he’s gotten in Cole’s head too. The real HHH is a manipulative control freak so hopefully Vince McMahon fires him one day and ends his corporate career. Then at Wrestlemania, Batista can end his in-ring career. Interview over. That’s the explanation I’ve been waiting on and it cleared up enough to make the story work. It’s still a stretch, but at least it’s a story that can make sense.

We look back at Braun Strowman breaking a car from the SNL guys last week.

Strowman wants an apology from the two of them and he’s so mad that he’s entering the Andre the Giant Memorial battle Royal so as many people as possible can get these hands. Then he’ll deal with the SNL guys. Bliss comes up and says that can’t happen but she’ll deal with it.

Charlotte talks about Serena Williams for Women’s History Month.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for a chat before his match. We see a clip of McIntyre laying out Roman Reigns last week. Drew talks about how everyone around here believes in fairy tales, which is why he took Reigns out last week. McIntyre wants to speak to Joe, the man behind Reigns. Joe was sitting on his couch because of Drew, so let’s do it at Wrestlemania.

Reigns needs to say no but he knows what is going to be said. All bets are off at Wrestlemania and what he did to Dean and Reigns last week will be nothing. Rollins comes up on screen and says that’s why he did what he did to Drew earlier tonight. We see a replay of the beatdown, which was for his brothers. This is for Seth.

Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins

The fight is on in the aisle with referees and security out to break it up. Joined in progress with Drew pulling him down into an armbar with the pressure on the face. A hard shot to the face keeps Rollins in trouble and they head outside, where Seth misses a moonsault off the steps to send us to a break. Back with Drew stomping on Seth’s back as it’s all McIntyre so far.

Seth gets knocked outside for a belly to belly onto the barricade…and it’s time for a chair. That takes too long though and Rollins scores with a kick to the face. Back to back suicide dive set up a Sling Blade for two but the reverse Alabama slam knocks him silly again. McIntyre takes him up top gets punched in the face, only to have Rollins slip out for the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two. The fans are WAY into this as Heyman and Lesnar come out for a distraction, allowing McIntyre to hit the Claymore for the pin at 14:13.

Rating: B. This was starting to rock at the end and as tired as I am of that ending, it did what it needed to accomplish. Lesnar gets to prove that he’s smart enough to mess with Rollins and McIntyre looks strong before going on to face Reigns. Lesnar’s distraction might not have been inspired stuff, but at least it went the right way after a pretty awesome match while it lasted.

Lesnar and Heyman laugh to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to make of this one. They did advance a lot of stuff towards Wrestlemania, but they made sure to go with a lot of the least interesting stuff possible. Nia/Tamina being added to the Women’s Title picture, Corbin as Angle’s opponent and Strowman still dealing with the SNL guys. There was enough stuff on the show to keep me going, but there were a lot of times where I was rolling my eyes and wondering how much longer there was to go.

Results

Braun Strowman/Finn Balor b. Bobby Lashley/Lio Rush – Running powerslam to Rush

Elias b. No Way Jose – Drift Away

Kurt Angle b. Chad Gable – Ankle lock

Natalya vs. Sasha Banks went to a no contest

Ricochet b. Jinder Mahal – 630

Ronda Rousey b. Dana Brooke – Armbar

Apollo Crews b. Baron Corbin – Small package

Drew McIntyre b. Seth Rollins – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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

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IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: November 15, 2018
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s almost time for Survivor Series and this week was certainly a wild one. That means we might be seeing some fun stuff around here. In theory this should be the week where Smackdown finally gets some serious attention, though stranger things have happened before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke

Oh it’s going to be a long night. Fox hits the mocking poses to start so Dana grabs some rollups for two each. A pair of Thesz presses of all things put Brooke back down but she’s right back up with a shoulder. Hang on though as Fox needs to stop for some pushups. Brooke elbows her to the floor and does some one arm pushups to a nice reaction.

Fox comes back in and sends her face first into the mat, setting up the chinlock. Fox: “I don’t know what to do with you!” A ram into the corner gets Brooke out of trouble and she hits some clotheslines without letting go of Fox’s hand. Brooke tries a cartwheel splash but hits knees and Fox small packages her. That’s reversed into another small package though and Brooke gets the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C-. All things considered, this was a minor miracle as the two were working hard out there and had a coherent match. Fox really should be able to pull off something like this more often given how long she’s been in WWE. Brooke is still pretty new at the main roster (by comparison) and having a good match is more of a rarity. Not too bad, especially considering who was in here.

Video on the Ambrose vs. Rollins feud.

From Raw.

