Main Event
Date: January 2, 2020
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

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

Opening sequence.

Chelsea Green vs. Sarah Logan

Logan goes straight for the armbar so Green forearms her in the face. A kick to the ribs puts Green on the floor and a headbutt knocks her silly back inside. Green grabs a side slam and puts on a camel clutch, followed by a running dropkick to the side of the head. That’s fine with Logan, who BLASTS her with some forearms and gets two off a bridging suplex. Running knees in the corner get the same on Green, who pulls Logan face first into the middle buckle. An Unprettier gives Green the pin at 5:24.

Rating: C. That was a rather snappy little match and the two of them looked solid out there. Green is brand new and it’s cool to see her putting in this kind of effort so early on. I’m not sure if she was the top choice to jump up to the main roster with so little time in NXT but she has shown she is good enough to hang at this level.

From Smackdown.

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!”

Video on the AOP and Seth Rollins’ path of destruction.

From Raw.

Here’s an annoyed Kevin Owens to get things going. Owens gets right to the point and promises fireworks for what happened last week. We see a clip of Seth Rollins and the AOP laying out Samoa Joe last week. Owens promises to take one of them out with him because he saw someone he respects get taken out.

That would be Rey Mysterio, and it made him sick to see Mysterio get beaten down a few weeks back. The beatdown is why Andrade defeated Mysterio for the United States Title and we see a clip of the title change. Cue Rollins and the AOP to say this wasn’t Seth’s decision. He was forced into this roll and now the AOP will enforce his will.

The fight is on with Owens getting crushed in the corner, only to have Samoa Joe come down for the save. Joe beats up the AOP and chokes Rollins but AOP comes back in. Owens makes the next save with some chair shots to the back as security comes down to break it up. Owens hits a bit flip dive onto the three of them plus security, with Joe joining in.

Here’s what’s coming on next week’s Raw.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

This is becoming the new Dana Brooke vs. Sarah Logan. Rawley actually gets promo time (!) saying that of course Jose is partying because he does it every day. Here in Hartford, nothing is changing because the people aren’t smart enough to understand what he’s talking about. Instead, Mojo will just embarrass Jose again.

Jose hammers away in the corner to start and it’s an armdrag into a dropkick to put Mojo on the floor. Back from a break with Mojo hitting a flapjack and firing off the shoulders in the corner. Jose fights back again and hits a high crossbody for two, only to get Pounced straight back down. A Backstabber gives Jose two more but Mojo crotches him on top. The running punch finishes Jose at 10:04.

Rating: C. These two have fought each other so many times that it doesn’t mean anything anymore, despite their matches being pretty watchable. Neither is going to be getting anywhere anytime soon and that has to be setting in for them. At least they’re still trying, which is a good sign for both of them, though I don’t know what kind of a future they have.

From Raw to wrap it up.

They get to read their own vows but Lana screeches about the fans chanting RUSEV DAY and how they’re trying to make this day anyone but her. Lana tells Lashley about how awesome she is and starts her own LANA DAY chant. She’s so happy that she wants to jump on him right now….and so she does.

With that broken up, Lana hands Lashley the vows she wrote for him. Lashley reads the very complimentary statements about Lana but has to pause for the WHAT chants. Those don’t sit well with Lana, who spells her name because it’s WHO, not WHAT. He finally wraps it up, with the minister saying that was different. The ring statements go on so long that Lana says “ok we’ve got it, thank you.”

Now we get to the part the minister really dreads and he asks if anyone has reason why they shouldn’t be married. This brings out an unidentified man who says that he’s Lana’s first husband. They got married when she was 18 and then she left him for Rusev, just like she’ll leave Lashley for someone else. Lashley chokeslams him so the minister asks again, which draws out Lashley’s first wife (Minister: “WHO ARE YOU???”), who Lana didn’t seem to know about. Lana beats her up so we ask one more time….and here’s Liv Morgan.

She talks about how she was a lost soul earlier this year but the love of her life brought her to where she needed to be. How could they do this to her? Lashley insists he never laid a finger on her (Minister: “OH COME ON!”), but Liv is talking about Lana. That finally gives the fans something to care about and Liv is near tears, only to be driven into the corner.

A flower pot to the head starts the catfight as Lashley isn’t sure what to do. They’re taken to the floor but Lana gets back in so we can try this one more time. Cue Rusev out of the cake and the fight is on again, with Liv getting back in as the wedding set is destroyed. Lana gets sent into the cake but manages to slap Rusev to end the show.

This was REALLY long at nearly thirty minutes, including an eleven minute overrun. The Liv stuff is at least a twist, but it took so long to get here (both tonight and for the last three months) that it didn’t have much of an impact. This could have been worse, but they needed to cut out a lot of the same stuff going on over and over again.

Overall Rating: C+. Better show than usual here as the two matches surprised me in a good way each. The wedding is what matters the most here though as it was the big angle to end the year. That being said, the thing gets a little better each time I see it, putting it dangerously in the realm of watchable. This gives me no extra confidence for next week, but it’s nice to have a decent week like this one.

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

Smackdown
Date: January 3, 2020
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the first Smackdown of the new year and we are on the road to the Royal Rumble. That could mean a lot of things but one of them is likely to be more build towards Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend II. I’m curious to see where things go, though King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler are in the main event to temper my interest. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Bryan becoming #1 contender last week.

Miz comes up to Bryan and tells him to defeat the Fiend for everyone.

Opening sequence.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Lacey Evans/Dana Brooke vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

Banks messes with Lacey’s mind to start before bringing Nikki in instead. That means Brooke gets to come in for one off a slam and everything breaks down for a bit. Lacey is sent outside and Bliss dropkicks Banks. Bayley pulls Bliss off the ropes though and the Meteora in the corner gives Banks two. Banks chokes her a bit but everything breaks down again and they wind up on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Brooke cleaning house, including a snap suplex for two on Banks. Everything breaks down again until it’s Bayley stomping on Brooke some more. Brooke fights out of the corner so Banks knees her in the face to set up Bayley’s belly to back suplex for two. An enziguri finally gets Brooke out of trouble and it’s back to Lacey for the standing moonsault on Bayley.

The slingshot Bronco Buster looks to set up the springboard moonsault but Banks pulls Bayley away. That’s only good for two as everyone makes the save so Lacey has to slip out of a double powerbomb. The Woman’s Right hits Banks and Dana adds the Swanton (with a thud) for the pin at 13:17.

Rating: D+. This was a near mess with the match just going and going until someone got the fall. The match didn’t have much of a flow or structure to it and Dana getting the win was rather surprising. In theory this gives Dana and Lacey a Tag Team Title shot but Lacey seems in line to face Bayley so it could be some combination of both.

We recap Dolph Ziggler crushing Otis’ fruitcake.

Mandy Rose comes up to Otis, who didn’t see the fruitcake get destroyed. His mama did though and she’s not happy. Tucker comes up to say they have a match so the two of them leave, with Mandy actually looking sad.

Miz runs into New Day but isn’t in the mood to celebrate the new year. Big E.: “I watched the balls drop.” Kofi: “There’s only one ball. What were you watching?” Big E: “I don’t know!” Kofi tries to make Miz feel better by saying Miz won the most titles in the 2010s, though Big E. points out that Miz was tied with Kofi himself. That’s not enough for Miz, because Fiend violated his family’s home. The pancakes are turned over and a match seems to be made for later.