Here’s Rollins for an in-ring interview with Corey Graves. Rollins wants to know what’s up with Ambrose, but Dean isn’t man enough to come out here and face him. Ambrose pops up on screen in front of a car with a burning barrel next to it. Dean says maybe he’s doing this because Rollins treated him like a joke for too long.

See, Dean was the same guy all along and maybe one day his brothers can forgive him. Nah that’s not true, because Dean used to think that the Shield was stronger together. The truth is the Shield made him weak so he pours gas over the Shield vest. Ambrose: “Burn it down.” He throws it into the barrel and Rollins is even angrier. It’s nice to have a reason from Dean and the symbolism was great, but if Dean doesn’t win the feud, none of this really matters.

Video on the Smackdown women invading Raw and Becky Lynch destroying Ronda Rousey.

Then Nia Jax punched Becky in the face, putting her out of the match. That gives us this, from Smackdown.

Here’s Paige to introduce the Smackdown women to the show, introducing them one at a time. It’s time to have a new opponent for Ronda Rousey named and here’s Becky to get to make the pick. Becky is rather furious because she’s taken a beating before but now she’s being held out of Sunday’s title match.

Last night Becky got a taste of blood when she had Ronda in the Disarm-Her and that was just a taste of what Ronda was getting at Survivor Series. She could still beat Ronda up, even with a broken face and a concussion. Ronda isn’t the baddest b**** on the planet. She’s just the luckiest. Becky picks…..Charlotte, telling her to make Ronda tap out and giving her a hug. I mean….who needs to save the biggest match the women’s division could ever have for a possible Wrestlemania main event? This is about BRAGGING RIGHTS!

Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Breeze/Apollo Crews

In case you were looking for an Edgeheads reunion. Hawkins hides in the ropes for a bit before headlocking Crews over. Breeze comes in but Ryder catches his kick to the ribs, setting up a failed Rough Ryder. A half crab doesn’t work on Ryder either as he comes back with a dropkick to the floor.

Back from a break with Ryder hammering away on a downed Breeze and handing it off to Hawkins for a chinlock. Breeze sends Hawkins into Ryder though, knocking him off the top for a crash to the floor. That’s enough for the hot tag to Crews so house can be cleaned. Hawkins hits a quick belly to back faceplant for two and an enziguri puts Crews down again. Breeze comes back in and superkicks Hawkins to the floor. That leaves Ryder to take the gorilla press into the standing moonsault to give Crews the pin at 9:32.

Rating: C-. This was longer than it needed to be though they did a good job of teasing the losing streak coming to the end. The wrestling was fine and having the Edgeheads back was fine for a quick bit of nostalgia. It’s not like either of them have anything going on at the moment so throwing them back together isn’t the worst idea in the world. Not too bad here, but you knew the losing streak wasn’t ending on a random Main Event.

And from Smackdown.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan

Styles is defending and drives him straight into the corner. That just earns him some kicks to the chest but a big backdrop puts Bryan on the floor. The slingshot forearm drops Bryan and we take a break. Back with Bryan hammering away in the corner but AJ takes him down by the knee. An enziguri staggers Styles and Bryan shoves away a springboard. Bryan, working more aggressively here than usual, posts AJ’s arm and it’s time for an armbar.

AJ fights up and they slug it out with the Phenomenal Blitz getting the better of Bryan. A dropkick gives us a double knockdown though and we take a break. Back again with Bryan hitting the running dropkick in the corner, followed by a top rope hurricanrana for two. AJ catches Bryan on top with the Pele, only to get crotched into the Tree of Woe. That means the kicks tot he chest and the top rope belly to back superplex for a delayed two. Bryan misses the big kick and has to fight his way out of the Styles Clash.

AJ messes up the moonsault into the reverse DDT but thankfully Bryan is smart enough to put him in an electric chair, which is reversed into the victory roll for two. The springboard 450 hits Bryan’s knees and it’s the YES Lock but AJ is right next to the ropes. Bryan’s running knee is kicked out and AJ slaps on the Calf Crusher, which is reversed into the YES Lock in the middle of the ring in a sweet counter. AJ powers out of that and catapults Bryan into the corner but AJ’s forearm hits the referee. Bryan kicks AJ low and the running knee gives Bryan the pin and the 19:15.

Rating: B. I’m not sure where we are right now but I think I like it. Bryan’s magic wasn’t connecting again this time around and it makes for a very interesting change of pace for him. The fans clearly care about him and AJ vs. Bryan in a full on face vs. heel match could be incredible. That being said, heel Bryan vs. heel Lesnar would certainly be something. I’m not sure what something, but something.

Post match Bryan kicks AJ in the head and stomps away at AJ’s head, all with a maniacal look on his face.

Overall Rating: C. They hit the big stuff from TV this week, which is what matters the most. This was a big show and it was nice to see them get what mattered the most. The original stuff wasn’t too bad and that makes for a solid enough show. Granted it helps that the shows during the week were rather packed. Not a great show here, but it hit all the important points well enough.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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Main Event
Date: August 31, 2017
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

It’s a shame that this can’t be your classic Memphis style show as it would give things a fresh blast of energy. That being said, I can live with dull wrestling if it means we get to see the Roman Reigns/John Cena promo again, which was easily one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen all year. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Dana Brooke vs. Alicia Fox

They lock up to start with Fox sending her into the corner but getting rolled up for two. A handstand splash gets two on Alicia but she comes back with some knees to the back. We hit the chinlock as it’s pretty clear they don’t have much to do here. The northern lights gives Alicia two but Brooke makes her comeback with some slams and a cartwheel splash for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: D. Thank goodness they didn’t have her job here in a meaningless match. I’ll never understand how someone can get back out there so soon after the kind of loss Brooke went through (her boyfriend died less than a week before this was taped) but it’s quite impressive that she’s back out there performing. The match was exactly what you would expect from something like this but I’m not going to hold anything against Dana at this point.

We look back at Braun Strowman laying out Brock Lesnar two weeks ago.

From Raw.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. Heyman talks about what happened last week with Braun Strowman, who is the kind of monster that his parents warned him about. Strowman had an historic night at Summerslam when he, as Corey Graves said, monster handled Lesnar by powerslamming him through two tables. We see a clip of last week’s attack on Lesnar, which Heyman says made him know Strowman is a monster. At No Mercy, Lesnar is going to be ready for Strowman. Heyman explains what’s going to happen but Brock takes the mic. Brock: “What he’s trying to say is Suplex City b****.”

From Raw again.

Kurt Angle is in the ring for the contract signing between Cena and Reigns. Cena is out first to say that he’s on Raw to face one man and Angle has made that happen for No Mercy. He’s seen Reigns being treated as the untouchable star and we’ll see how he can hang at No Mercy. Cena signs and here’s Reigns. Roman says that as great as Cena is, there’s one thing that he’s done that Cena can never do: retire the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

Cena kneels before him and says some people are still trying to figure Reigns out. We hear about the fans wanting to see Cena change his ways (with the term heel turn being dropped in a rare moment) before Cena says Reigns is just a guy trying to fill shoes he can never fill. Cena isn’t a man at the end of his career with a bad hip. The reason Reigns won’t sign that is because the Roman Empire is done if he does.

Reigns says Cena sucks so Cena puts his arm around Angle and says the fans think he does too but he won a gold medal. Roman seems a bit shaken and lost for what to say. Cena: “Go ahead find it. I’ll wait. It’s called a promo and if you want to be the big dog you’re going to have to learn how to do it. SEE YOU FOURTH WALL!” Reigns gets fired up and goes on a rant that sounds straight off a message board, talking about how hard he works on the weekend so Cena can be on the Today Show.

Then Cena gets on his tour bus and shows up at a show if they pay him enough with the big shovel to bury people around him. Reigns is the one guy he can’t bury or see. Cena calls him out for being repetitive and says “it took you five years to cut a halfway decent promo but now I’m about to cut you down to size.” He talks about the mythical golden shovel but it’s always the fans who hold the keys and they always will.

Cena is tired of hearing the same thing for ten years by a lot tougher people. Here’s the thing: Cena hasn’t main evented Wrestlemania in five years and he was the opening match at Summerslam. He won the US Title and used it to introduce new stars to the WWE including Kevin Owens and AJ Styles (I believe he means Sami Zayn as AJ debuted way later). Reigns took the US Title as a demotion and now stands there blaming Cena for not being able to hang with him.

Cena has seen a lot of people trying to hang at this level and he’s heard about one guy getting to do it. Now he sees Roman face to face and gets the line of the night: “You’re lucky I’m a part timer because I can do this part time way better than you ever could full time.” Reigns signs and turns over the table….and the clip ends before Anderson and Gallows’ ridiculous cameo appearance can be mentioned.

Ariya Daivari vs. Mustafa Ali

Daivari takes him down without much effort and we hit an early armbar. A dropkick sends Daivari outside and we take a break. Back with Daivari eating a jumping knee to the face for two but grabbing a spinebuster for the same. Not that it matters as Ali’s rolling neckbreaker and tornado DDT set up the 054 for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C. It didn’t have much time to do anything (remember the long break) and that’s kind of a shame. Ali has become one of the more consistent cruiserweight performers and Daivari isn’t the worst, as long as we don’t have to hear his lame promos. This was your standard Main Event cruiserweight match though and that’s not a good thing.