Here’s Elias for a song. This one is about how many things need to change in 2020, like Shane McMahon going to Raw and Revival being harder to watch than Dolph Ziggler’s comedy act. He also implies that he’ll be in the Royal Rumble.

We look at Revival getting beaten up in the Miracle on 34^th Street Fight.

Revival doesn’t like being made to look like bad jokes. They want respect in the new year but here’s Chad Gable to say embrace who you are. Revival makes fun of Gable for being short, but Gable says they don’t bother him anymore. His new motto is Rise Over Size (egads) and the result is Dash vs. Gable tonight.

Shorty G. vs. Dash Wilder

Scott Dawson is on commentary for more short jokes as Wilder gets two off a suplex. Gable is back with a high crossbody for two before grabbing the ankle lock. That’s reversed into a rollup for two, with Cole calling Gable inspirational. Dawson: “He’s inspirational because he’s short???” Another ankle lock makes Wilder tap at 2:52.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz

Kofi sweeps the leg and hits a quick splash for two, setting up the monkey flip to frustrate Miz even more. A back elbow to the jaw drops Miz again and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Miz kicks away at the ribs in the corner, setting up a running knee for a bonus. Miz charges into a kick to the head though and Kofi adds a top rope chop to the head. Miz’s reverse DDT is blocked but so is the SOS. The Skull Crushing Finale doesn’t work either and Kofi rolls him up for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: C-. These two are always good for a passable enough match and it seems Miz is a heel all over again. To be fair that fits him better, as it’s pretty hard to cheer for him when he failed against Wyatt at the pay per view. Just let him be a heel again because neither face run has worked for the most part.

Post match Miz jumps Kofi to end the face experiment again. Miz shouts that he’s given the fans everything.

Daniel Bryan says he’s winning the title at the Rumble, so Roman Reigns enters the Rumble. That would make Bryan vs. Reigns at Wrestlemania so Bryan says bring it on. They’re ready for their tag match tonight.

Post break Cathy Kelly knocks on Miz’s door but John Morrison answers, saying Miz has nothing left to say tonight.

Otis vs. Drew Gulak

Before the match, Gulak says that he is an expert in matters of the heart, which means he knows Mandy would never date Otis. We have a POWER POINT PRESENTATION but Otis jumps him to start in a hurry. A suplex sends Gulak flying and another drops him in a hurry. There’s a gorilla press but hang on as Dolph Ziggler is hitting on Mandy in the back. Otis throws Gulak down and hits the Caterpillar, setting up a Vader Bomb for the pin at 2:27.

Braun Strowman vs. Cesaro

Cesaro has Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura with him. They do the power lockup to start with Cesaro getting launched into the corner. Strowman cleans house and chases the other two off of the apron as we take a break. Back with Cesaro diving into a choke but reversing into a quick sleeper.

That’s broken up in a hurry so Cesaro hits a running uppercut in the corner. Another misses though and Strowman heads to the floor for the train of shoulders. Sami comes in for a distraction so Cesaro can send Braun into the post. The Neuralizer is countered into the running powerslam to finish Cesaro at 8:12.

Rating: D+. Just a match here with the break eating up a good chunk of it. Strowman is pretty obviously getting the Intercontinental Title shot at the Rumble and he might as well win the thing. It’s not like it matters who wins it at this point so trading it to someone more popular might be an improvement over what we have at the moment.

Post match Nakamura hits Strowman with Kinshasa so the trio can leave.

We recap Roman Reigns attacking King Corbin last week.

Roman Reigns/Daniel Bryan vs. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler

Corbin jumps Reigns at the bell and gets punched in the face for his efforts. It’s off to Ziggler, whose neckbreaker is easily broken up so Reigns can hit a big boot. Bryan comes in and kicks away….but we have the Fiend laughing and lights flickering. Back from a break with Reigns kicking Corbin in the face but running into Deep Six for two. Corbin sends him into the steps and Ziggler begs Reigns to do something.

The Superman Punch finally gets Reigns out of trouble and it’s back to Bryan to pick up the pace. Bryan elbows Ziggler down and hits the YES Kicks, only to miss the big one. Ziggler’s rollup is reversed into the LeBell Lock with Corbin making the save. Reigns spears Corbin and Bryan knees Ziggler….as the lights go out. The Fiend is here so Bryan hits him with a suicide dive.

Fiend gets posted but is right back with the Mandible Claw to send Bryan through the barricade. The Claw goes on again and there go the lights, meaning the Fiend is gone. Ziggler and Corbin jump Reigns as he goes to check on Bryan, meaning it’s time for the handcuffs and dog food. Cue the returning Usos for the save though, which is pretty long overdue. We’ll say the match ended at about 10:00.

Rating: C-. This was all just a means to get to the end of the match and that’s fine as it didn’t exactly overstay its welcome. That being said, this didn’t help hide the fact that Ziggler and Corbin aren’t exactly as interesting as a lot of the other people on the show, including the three other people involved in the match. Not a bad match or anything, but a means to an end more than anything on its own.

Overall Rating: C. While the wrestling wasn’t great, this show felt like it had stuff happening. There were four returns (only one of which we knew was coming) and you can see where the stories are going. Compare that to Raw where it feels like the stories either have no direction or are having twists thrown into them to keep things going. This may not be the most thrilling show, but it’s a structured show and doesn’t leave you wondering what you just watched. Unfortunately it doesn’t leave you overly entertained, but I’ll take that over Raw almost every day.

Results

Lacey Evans/Dana Brooke b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross and Sasha Banks/Bayley – Swanton to Banks

Shorty G. b. Dash Wilder – Ankle lock

Kofi Kingston b. The Miz – Rollup

Otis b. Drew Gulak – Vader Bomb

Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns b. Dolph Ziggler/King Corbin via DQ when the Fiend interfered

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

Main Event
Date: December 26, 2019
Host: Scott Sanford

It’s going to be another week of just recaps here as this week’s Monday Night Raw was taped in advance. That being said, it’s not like anyone was paying attention to the television shows in the previous few days anyway. I’m not sure how well this is going to go but you never can tell with what they’re going for with this show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Bray Wyatt beating Miz at TLC after shrugging off everything Miz threw at him. This switches into short haired Daniel Bryan returning to attack Bray, setting up a likely title match at the Royal Rumble.

Opening sequence.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Bryan for an opening chat. Bryan talks about how he looked in the mirror after Bray’s attack on him a few weeks ago. His hair and beard were gone, but what he saw was the lack of the Daniel Bryan brand. Then he went home and when his daughter saw him without his hair and beard for the first time ever, she cried. Bryan sees something new in his face. He doesn’t see the man who main evented Wrestlemania, but rather the man who worked for years to get here. Bryan wants Wyatt out here right now but here’s the Miz instead.

Miz talks about how what happened to Bryan was terrible, but Wyatt attacked him personally. Bryan doesn’t know what it’s like to have his home violated so Miz wants revenge. He’ll be taking what Wyatt treasures most when he takes the Universal Title. Cue King Corbin to mock them for being bad fathers before playing a loop of the announcement that he won on Sunday.