We’ll wrap it up here.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Banks is defending and gets rolled up for an early two. Sasha sends her hard into the corner and grabs an armbar. They’re starting with a slow pace and Bliss bails to the floor for a breather. There are the double knees from the apron and we take a break. Back with Bliss holding an armbar of her own before starting in on the back.

It’s off to a bow and arrow hold but Banks fights up without too much effort. The Bank Statement doesn’t work so Sasha goes with the running knees in the corner, only to miss a second attempt. Bliss goes with a hard right hand and a Code Red for a pretty close two. Banks gets in a few more knees and some aggressive forearms in the corner.

Back up and Alexa catches her in the corner by sending her face first into a buckle. A top rope superplex connects to bust up the back even more. Bliss is slow to cover and gets caught in the Bank Statement. That’s reversed into a rollup for two and there’s the DDT to give Bliss the title back at 15:00.

Rating: B. I’m really not getting the lack of successful title defenses for Banks. That makes four reigns and she’s lost the title in her first defense every time. As for the match itself, Bliss winning clean is an interesting call and the right one if you have to change the title. She looked better than she has before in the ring and is getting to the point where she can hang with the better workers. Couple that with the insane charisma and persona and she’s quite the force.

Post match Nia Jax comes out and destroys Sasha before putting Bliss on her shoulders. One electric chair later and Jax holds up the title over the new champ to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event and the long promo alone make this an easy show to watch. As usual the original wrestling was nothing memorable in the slightest but I don’t think anyone watches this show for that content. Raw is still on a roll right now with even the recap shows being entertaining.

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

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

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

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Main Event
Date: May 18, 2017
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s the mystery box show as they do seem to have mixed the roster up a little bit for a change. You can only do so much with the same people and WWE has taken that to the furthest limits possible. Things have been a bit better lately but as usual, it all depends on the Raw clips. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Dana Brooke vs. Nia Jax

See? Is this too much to ask for? Brooke tries the power game to start and is easily thrown around, followed by a headbutt. A sleeper works a bit better for Brooke before she avoids a charge to send Nia outside. Brooke scores with a dive but only gets a seven count. Back in and Jax swats her away and stands on Brooke’s back for good measure. Brooke fights out of an arm crank and grabs a neckbreaker but tries a fireman’s carry for some reason. Jax Samoan drops her for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: D+. This was just a step above a squash but I can’t emphasize how much better this is than the same three people fighting a random opponent (or each other) for a change. Brooke was trying here and is still rather green but at least she’s trying. Jax looked like the monster she should be and her swatting Brooke away made perfect sense.

From Raw for the first time.

Intercontinental Title: Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz

Ambrose is defending and we get some Big Match Intros. Miz bails to the floor though and we take a break. Back with Miz hitting his running clothesline in the corner, followed by the YES Kicks. Dean comes back with a suicide dive, followed by a bulldog for two back inside. Miz misses a running charge in the corner, followed by the top rope standing elbow to give Dean two more.

The rebound lariat is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale for the very close near fall, giving us a shocked look from Miz. Dean sends him outside again so Miz hides behind Maryse, only to have Dean dive anyway. Maryse offers a distraction but the low blow is blocked, allowing Dean to kick Miz low for the DQ at 12:02. Dean looks stunned at the DQ for some reason.

Rating: C+. That’s as obvious of a setup for a No DQ rematch as I’ve ever seen and that’s fine. Miz vs. Ambrose is a good feud and Miz winning his seventh title is a good idea. I liked the match more than I was expecting to and they actually had me for a second on that Skull Crushing Finale.

And again.

Here’s Alexa Bliss for a chat. Bliss rips on Newark a bit before talking about what it’s like to be a winner. When you’re smarter than everyone else and more dominant than everyone else, winning just comes easily. If you’re a failure, say what. Crowd: “WHAT!” Bliss: “My point exactly.” If she had entered Miss USA last night, she would have walked off with the crown. Bliss: “So Miss USA: you’re welcome.”

Cue Bayley to interrupt though she knows Bliss doesn’t care what she says. Bayley is invoking her rematch clause at Extreme Rules but Bliss needs to make it clear that it won’t be extreme pogo sticking. Bliss talks down as only she can and suggests Bayley leave the championships to the adults. A dropkick puts Bliss on the floor but she snaps Bayley’s throat on the ropes and comes up with a kendo stick. One heck of a shot to the back sends Bayley outside and Bliss poses with the title. Heck of a segment from Bliss here, who is still on fire.

Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari

Swann nips out of an early wristlock before a dropkick is good for one. Daivari sends him hard into the corner though and we take an early break. Back with Daivari working on a backbreaker, followed by some more whips into the corner. Swann fights back with some shots to the head but it’s too early for the Phoenix splash. Instead Daivari bails to the floor, only to have Rich dive on him there instead. Back in and Daivari’s frog splash gets two but Swann rolls him up for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C-. This was fine but totally standard cruiserweight action, meaning it’s nothing I’m going to remember by…..what was I talking about again? Nothing to see here of course as Swann was the obvious winner and Daivari continues to be one of the least interesting members of the roster.

We’ll wrap it up here.

Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins starts fast and sends Bray outside for a…..dive. Bray Rock Bottoms him onto the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Wyatt still in control and grabbing a superplex. Another Rock Bottom is broken up though and….let’s have a graphic for the pay per view match IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS MATCH.

Anyway Seth tosses him to the floor for a…..dive before Bray hits one of the hardest clotheslines I’ve ever seen. Another Rock Bottom gives Bray two but Seth gets in his low superkick for the same. Bray gets tossed outside (third time) for a top rope….oh you get the idea by now but Samoa Joe comes in for the most obvious DQ in recent memory at 14:13.

Rating: C-. As repetitive as the match was, it really took a……dive as they kept doing the same stuff over and over again. It also doesn’t help that I had the DQ written up before the match started but to be fair, that’s the logical ending and the right place to have Joe on the show. Good enough match but nothing great.

Bray and Joe beat on Rollins until Wyatt hits Joe with Sister Abigail to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. So that exists. The women’s match was an actual breath of fresh air but it needed more than Jax and Brooke having a quick match. The Raw stuff was pretty dreadful but that’s the case with almost everything on that show this week. Then again though it’s hard to complain when this show takes all of twenty minutes to watch.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Main Event
Date: March 30, 2017
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s Wrestlemania week and there’s a good chance that you’ll never know it based on watching this show. If I had to guess, we’ll be seeing some nothing matches and a bunch of build towards the pay per view. In other words, it’s going to be Monday Night Raw all over again. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke

Dana is freshly face. Feeling out process to start with Fox running her over, only to get slammed for two. For some reason this makes the announcers suggest that Dana is cheating, even though she certainly didn’t. Fox’s northern lights suplex gets two and we’re off to the chinlock. That goes nowhere so Fox misses a boot in the corner and gets caught in a Samoan Driver for the pin at 4:09.

Rating: D+. Yeah fine. Dana is pretty much the same character as a heel or a face, which isn’t the best sign in the world. This was really just having Brooke shrug off Fox’s offense and hit her finish, though she has a good smile and the entrance works well enough. It’s clear that neither of these two are going near the title anytime soon and this didn’t seem to do much to help them.

From Raw.

Here are Rollins and HHH for the contract signing. HHH doesn’t get in yet because he has to tell Seth that the match is off if there’s violence before the match. Seth has to sit down and listen to what he has to give up or there’s no match. HHH explains the idea all over again and then blames the fans for putting Seth in jeopardy.

The boss doesn’t understand why people hate success so much. How dare HHH drive a nice car and live in a nice house? You have one life to live and there’s no point in holding back. HHH finally gets to a logical point by saying Seth doesn’t want to miss Wrestlemania twice in a row but if he walks in to Wrestlemania, he’s not walking out.

Seth says that’s the same nonsense he bought into three years ago but he’s not doing it now. He didn’t mind wrestling in front of 100 people for a hot dog and a handshake in the Philadelphia National Guard Armory because he loves this business. Seth loves this and it’s more than just a match at Wrestlemania. Rollins signs and the beating is on with HHH going after the knee. HHH loads up the crutch but gets caught by an enziguri and backdropped over the top.

Also from Raw.

Here’s Reigns for his big talk about Undertaker. He was in this building two years ago when he won the Royal Rumble and then went on to main event two straight Wrestlemanias. Roman, sounding rather heelish, doesn’t care what the people say and doesn’t care what Undertaker thinks: this is his building and this is his yard. The gong strikes and Undertaker is on screen in the graveyard.

We see him digging the grave, which is in a special part of the cemetery. At Wrestlemania, the Roman Empire will crumble and the ultimate thrill ride will be Reigns’ Last Ride. Reigns should live each day like its his last because at Wrestlemania, he will…….and there go the lights because Undertaker is in the ring. As he was saying, Reigns will rest in peace. The lights go dim again and Reigns isn’t phased.

Lince Dorado/Gran Metalik/Mustafa Ali vs. Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese/Drew Gulak

Nese runs Metalik over to start but Metalik starts using the ropes, including walking across them into a springboard armdrag. Ali comes in and gets sent hard to the floor as we take a break. Back with Gulak getting two off a hard clothesline before grabbing a one arm camel clutch. Ali pops back up with the rolling neckbreaker and there’s the hot tag to Dorado. A shooting star gets two on Nese and everything breaks down with Metalik getting in a big dive. Nese adds the inverted 450 for the pin on Gulak at 9:05.