Corbin says he’s next in line for Wyatt because the two of them have failed as wrestlers and fathers. The fight is almost on but here’s Dolph Ziggler from behind for the beatdown so Corbin can stand tall. So yeah Bryan is back and everything, but it’s Corbin and Ziggler to open things up again. I know you’ll hear this thrown around a lot, but this felt like WWE just trolled us by bringing out Corbin and Ziggler in another opening segment.

From Smackdown.

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. New Day

Non-title and Cesaro’s entrance now looks like the Matrix. Kofi dropkicks Nakamura down for an early one so it’s off to Big E. to run Nakamura over as well. A spinning kick to the head drops Big E., so he’s right back with the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Cesaro makes the save so Kofi hits a big flip dive to take Cesaro down outside. A running clothesline drops Big E. though and Nakamura adds in a knee to the head.

Big E. gets sent into the steps and we take a break. Back with Nakamura kicking Big E. down but Kinshasa is blocked with a heck of a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Kofi to clean some house, only to get caught with Swiss Death. The Cesaro Swing gets two but the Neutralizer is broken up. A rather sloppy small package finishes Cesaro at 12:02.

Rating: C-. Pretty paint by numbers match which felt like it could have been on any house show. To be fair though, it’s not like they are going to do anything significant on this show and the champs won. Cesaro taking falls isn’t even worth getting annoyed over anymore either and that’s a sad reality….which we’ve been in for years now.

Post match the beatdown is on but Braun Strowman makes the save and hits the running shoulders around the ring.

Video on the Seth Rollins/AOP vs. Kevin Owens.

From Raw.

Mojo Rawley vs. Kevin Owens

Owens runs him over to start and throws in a bunch of chairs. Back in and Mojo manages a fireman’s carry faceplant onto said chairs for two. The chairs are set up next to each other and Mojo actually slams him onto them for two more. Since being slammed onto opened chairs doesn’t really hurt, Owens hits a superkick into the Swanton for two of his own. A table is brought in and it’s a Stunner into the Pop Up Powerbomb through the table to finish Rawley at 6:30.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to think about this one. They were smart to keep it short because no one was going to buy Mojo as a threat to Owens, but it wasn’t interesting in the first place and the match was just an annoyance for Owens. The No DQ part was just a detail and a way to increase the violence, but it never got interesting or really close to it.

Post match, Owens calls out Rollins and the AOP for a fight. Post break here are Rollins and AOP with Rollins saying a lot of things without having a microphone. He offers a handshake but Owens superkicks him down. That means a beatdown from the AOP though and Rollins is back up for the Stomp. This sends Samoa Joe into a rant about how those aren’t men because they’re just thugs. Someone needs to strike first so you can tell one story.

From Smackdown.

Daniel Bryan/The Miz vs. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler gets in trouble early and it’s the stereo YES Kicks to both villains. Bryan hits some YES chants and we take a break. Back with Bryan hitting the running corner dropkicks on Corbin but the Deep Six plants Bryan. Ziggler’s big elbow gets two and it’s back to the corner to keep up the beating. The trash talk is on and Ziggler hammers away in the corner.

Corbin hits a running clothesline but takes too long bragging, allowing Bryan to hit the missile dropkick. Miz comes in for a bunch of kicks to both and a rollup for two on Ziggler. The Skull Crushing Finale hits Corbin but Ziggler’s superkick is good for two. Another superkick is countered into the Figure Four though and, with Bryan taking out Corbin, Ziggler taps at 10:21.

Rating: C-. This had a little more energy than the other tag match but I’m not exactly buying Miz as a threat to anyone after he got beaten just five days ago. Corbin and Ziggler continue to be little more than villains who just happen to be here and I don’t see that changing. I mean, Ziggler does wear a hat now so he’s changing a little right?

The lights flicker and the Fiend’s laugh end the show, though we do get an announcement for next week: Miz vs. Bryan vs. Corbin in a #1 contenders match for the Rumble title shot.

Video on Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles.

From Raw.

Randy Orton/Viking Raiders vs. OC

Fallout from last week’s main event. Ivar shoves Anderson into the corner to start and it’s off to Erik for a slam of his own. An Ivar knee gets two on Anderson and Erik slams Ivar onto him for two. Gallows comes in for a change of pace and kicks Erik in the head to put him on the floor. AJ gets in a cheap shot and it’s Erik in trouble for a change. The jumping knee gives AJ two and it’s Anderson grabbing the chinlock.

This one doesn’t last long though as Anderson goes with the spinebuster for two instead. Erik gets in a forearm to AJ though and the hot tag brings in Orton. Gallows doesn’t waste time in backdropping him to the floor though and Orton’s already banged up knee is hurt again. The big staredown on the floor takes us to a break and we come back with Gallows working on the knee some more.

Orton fights up and brings Erik back in for the tag so house can be cleaned. Ivar is in rather quickly for a side slam and basement crossbody. Erik drives Ivar into Anderson in the corner and the Viking Experience gets two with Gallows making a save. Orton comes back in off a blind tag as AJ sends the Vikings outside. The RKO is broken up so Anderson takes one instead. Gallows goes after the knee though and it’s the Phenomenal Forearm to put Orton away at 14:01.

Rating: C. This was a bit boring but it tied into last week and gives us a reason to see both matches again. I could go for more AJ vs. Orton as their match last week wasn’t too bad but the Vikings vs. the OC isn’t exactly thrilling. As long as the AOP is walking around, it’s hard to buy anyone else as a major threat to the titles. At least we had something to fill in some time here though, which was part of the point.

And from Raw again to wrap it up.

US Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

Mysterio is defending and Rollins has the AOP. Side note: Rollins no longer has BEASTSLAYER on his Titantron (not sure how long it has been gone but it was there the night after Survivor Series). Good, as that had nothing to do with what he is doing at the moment and involved one feud that hasn’t been active since August. Rollins starts fast but Rey slips out of a suplex attempt. A discus forearm knocks Rey silly so he’s right back with a headscissors.

The 619 misses though and Rey is sent shoulder first into the post. He’s also thrown hard to the floor as we take a break. Back with Rey fighting out of an armbar and sending Rollins outside. That means a sliding sunset bomb into the barricade, setting up the springboard seated senton. A tornado DDT gives Rey two but Rollins scores with the buckle bomb and a low superkick for his own two. The Stomp misses though and Rey hits the 619, only to have the AOP interfere for the DQ at 9:53.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of action that you would expect from these two but the ending saves the big match for another date. It might be an annoying way to end the show but that was the right way to go here. Mysterio can fight Rollins another day, perhaps when he has some more backup. I could go for more and that’s what they were trying to get the fans to want.

Post match the beatdown is on and they go to the announcers’ table. Joe stays in his seat though and doesn’t like being told to move. If he gets up, it isn’t going to be to move. Joe gets up so Rollins gets in his face, meaning the jacket comes off. Rollins walks away but tells the AOP to finish him. The beatdown is on and Joe gets taken out as Rollins Stomps Rey. The AOP puts Joe through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. As tends to be the case, this show did little more than remind me of how uninteresting a lot of what WWE is doing at the moment really is. It’s not terrible but it’s just there, and I need more than that to keep my interest from week to week. That being said, it’s still better than having the same nothing matches over and over again so they’re going in the right direction here, even if it isn’t going to last.