Rating: C-. This was every run of the mill cruiserweight six man you’ve ever seen. Metalik had some good dives in there but there was nothing else of note in the whole thing. They really do just throw these people on TV and hope for the best. The match isn’t bad by any stretch but it’s completely uninteresting.

We’ll wrap it with this.

Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar for the big closing segment. Lesnar is the extremist who is going to derail Goldberg’s ultimate thrill ride. The Universal Title is what matters most around here because it’s the one (Heyman: “There’s a number you’re familiar with at Wrestlemania.”) thing that matters more than anything else. Lesnar craves and lusts after that title but more than that he wants to destroy Goldberg.

While Goldberg may be the man, Lesnar is the Beast that will chew him up and spit him out at Wrestlemania. Now we need a reason to get people to buy the show (“Or buy a ticket off a secondary market because Wrestlemania is sold out. Thanks for the house Brock!”) so here it is: Goldberg is going to Suplex City! Lesnar doesn’t fear the spear because Goldberg can’t survive the F5. Here’s Goldberg to say the people are here to see us fight, meaning it’s a spear to Lesnar in the aisle. Lesnar is down on the floor as Goldberg poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. Complete waste of forty five minutes here with recaps of segments that weren’t great in the first place and two nothing matches. Main Event is a show that has to put in some strong effort to get above being a nothing show and they certainly didn’t accomplish that here. Bad show and one of the weakest since I’ve been watching.

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

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

Opening sequence.

Lince Dorado vs. Brian Kendrick

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

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

To Raw!

US Title: Roman Reigns vs. Chris Jericho

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

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

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

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

Video on HHH winning the 2002 Royal Rumble.

From Raw again.

Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins

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

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

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

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

Shawn Michaels won the 1995 Royal Rumble.

Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke

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

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

One more Raw trip to wrap us up.

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

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

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

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Main Event
Date: January 19, 2017
Location: Verizon Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Austin Aries, Byron Saxton

I’m getting to the point where these shows amuse me more than anything else. It’s getting fun to see what kind of a boring match they can throw out there week to week and manage to get even less interesting every time. Maybe we can get some more Darren Young highlights since this might as well be his show. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke

We get a long recap of Fox’s issues with Noam Dar and Cedric Alexander. Brooke immediately starts with the pushups (Byron: “Rocky would be proud.”) so Fox stretches on the top and poses a bit. A kick to the chest sends Brooke outside so Alicia calls her a chicken. Uh, right. Back in and Dana chokes in the corner before sending Fox into the barricade. It’s off to a bodyscissors for a bit before Fox gets in a tilt-a-whirl slam. Fox slingshots in and despite what looks like a missed spot, the ax kick ends Brooke at 3:42.

Rating: C-. I’m actually something of an Alicia Fox fan so I can always go for her winning a match, assuming there’s no screaming involved at the same time. Brooke has fallen off a cliff lately with the Charlotte partnership seemingly over. She really needs ring time though and the rest of it will come soon enough.

Jimmy Snuka tribute video.

From Raw:

Here’s Roman Reigns to some of the loudest booing I’ve ever heard outside of a major city. Reigns can’t complain about getting beaten down when he’s outnumbered in a fight. He knows he lost the US Title but now he’s off to get the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble. Just in case you needed more proof that the US Title meant nothing on Roman. This brings out Paul Heyman who is almost immediately cut off by the GOLDBERG chants. Heyman gives us a spoiler for the Rumble but here are Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho to interrupt.

Jericho loves the idea of the Royal Rumble because no matter who wins, they’ll both wind up at Wrestlemania with both titles. Owens seems to agree but here’s Seth Rollins to cut them off. That means more promises of winning before Braun Strowman comes and stares Reigns down.

Strowman doesn’t say a word before Lesnar himself comes out. Sami Zayn runs in through the crowd and cleans house, including a Helluva Kick to put Braun outside. Brock throws everyone else down and is left alone with Sami, meaning it’s another German suplex for Zayn. Lesnar tells Braun to bring it on but Strowman drops to the floor, leaving Reigns to Superman Punch Brock. That earns him an F5 and Lesnar stands tall.

And from Raw:

Here’s Charlotte to discuss the winning strategy that has kept her undefeated on pay per view. By that she means laughing at the idea of Bayley beating her at the Royal Rumble. We see some pictures of Bayley as a kid meeting people like John Cena, Ivory, Rob Van Dam and Bret Hart from years ago.