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

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

Smackdown
Date: December 20, 2019
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the first show after Tables, Ladders And Chairs and one of two shows left before the end of the year. That means it’s time for some fallout, which could be anywhere from dull to interesting, as tends to be the case around here. We also could start hear some rumblings about the Rumble. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Bray Wyatt defeating the Miz on Sunday, followed by the return of Daniel Bryan.

Here’s Bryan for an opening chat. Bryan talks about how he looked in the mirror after Bray’s attack on him a few weeks ago. His hair and beard were gone, but what he saw was the lack of the Daniel Bryan brand. Then he went home and when his daughter saw him without his hair and beard for the first time ever, she cried. Bryan sees something new in his face. He doesn’t see the man who main evented Wrestlemania, but rather the man who worked for years to get here. Bryan wants Wyatt out here right now but here’s the Miz instead.

Miz talks about how what happened to Bryan was terrible, but Wyatt attacked him personally. Bryan doesn’t know what it’s like to have his home violated so Miz wants revenge. He’ll be taking what Wyatt treasures most when he takes the Universal Title. Cue King Corbin to mock them for being bad fathers before playing a loop of the announcement that he won on Sunday.

Corbin says he’s next in line for Wyatt because the two of them have failed as wrestlers and fathers. The fight is almost on but here’s Dolph Ziggler from behind for the beatdown so Corbin can stand tall. So yeah Bryan is back and everything, but it’s Corbin and Ziggler to open things up again. I know you’ll hear this thrown around a lot, but this felt like WWE just trolled us by bringing out Corbin and Ziggler in another opening segment.

Heavy Machinery aren’t happy with the destruction of the ham last week. Cue Mandy Rose to give Otis a new ham because she’s her Secret Santa this year. She throws in a kiss on the cheek. Corey: “HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD???”

Heavy Machinery vs. Revival

Miracle on 34^th Street Fight with Heavy Machinery in Santa hats and coats. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with Revival taking over. Tucker gets dropped onto the announcers’ table and Otis gets some Christmas cookies shoved in his mouth. Dawson breaks up the presents and throws one of them at Otis’ head.

The cookie plate is destroyed but a suplex through the table is broken up but Otis gets slammed through it as we take a break. Back with Tucker suplexing Dawson on the ramp but Dawson hits Tucker with a present. There’s a bowling ball inside and it gets rolled between Tucker’s legs so they can head back inside. Dawson gets sent into a Christmas tree in the corner but Dawson hits tucker with a fire extinguisher.

A whip over the announcers’ table destroys the ham and Dawson smashes it in front of Otis. You do NOT do that to Otis so the beatdown is on, only to have Wilder bust out the candy cane kendo stick. That’s shrugged off with a slam through the table and Otis takes Dawson back inside for some throws. Otis busts out the Legos and slams Dawson onto them, followed by an electric chair/fall away slam at the same time. The shirt comes off to set up the Caterpillar and the Compactor finishes Dawson at 12:00.

Rating: C+. Yeah this is on a sliding scale as it was just a joke match that served no purpose other than being around for the holiday theme. It’s a perfectly harmless brawl and it’s not like Revival can fall much further through the floor. The fans love Heavy Machinery and there’s nothing wrong with giving them a win in something like this.

Post match, Otis licks the ham.

Post break, Otis has the ham and runs into Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Sonya leaves and Otis apologizes to Mandy for what happened to the ham. He gets a hug and smiles a lot, only to sweat all over Mandy’s dress.

The Revival are still in the ring and rant about how much of a garbage match that was. They want some serious tag team wrestling but here is Elias with the guitar to cut them off. His song is about how terrible it is for Revival, including saying that he showed his grandmother one of their matches and now she’s on life support.

Sami Zayn comes up to see Braun Strowman because Sami is his Secret Santa. Braun doesn’t like Santa because Sami doesn’t like Christmas, so here are Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Sami asks Braun what he wants for Christmas (Braun: “You don’t get what secret means do you?”) so Braun asks for an Intercontinental Title match. That….doesn’t seem to be an option so the three of them leave.

Carmella vs. Sonya Deville

Cole during Carmella’s entrance: “There’s someone’s secret Santa!” Corey: “WHAT DO YOU KNOW???” Sonya chokes on the ropes to start and kicks away in the corner. A superkick to the ribs gets Carmella out of trouble and the Cone of Silence makes Sonya tap at 1:37. That’s two weeks in a row with a completely nothing women’s match.

Just in case the match wasn’t short enough, New Day comes to the ring as Carmella is still leaving so she dances with them.

Sheamus is still coming.

Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura vs. New Day

Non-title and Cesaro’s entrance now looks like the Matrix. Kofi dropkicks Nakamura down for an early one so it’s off to Big E. to run Nakamura over as well. A spinning kick to the head drops Big E., so he’s right back with the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Cesaro makes the save so Kofi hits a big flip dive to take Cesaro down outside. A running clothesline drops Big E. though and Nakamura adds in a knee to the head.

Big E. gets sent into the steps and we take a break. Back with Nakamura kicking Big E. down but Kinshasa is blocked with a heck of a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Kofi to clean some house, only to get caught with Swiss Death. The Cesaro Swing gets two but the Neutralizer is broken up. A rather sloppy small package finishes Cesaro at 12:02.

Rating: C-. Pretty paint by numbers match which felt like it could have been on any house show. To be fair though, it’s not like they are going to do anything significant on this show and the champs won. Cesaro taking falls isn’t even worth getting annoyed over anymore either and that’s a sad reality….which we’ve been in for years now.

Post match the beatdown is on but Braun Strowman makes the save and hits the running shoulders around the ring.

Miz and Bryan argue about who hates who more but Miz wants to beat up Bray Wyatt.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

Hey look: the same match we saw last week for no logical reason. Sasha Banks is here too so why not have her fight Dana? Ah apparently Dana TWEETED about wanting a rematch and everyone’s hands were tied. Bayley takes her down to start and hits a running knee in the corner. The chinlock goes on but Dana fights up in a hurry. The Swanton and a cartwheel splash get two on Bayley but she’s right back with the headlock driver for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: D. Well I certainly feel better about seeing that one again. This is a situation where they would have been better off having Bayley and Sasha talk or beat up a jobber or something. Why do the same match with a longer time before the same result as last week? It just comes off as lazy booking as there’s no need to do the same thing again.

Post match the beatdown is on but here’s Lacey Evans for the save and the challenge.

Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks

Bayley and Brooke are still at ringside. Banks reverses her in the corner and hits the Meteora to the back. A suplex gives Banks two and we hit the armbar. Another Meteora, this one seated, gets two more but Sasha charges into a boot in the corner. Lacey kicks her to the floor but a Bayley distraction lets Sasha get in a posting. Corey gets in a good question by asking where Dana is during all this. Lacey’s daughter makes a terrifying face at Banks as the beating continues until it’s a double countout at 4:16.

Rating: D+. Well at least it was a fresh match. This was nothing to see again but it filled in some more time and furthered Lacey’s face turn. If they’re going in this direction, I still don’t see why they didn’t just go with swapping the opponents here but I’m sure there’s some complicated technical reason and not just “…..uh…..well we didn’t put that much thought into it”.

Post match Bayley and Brooke get involved and it’s a big brawl. Tag match next week more than likely.