Charlotte even has some poetry from what looks like middle school while Charlotte was training and getting scholarship offers. We even get a video of Bayley reading her essay on wanting to be a professional wrestler. Charlotte cuts the video and reads it herself until Bayley runs out to chase her off. Bayley calls this unnecessary so Charlotte says she’s just like the average fan.

If Charlotte wants to bring up all these stories, Bayley has a story for her. She didn’t have a father who could just make a phone call and get her into WWE. What she did have is a father who would spend everything he had to get her a ticket to every show in San Jose because that was all she ever wanted to do. Bayley even has a new poem for Charlotte: Roses are red, violets are blue, at Royal Rumble, I will defeat you.

Darren Young vs. Epico

This show just doesn’t get sarcasm. Young takes him into a chinlock to start and they hit the mat before Darren gets two off a backslide. A rolling forearm puts Epico on the floor but Bob Backlund sends him back inside. Darren loads up the belly to back on the apron but Primo trips him up, sending Young arm first into the apron, causing a legitimate injury and the match is stopped at around 2:45.

Kurt Angle Hall of Fame video.

We look at the end of Monday’s main event and the post match brawl with Reigns being put through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This is a hard one to grade as the first match was watchable but the second was called off due to situations beyond the wrestlers’ control. Hopefully Young isn’t seriously hurt but that was a nasty looking crash. It was your normal Main Event with the clips reflecting Raw, which is losing some steam due to the long build towards the Rumble.

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

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Tribute to the Troops 2016
Date: December 14, 2016
Location: Verizon Center, Washington D.C.
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield

I try so hard to care about this show but it feels like WWE puts in less of an effort every single year. This is the annual show for the members of the United States military, meaning almost nothing of consequence will happen and the big main event will be Americans vs. foreigners. Let’s get to it.

Shane and Stephanie McMahon welcome us to the show.

Video on the history of the series with a look back at all of the shows. The ones where they went overseas just feel so much more important.

Lillian Garcia is back to sing the National Anthem.

Cole says this is a rare occasion when the Raw, Smackdown and cruiserweight rosters are on the same show. You mean like Survivor Series?

Here’s Roman Reigns to get things going. Reigns says the people in this arena are the real champions of the United States but here’s Kevin Owens to cut him off. Kevin thinks he should get the praise around here because he’s the longest reigning Universal Champion in history. Trash talk is exchanged with Owens saying he would take the US Title and put a maple leaf sticker on it to turn it into the Canadian Heavyweight Title. So he’s a Lance Storm fan. I admire the cut of this Canadian’s jib.

A challenge is issued but here’s Rusev to interrupt. We get a rare kiss with Lana but Reigns wants a soldier to come out here and show Rusev how to do that properly. A brawl is about to go down but Big Cass comes out to even things up. Mick Foley comes out to make the main event, even though it’s not Raw and he shouldn’t have any authority.

Package on wrestlers visiting troops.

Cesaro/Sheamus vs. Shining Stars vs. Anderson and Gallows vs. Golden Truth

The winners get New Day on Sunday with one fall to a finish. Anderson punches Goldust to start before it’s off to Epico who gets beaten up as well. The Shining Stars get together to put Goldust on the floor and we take a break. Back with Gallows kicking Goldust in the face because it’s beat on the old man night.

An elbow drop gets two with Sheamus making the save. The hot tag brings in R-Truth to clean house with an ax kick getting two on Primo. Cesaro comes in to clean house with his usual stuff, including the high crossbody for two more on Primo. Epico saves his cousin from the Swing but gets Brogue Kicked for the pin at 9:28.

Rating: D+. If they just have to give Cesaro and Sheamus the titles so be it, as long as New Day has the record once and for all. I’m still not a fan of the team but they’re probably the only option out of these four. The tag division means nothing at the moment so they’re as good an option as there is otherwise. Also, how weird is it to see storyline development on one of these shows?

More wrestlers meeting troops.

Here are Miz and Maryse for a chat with Miz calling himself an inspiration due to his role in the Marine movies. Anyway it’s open challenge time so here’s comedian Gabriel Iglesias to answer. They argue about who is out of their element until Iglesias brings out a friend to answer the challenge.

Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title. Miz starts with the Daniel Bryan mockery fast by doing the YES pose and hitting the running corner dropkick. The running corner clothesline is countered into a belly to belly suplex as Iglesias starts taking pictures with Maryse. Neither Miz nor Maryse are pleased so Crews kicks Miz in the face, meaning another picture can be taken. The distraction lets Crews grab a rollup for the pin at 2:30.

Some troops say hello to their families.