Daniel Bryan/The Miz vs. King Corbin/Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler gets in trouble early and it’s the stereo YES Kicks to both villains. Bryan hits some YES chants and we take a break. Back with Bryan hitting the running corner dropkicks on Corbin but the Deep Six plants Bryan. Ziggler’s big elbow gets two and it’s back to the corner to keep up the beating. The trash talk is on and Ziggler hammers away in the corner.

Corbin hits a running clothesline but takes too long bragging, allowing Bryan to hit the missile dropkick. Miz comes in for a bunch of kicks to both and a rollup for two on Ziggler. The Skull Crushing Finale hits Corbin but Ziggler’s superkick is good for two. Another superkick is countered into the Figure Four though and, with Bryan taking out Corbin, Ziggler taps at 10:21.

Rating: C-. This had a little more energy than the other tag match but I’m not exactly buying Miz as a threat to anyone after he got beaten just five days ago. Corbin and Ziggler continue to be little more than villains who just happen to be here and I don’t see that changing. I mean, Ziggler does wear a hat now so he’s changing a little right?

The lights flicker and the Fiend’s laugh end the show, though we do get an announcement for next week: Miz vs. Bryan vs. Corbin in a #1 contenders match for the Rumble title shot.

Rating: D. Oh yeah the holiday season has started as there wasn’t exactly a lot of effort here but then again it’s not like many people are going to be watching anyway. This is their last big show for a few days so I can understand them not really doing much. It didn’t help that they treated it like a house show, which I can’t blame them for either. Really weak show, but more because they seemed to take the week off than anything else.

Results

Heavy Machinery b. Revival – Compactor to Dawson

Carmella b. Sonya Deville – Cone of Silence

New Day b. Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura – Small package to Cesaro

Bayley b. Dana Brooke – Headlock driver

Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks went to a double countout

Daniel Bryan/The Miz b. Dolph Ziggler/King Corbin – Figure Four to Ziggler

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

Main Event
Date: December 12, 2019
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

It’s the go home show for Tables, Ladders And Chairs and that means most of the card is set. Now that being said, I’m not sure how many things they can really do to make the card all that interesting at the last minute. Hopefully this gives it a much needed boost, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Eric Young

Yes again. Jose dances a lot and grabs a wristlock, followed by the airplane spin for two. Young takes it to the floor and knocks down the entire Conga Line to make things serious. Back in and Eric chokes out of the corner before dropping a forearm for his own two. Jose’s comeback doesn’t last long as he gets sent face first into the corner, setting up Young’s wheelbarrow neckbreaker for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: D+. A few weeks back, these two had a rather nice little match on this same show. This was nothing like that and felt like it could have been any two people filling in about six minutes between the two of them. I wasn’t exactly expecting much but this was a bit of a disappointment after what I saw them do the last time.

Video on Daniel Bryan being attacked and behaired by the Fiend.

From Smackdown.

Here’s the Miz to get things going. He has been looking for Daniel Bryan since Bray Wyatt attacked him last week and will find him no matter what. Miz knows what Bryan has meant for Smackdown since he arrived and that can’t go away because of the Fiend. Bray pops up on screen to say that something bad happened to Bryan last week. Bryan was supposed to come play at TLC and now that might not be happening. Maybe Miz can come play instead!

Miz isn’t sure, but that makes Bray unhappy. Ramblin Rabbit pops up to tell Miz to run while he can but Bray scares him off. The Word of the Day is family, because Bray used to have one. Now Bray has a chance to join a new family, so he holds up a picture of Miz, his wife Maryse and his two daughters. Does Miz want to come play with him now? Miz storms to the back.

Post break, Miz calls Maryse and tells her to lock the doors. He wants to do something about this but she wants him to come home.

From Smackdown.

Miz is marching through the back and hears a noise. He goes into a room and finds the same photo of his family, but with Bray’s picture over his face. Bray jumps him from behind and hits Sister Abigail before singing a little There’s No Place Like Home.

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

We look at the AOP/Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens issues.

From Raw.

Owens finds the AOP’s van and unloads on it with the pipe. The AOP comes in and beats him down. Someone is in the back of the van and….of course it’s Rollins. Seth says it’s come to this and Stomps him onto the bare concrete. Rollins looks at the AOP and they leave together. So to recap, here are the last few weeks:

Owens: “You’re with the AOP!”

Seth: “No I’m not!”

Owens: “Yes you are!”

Rollins: “No I’m not! Ok I am!”

Post break Rollins is in the arena to rant about how everything should have gone perfectly for him. He gave everything he had for every one of the fans but they booed him anyway. Rollins doesn’t care for the fans getting on the Owens’ bandwagon because Owens if the flavor of the month. It was true that he wasn’t with the AOP but no one believed him. What does Rollins have to do to get the people’s respect? All of this negativity has turned into a self fulfilling prophecy as he is now standing with AOP. They come out to stand by his side and all three leave together.

We look at the Kabuki Warriors destroying Becky Lynch.

Cedric Alexander vs. Ricochet

Cedric was supposed to face Seth Rollins on Raw but Rollins was injured so this was made instead. They fight over wrist control to start until it’s a flip off for a staredown. Back from a break (We get No Way Jose vs. Eric Young in full but THIS needs a break???) with Ricochet hitting the springboard clothesline into the running shooting star for two. They head to the apron with Alexander hitting something like a Rock Bottom for two of his own. Ricochet avoids the Neuralizer though and hits a superkick into the Recoil for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: C. What we got was entertaining but clipping this one down was criminal. Ricochet vs. Cedric Alexander sounds like a good match but we have to get in all kinds of recaps instead of something a little more interesting. Ricochet continues to look like a star and while Cedric seems to have already hit his peak, he can still do a heck of a match when he’s got the right opponent, and Ricochet certainly qualifies.

From Raw.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring with table and chairs so Rusev and Lana can get divorced. Lana and her lawyer come out and Lawler reads off a statement, saying that the restraining order has been lifted. Rusev, in a Donald Duck shirt, comes out and has a seat as Lana rants about she never loved him. He isn’t allowed to speak because this is always about him. Rusev Day went to his head and it’s time to get on their feet to yell at the fans.

Rusev says this is how his marriage went and Lana needs to calm down. He’s the one who needs protection this week and we see a clip of Lashley and Lana being arrested last week. Lana rants about how Rusev will never have anyone like her, but Rusev says he can’t stand her now so why would he want another. Lana screams about how Rusev Day and the WWE Universe destroyed her marriage, nearly breaking down in tears. Rusev says this is ridiculous and wants to sign the divorce papers.

They’re ready to sign but Lana insists that she sign first. Lana: “I get the dog!” They get in an argument over the dog, which is giving me flashbacks to HHH and Stephanie back in the day. Lana emphatically signs but Rusev needs something from her before he signs. Lana thinks he means sex in a variety of places but instead it’s a match with Lashley. Cue Lashley to say he wants the divorce finalized so he can marry Lana. They agree to a match at some point and Rusev signs, triggering the brawl. Lashley beats him up on the floor but Rusev suplexes him through the table back inside.

From Smackdown.

Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler can’t wrestle him down to start but he can go to the knee for some more success. The chinlock and a hair pull put Reigns down again and Ziggler sends him into the steps to make it worse. Back with Reigns still in trouble, including being sent hard into the corner. We hit the chinlock again with Ziggler cranking away until Reigns powers up to his feet. Reigns’ running clothesline misses and they fight to the floor where Ziggler dropkicks him out of the air.