Dolph Ziggler/American Alpha vs. Wyatt Family

Jordan immediately goes for the belly to belly on Harper but gets headlocked for his efforts. Luke is knocked out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Ziggler coming in to clothesline Orton and dropping him with a neckbreaker. The triple teaming puts Ziggler down in a hurry though and Orton’s snap powerslam gets two. Ziggler gets away for the hot tag without too much effort and everything breaks down. That’s fine with the Wyatts who clean house off a release Rock Bottom to Gable. The RKO finishes Chad at 10:55.

Rating: C-. Well that was rather squashy. The Wyatts completely destroyed the three of them here and that’s not a good sign for Alpha’s title hopes going forward. You would think they would be the best option to eventually take the belts from the Wyatts but that really doesn’t seem to be the case, at least not yet. At least they’re keeping the Family strong for a change.

Bayley, Charlotte and Dana Brooke meet a rescue dog. Dana isn’t impressed and a match is made for later.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

Charlotte and the dog are at ringside. Dana takes her down and cranks on an arm and a leg at the same time. Bayley comes back with her spinning elbow in the corner but Charlotte grabs the leg to break up the suplex. The fans want Sasha but have to settle for Bayley throwing Dana into Charlotte. Back in and the Bayley to Belly wraps Dana up at 2:24.

Bayley celebrates with the dog just in case she’s not adorable enough yet.

TJ Perkins/Jack Gallagher/Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick/Tony Nese/Drew Gulak

Perkins and Kendrick speed things up to start with TJ sending him outside, meaning it’s time for all the dives. Gallagher goes last but opts to climb through the ropes and hit an ax handle from the apron for the pop of the night. Back in and Gulak puts Perkins in something like the Edgecator to take over for the first time.

Perkins cross bodies Nese but it’s not enough for the hot tag. Gulak gets kicked away and it’s off to Swann as things speed up. Everything breaks down with Jack headbutting Nese out to the floor but shaking himself up in the process. A double superkick drops Kendrick and the spinning kick to the jaw ends Gulak at 5:33.

Rating: C. This was exactly what this match needed to be with the right ending. I liked the fact that they didn’t do much to set up the triple threat here as this was much more an exhibition than anything involving storylines. They need to find some better heel jobbers than Gulak and Nese though as they’ve lost so many times now that it’s starting to lose meaning.

HHH and Stephanie went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a ceremony.

More wrestlers in Afghanistan.

New Day talks about their title defense on Sunday but instead opt to dance over breaking the record. Big E. thinks they’re the greatest trio of all time when the Club comes in to laugh at the thought. They throw up the too sweet sign and here’s the Shield to stare all six of them down. Reigns: “Nah.” Well that worked.

Big Cass/Roman Reigns vs. Rusev/Kevin Owens

Enzo is back and we hear about how the Americans are going to beat down the bad guys for every branch of the military. Rusev and Reigns get things started with the Bulgarian actually taking over. The running splash misses though and Rusev has to bail from the threat of the Superman Punch. Instead it’s the apron dropkick and the good guys stand tall as we take a break.

Back with Owens getting in a cheap shot on Reigns to give the bad guys control. Owens gets all angry with the trash talk and drops a backsplash on the floor. Reigns finally throws Rusev down and a big uppercut to Owens allows the hot tag to Cass. Everything breaks down but Lana shoves Enzo into the steps. The distraction lets Rusev get in a superkick to set up the frog splash for two. Another hot tag brings in Reigns for the spear and pin on Rusev at 12:55.

Rating: C-. Totally standard main event to end a totally standard show. Lana laying out Enzo was the highlight of the match here and actually makes me want to see them have a wacky comedy match. I’m really happy with the idea of Cass moving higher up the card and while I don’t see him beating Rusev, it’s a good sign to have him in that spot on a pay per view.

A quick thank you to the troops wraps us up.

Overall Rating: D. Is that really what they think of the troops? This was basically an extra hour for Raw and Smackdown with nothing interesting whatsoever going on. In two hours we had maybe ten combined minutes of stuff on the troops, making this one of the lamest tributes ever. It used to be a show in the Middle East. Then it was a show at a military base. Then it was a glorified house show. Now it’s something thrown in as a bonus when you went to Smackdown. To suggest this was about the troop is a joke and you almost have to know that just by paying attention. Totally unnecessary show, as it’s been for years.

Results

Cesaro/Sheamus b. Shining Stars, Anderson and Gallows and Golden Truth – Brogue Kick to Epico

Apollo Crews b. Miz – Rollup

Wyatt Family b. Dolph Ziggler/American Alpha – RKO to Gable

Bayley b. Dana Brooke – Bayley to Belly

Jack Gallagher/Rich Swann/TJ Perkins b. Drew Gulak/Tony Nese/Brian Kendrick – Spinning kick to Gulak’s head

Roman Reigns/Big Cass b. Kevin Owens/Rusev – Spear to Rusev

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

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

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