Cue King Corbin, complete with the throne being carried to the ring of course. We take another break and come back with both guys down. Reigns gets back up and hits the Superman Punch for two but Ziggler is right back with the Zig Zag for the same. That doesn’t work for Corbin, who gets on the apron and is punched right back to the floor. The spear finishes Ziggler at 17:48.

Rating: C-. The chinlocks hurt this one a bit but the longer run time didn’t hurt things all that badly. Reigns wasn’t about to lose to Ziggler here because he’s Roman Reigns in a match against Dolph Ziggler. The match was littler more than a way to advance Reigns vs. Corbin, and if that has to happen, there are worse ways to get there.

Post match Corbin’s handlers jump Reigns and Corbin gets involved too with Reigns fighting them off. Someone underneath the ring grabs Reigns’ leg but he beats Corbin up some more. Ziggler superkicks Reigns and grabs some handcuffs from underneath the ring. Reigns fights them off again but the guy from underneath the ring grabs his foot again and the numbers get the better of him.

They handcuff him around the post and unload on Reigns before pulling out….dog food. It’s poured over Reigns’ head and rubbed in his face to end the show, with Reigns screaming as the other two leave. Really effective angle here as it’s the first time Corbin and Ziggler have actually done something to get to Reigns rather than just making stupid dog jokes.

Overall Rating: D+. That Ricochet vs. Cedric match being clipped hurt this one a lot as they could have done something interesting but instead we got something as standard as possible. The rest of the show was exactly what you have come to expect from Main Event and that isn’t a good thing. The dog food angle is still good but everything else is your usual up and down mess, which has become the standard for both Raw and Smackdown.

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

Main Event
Date: December 5, 2019
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James

We’re on the way to TLC and things are starting to get tight as far as setting up the actual card. WWE doesn’t exactly seem interested in building up the show or setting matches for the thing, but to be fair it’s not like the show is going to mean anything in the first place. I’m sure this one will be thrilling too. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Natalya vs. Sarah Logan

So Natalya is the new Dana Brooke? Logan takes her down to start and we’re in the chinlock in the first minute. That’s broken up so Natalya claps a lot before they fight over the leg. The grappling on the mat nearly sets up the Sharpshooter so Logan bails to the floor. Back in and Natalya unloads in the corner, setting up a snap suplex to put Logan outside again. Logan gets in a neck snap though and the chinlock goes on again. Natalya’s belly to back faceplant gets two so Logan sends her into the corner. Not that it matters as Natalya grabs a small package for the pin at 4:55.

Rating: D. This was short and not very good but what worries me even more is the idea of them having another long term feud on here. You never can tell what they’re going to do as far as continuing with the same matches over and over but it can get really annoying. Logan isn’t the best in the world but she deserves better than doing the same stuff week after week.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens with the AOP interfering to attack Owens but not Rollins.

From Raw.

Here’s Seth Rollins to apologize for last week. Rollins talks about how everyone in the back is his family and as the head of the family, it is his job to get the best out of everyone here on Raw. Maybe he went a bit too far with that last week though and he needs to apologize. Lawler does not approve of this and it’s even worse when Rollins asks Owens to come out here and accept his apology man to man.

Owens comes out and says he thinks the only family Rollins has is the AOP. Rollins denies it, but Owens calls (uncensored) BS. Cue the AOP to make the offer of a tag match. Rollins says he’s in but Owens says he sees three scenarios, all of which end in him getting beaten down three on one. Therefore, let’s get it over with now. Rollins walks out and the AOP lets him go, but Owens offers to fight them one at a time. For some reason the AOP leaves so Owens issues an open challenge.

Cue Lana to handle Bobby Lashley’s introductions and shows off her rather revealing outfit as Owens facepalms in the ring. Owens: “NO ONE CARES! I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE NOT DONE TALKING! I AM VOMITING IN MY MOUTH RIGHT NOW!” Lana isn’t done and makes it clear that Rusev isn’t here tonight because the restraining order is on again. Owens says she is repulsive on the inside so Lana calls him a “basic pizza eater”. She threatens to have Lashley come out here and finish him. Owens: “LET’S GET TO IT!!!” Owens as the voice of the fans here is hilarious because he’s absolutely right, but I doubt WWE gets the point.

Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens

There is security on the floor waiting for Rusev. Lashley knocks him to the floor to start but Owens gets in a shot of his own, setting up the frog splash off the apron. Back from a break with Lashley hammering away until a superkick gets Owens out of trouble. The spinning Big Ending gives Lashley two but the full nelson is blocked. Owens hits the Pop Up Powerbomb but here’s the TOP to beat up Owens for the DQ at 8:49.

Rating: C-. Well they didn’t have Rusev interfere, which is actually a bit of a surprise. I’m still not sure what is going on here with the AOP as they could have Rollins as the boss or go in the other direction with a surprise leader. The AOP still aren’t the kind of people you have as the big bads so the leader is necessary. Getting the right one can make it work, but how much confidence should I have in WWE to pull it off?

Post match AOP beats Owens down and drags him off.

Post break Lana and Lashley talk about how tired they are of dealing with Rusev, which has caused Lana to have to hire security. Cue Rusev through the crowd to superkick Lashley and beat him down as Lana screams for the guards to come in. They take their sweet time getting up onto the apron as Rusev bails. They never even got in the ring so Lashley goes outside to yell at them, but since they’re detectives, Lashley gets arrested for getting physical. Lana slaps one of them and is going to jail too.

From Raw again.

The Kabuki Warriors rant in Japanese before their match. They promise to beat Charlotte tonight.

Charlotte vs. Kabuki Warriors

The Warriors now have their own single theme instead of the pretty bad mashup. They jump Charlotte before the bell and the beatdown is on, with the referee giving Charlotte a breather before starting it off. Sane chokes Charlotte in the corner but she fights back, only to get caught by Asuka to keep her in trouble.

Charlotte knocks both of them outside but gets rammed into the barricade to cut her off again. With Sane being sent into the barricade, Asuka kicks Charlotte down to put her right back down. The hip attack hits Sane though and Charlotte kicks Asuka in the face. Back from a break with Sane pounding away but getting kicked out of the air.

The moonsault hits double knees though as Charlotte can’t keep anything going. Sane gets caught in the Boston crab until Asuka kicks Charlotte in the head for the break. Asuka kicks away and grabs the armbreaker, which is reversed into the sitout powerbomb for two with Sane making the save.

Charlotte takes both of them to the top but a double superplex is broken up because it would probably kill everyone involved. Sane hits some top rope knees to the back to give Asuka two but Charlotte is right back with the double spear. The Figure Eight has Asuka in -big trouble until the Insane Elbow (to Charlotte’s bridged ribs) breaks it up for the pin at 16:00.

Rating: C+. Charlotte got too much in here but at least she lost clean in the end, which is how this should have gone. The fact that it was a possibility to see Charlotte get a win over both champions at once though is a bit disturbing, but at least they got it right in the end. Just find some challengers for the champs instead of Becky and Charlotte.

The champs celebrate in the ring until Asuka tries to leave, only to get pointed back in by a production guy’s hand. Nothing happens after that, but they needed to fill in some time.

We look at Roman Reigns destroying Robert Roode on Smackdown.

Cedric Alexander vs. Mojo Rawley

Rawley chills in the corner to start before sending Alexander into another one. A hard whip has Alexander in more trouble and we take a break. Back with Alexander getting two off a crucifix, followed by the Neuralizer for the same. The springboard is countered into an Alabama Slam though and Alexander is done at 6:14. Not enough shown to rate but it wasn’t anything that hasn’t been done before.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to talk about everything going on with Bray Wyatt tonight. Earlier today the Miz talked about how the Fiend will change him. Back at Survivor Series, Bryan felt the change from the people. For the last year, Bryan has talked about how the YES Movement is done, but now something has changed. So does he accept Bray’s challenge? YES he does! Cue the Firefly Fun House and Bray is very excited to get to play again but if Bryan does it again, we will see his true form. Bryan helped Bray change in the first place and the Fiend remembers that.

Oh he almost forgot: Bray promised a new face tonight and he is a man of his word. The lights go out in the arena and it’s the Fiend popping up through the ring. Bryan fights him away but gets Mandible Clawed down into the hole. Fiend pulls his hands out of the hole and has a bunch of hair in his hands. He does it again with a bunch of hair being left on the mat and the laughter ends the show. So he’s a Brutus Beefcake fan now?

We look at the setup for Raw’s six man main event.

From Raw.

OC vs. Humberto Carrillo/Rey Mysterio/Ricochet

Carrillo takes over on Anderson’s arm to start and it’s Ricochet coming in with an ax handle to stay on it. AJ comes in and gets taken down by Humberto’s springboard crossbody. They head outside with Carrillo being sent into the barricade and it’s Gallows coming in for an elbow to the back of the head. Joe drops a Red Neck Kung Fu reference as Gallows takes Carrillo down for elbows to the chest.

Carrillo flips over the back and scores with an enziguri. The hot tag brings in Mysterio to pick up the pace and it’s Anderson and Gallows being sent outside. The 619 to AJ is broken up by Anderson and we take a break. Back with Gallows suplexing Mysterio, which is a lot better than having Mysterio fighting out of another chinlock. Anderson comes in for the trash talk into the chinlock but Mysterio sends him into the corner for the break.

Ricochet gets the hot tag to pick up the pace, meaning it’s a bunch of kicks to a bunch of heads. The springboard clothesline into the standing shooting star press gets two on AJ. Styles is right back with the belly to back faceplant for his own two as everything breaks down. The 619 hits Anderson but Gallows superkicks Mysterio down. Ricochet counters the Styles Clash with a hurricanrana for two so Ricochet loads up a super hurricanrana. AJ isn’t about to let that happen though and it’s reversed into a super Styles Clash for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: C+. Pretty standard main event tag here, which worked well enough but was nothing that is going to be remembered beyond….oh I’m thinking tomorrow morning. AJ vs. Orton could be interesting with McIntyre as a nice bonus. I’m not sure about Carrillo being thrown in, but Ricochet will be fine against the OC with the right partner.

Post match AJ poses and gets caught with the RKO to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. I had forgotten how uninteresting so much of the previous week had been. This was a show that didn’t do much and was little more than a show that filled in its requirements. That is the case with Main Event more often than not and it can become a lot to sit through, despite it not being anything in the first place. Bad show here, as the winter funk is strong at the moment.

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

Survivor Series 2019
Date: November 24, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

We have finally arrived. After several weeks of Raw, Smackdown and NXT invading each others’ shows, it is time to see which show is best and that could be interesting. Raw has won the competition three years in a row, though this is NXT’s first time being included. The card looks good, albeit huge. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck end zone, looking straight at the Titantron.

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal

Raw: OC, Street Profits, Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins

Smackdown: Revival, Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode, Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery

NXT: Forgotten Sons, Breezango, Imperium

When one member is out, both of them are out and that’s quite the advantage for Smackdown. Vic on Hawkins and Ryder: “Here are two guys who are just happy they’re still here.” Lince Dorado/Gran Metalik for the House Party and Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel for Imperium, with Walter on the outside. It’s a big brawl to start with Ziggler wearing a Smackdown hat (he finds new ways to look stupid every day) and it’s the Sons being out in a hurry.

The House Party quickly follow them with Hawkins and Ryder going as well to really start clearing the ring out. We get the standard Ziggler save because he does these things in every battle royal but never wins the things. Aichner and Ziggler slug it out on the apron with Roode knocking Aichner out for the elimination. Otis gives Ziggler the spinning slam and takes off the shirt to set up the Caterpillar, only to get tossed by the OC and the Revival.

Fandango gets sent through the ropes so he’s able to catch Breeze as he’s thrown out, only to have the Revival get rid of them anyway. That’s it for NXT and the Profits dropkick Revival out to get us down to the OC, the Profits and Ziggler/Roode. Ziggler breaks up the Magic Killer to Roode and superkicks Gallows out and we’re down to two. Roode gets knocked through the ropes and it’s the spinebuster to Ziggler but Roode knocks Ford off the top. Ford is right back up with a frog splash to Ziggler, only to have Roode throw him out for the win at 8:21.

Rating: D. What a great way to start the show: eliminate all of the popular teams and go with the least interesting team from Smackdown instead of the popular Heavy Machinery. It’s not like it matters one way or another in the grand scheme of things, but that’s what we get anyway because WWE loves itself some Roode and Ziggler. The match was your usual battle royal and that’s not exactly interesting.

Smackdown – 1

Raw – 0

NXT – 0

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto (Smackdown) vs. Akira Tozawa (Raw) vs. Lio Rush (NXT)

Rush is defending and we’ve got armbands for the brands. It really is amazing how much effort they put into trying to get this Brand Supremacy thing over but it’s better than the stupid shirts. Tozawa and Kalisto knock him to the floor to start so Tozawa can roll Kalisto up for two, setting off the issues in a hurry. Rush comes back in and starts the dodging but gets pulled to the floor. Kalisto’s kick to the head cuts off Tozawa’s dive and everyone gets back in.

It’s Rush dodging Kalisto’s shots to the head and hitting a double handspring elbow to put both of them down. A left hand to the face puts Rush down and Tozawa plants him with a fireman’s carry faceplant. Everyone heads to the same corner and it’s Rush with a super double armdrag so all three can be down at once again. The three way slugout goes to Rush until Tozawa snaps off a German suplex for two.

Kalisto dives in to roll Rush up for two more and they’re down for the fourth time. There’s the Salida Del Sol to Rush with Tozawa breaking it up with a Shining Wizard. The top rope backsplash gets the same as Kalisto gets to make a save this time. Kalisto and Tozawa slug it out for a bit until it’s another Salida Del Sol to plant Tozawa. Rush dives in with the Final Hour to Kalisto to retain at 8:28.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it needed to be: three talented guys going out there and doing a bunch of fast paced offense for a few minutes. The crowd was into it too, which makes me feel a little bit better for these guys. The cruiserweights have been treated terribly on 205 Live and it’s nice to see them getting a chance to actually shine on the big stage for once.

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

Raw – 0

Kickoff Show: Viking Raiders (Raw) vs. New Day (Smackdown) vs. Undisputed Era (NXT)

Non-title Battle of the Tag Team Champions. Big E., Ivar and O’Reilly start things off and the early beating sends O’Reilly over for the tag to Fish. The fans are behind the Era to start so Big E. and Ivar run both of them over, leaving us with the big power showdown. Big E. can’t slam him but he can shoulder the heck out of him instead, only to have O’Reilly come back in for some knees to Big E.’s ribs.

Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Ivar slamming Erik onto Fish. Kofi comes in to hammer on Erik before jumping over Big E. for a backsplash to O’Reilly. The Era is sent to the floor so it’s New Day slugging it out with the Vikings. That doesn’t last long as Erik and Big E. head to the floor, allowing the Era to come back in and double team Kofi. The knee gets taken out with O’Reilly hitting the top rope knee to said knee, setting up a kneebar.

Ivar comes back in to break that up with a splash as everything breaks down again. The knee is fine enough to kick away at O’Reilly on the apron as Big E. misses the spear to the floor. With everyone else on the floor, Erik slams Ivar from the apron onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Fish kicks Erik in the face before O’Reilly starts in on the knee at the slower pace.

That’s broken up and it’s back to Ivar to clean house. O’Reilly kicks Fish in the face by mistake and it’s Jeff Cobb’s Tour of the Islands to Kyle. It’s back Erik, who gets caught by Kofi’s double stomp out of the corner. That’s not it though as it’s a powerbomb/top rope double stomp for two with Ivar making the save. Big E. hits the spear on Erik this time and everyone is down on the floor at once.

Back in and the knee to Big E.’s face sets up the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination. Kofi misses Trouble in Paradise on the floor and takes the High/Low, leaving the Era vs. the Vikings. Ivar shrugs off the kicks and cartwheels away from High/Low to take both of them down. The Viking Experience sends O’Reilly into Fish for the pin at 14:42.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but once they hit their stride, this was a pretty crazy set of spots with a bunch of different styles on display. It was a lot of fun and Raw gets on the board, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. However, they did enough of a job of making you believe that any team could win to get around thing. None of the teams looked bad here either so they even protected the champions. Really fun match that had just the right amount of time too.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

The opening video is your big recap of the NXT Invasion, which goes exactly as you would have guessed. They’re doing a good job of making NXT look like an equal here and that is what matters most out of the whole thing. All of the individual matches get some attention as well.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Raw: Charlotte, Natalya, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Sarah Logan

Smackdown: Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross

NXT: Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair

For the sake of sanity, they do team entrances instead of having fifteen individual entrances. Everyone but Toni on Team NXT was in WarGames last night so they’re a bit banged up. There will be three in at once but you can only tag your own partners so it won’t be completely insane. Lacey, Logan and Toni start things off with Logan getting knocked down early on.

Cross comes in to clean house until Toni takes her down as well, leaving Logan to hit some cartwheel knees to the back. Logan drops Cross onto Toni for two on each but Storm is up with a double German suplex. It’s off to Shirai vs. Sane vs. Carmella with Carmella just kind of being annoying as they have their staredown. Brooke comes in and lets them fight in the smarter move. Sane rolls her up for two so Brooke steals her own rollup to Sane for two more.

Brooke’s Swanton gets two on Sane and it’s off to Lacey for a kick to the face and her own two. Lacey talks trash to Candice and gets beaten up in the corner with Asuka getting dropped as well. A middle rope Downward Spiral gets two on Lacey and it’s Rhea coming in to dropkick Lacey to the floor. Everyone starts coming in for the parade of secondary finishers until Sasha is left alone in the ring. Hold on though as Candice and Shirai are both down on the floor and the match just kind of stops. They’re taken out and we’ll call that a double elimination at about 7:30.

We settle down to Ripley vs. Banks vs. Charlotte in the battle of the captains….but it’s Belair, Logan and Cross coming in before anything happens. Cross dives onto Ripley and then hammers on Storm for a bonus but Belair rolls Cross up for the pin at 9:39. Belair hits the KOD on Carmella, who rolls straight over to the ropes to save herself. Logan jumps Belair to the floor and dives onto Ripley and Storm on the floor. Back in and Belair punches Logan down, setting up a gorgeous 450 for the pin at 12:12.

Charlotte comes in and clotheslines Belair down but Carmella comes back in to kick Charlotte in the ribs. Carmella’s super hurricanrana sends Charlotte into Belair for a pair of twos each, plus a lot of Carmella’s screaming. Some low superkicks give Carmella two more on Belair but it’s Charlotte hitting Natural Selection on Carmella for the elimination at 15:38.

That leaves us with Charlotte/Asuka/Sane/Natalya vs. Ripley/Storm/Belair vs. Banks/Brooke/Lacey. Storm comes in and beats up Shirai and Banks until Shirai’s spinning backfist takes her down. The Insane Elbow gets two on Storm but Banks breaks it up with a Meteora to Sane for the elimination at 16:48. It’s three apiece now with Asuka coming in and kicking away to take over, including a big spinning kick to the head to get rid of Brooke at 17:22.

Charlotte and Asuka get in a fight though with Charlotte pulling her down by the hair. Lacey comes in and gets suplexed into the corner, only to take Asuka’s mist to the face. That’s it for Asuka, who walks out at about 19:00. The Woman’s Right finishes Charlotte at 19:08 and Natalya is the only one left for Raw. Natalya’s discus lariat drops Storm and a rollup gets rid of Lacey at 19:52.

NXT has a pretty commanding leave now so Natalya puts Toni in the Sharpshooter. Banks adds the Bank Statement and Storm is done at 20:42. Banks and Natalya get together for a Hart Attack and the pin on Belair at 21:17, leaving us with Ripley vs. Banks vs. Natalya. Banks and Natalya smirk at Ripley but Banks punches Natalya out for the win at 22:01.

Ripley slams Banks down for an early two and blocks a tornado DDT attempt. Banks sends her into the corner for a crash and there are the running knees in the corner. The Meteora gets two on Ripley but she’s back up in time to kick Banks out of the air for trying it again. The standing Cloverleaf comes on but Banks reverses into the Bank Statement. Cue LeRae and Shirai (never officially eliminated) to pulls Ripley to the floor so Banks takes both of them down. LeRae offers a distraction though and it’s Shirai hitting a springboard missile dropkick. Riptide finishes Banks at 27:53.

Rating: B-. Well there’s your star making performance. It might have been a little bit of a dirty finish but Ripley looked like a star of the highest order out there, which is exactly what they were going for here. The match worked rather well, but there were a few too many people in there and it got messy at times. Still though, seeing NXT pull off the huge upset and actually getting somewhere in this whole thing more than made up for it.

We look at Kevin Owens joining Team Ciampa to help defeat the Undisputed Era at WarGames.

Seth Rollins comes in to see Owens and accuses him of wanting to turn on Raw tonight. Owens says last night was about getting even with the Undisputed Era and yes he loves NXT, but he’s Raw. Rollins doesn’t seem convinced.

Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown) vs. AJ Styles (Raw) vs. Roderick Strong (NXT)

Non-title Battle of the midcard champions and Sami Zayn (an awesome hype man) is here with Nakamura. They go straight into the exchange of strikes to start and it’s Strong getting the better of it off the backbreakers. Nakamura gets dropped on the apron but AJ knees Strong in the face. Back in and Nakamura starts striking away, including the running knee to the ribs to knock Styles right back to the floor.

Strong’s fireman’s carry into the double knees to the chest get two on Nakamura and Strong bends him over his back. AJ is back in with a sleeper on Strong before throwing him into Nakamura for the break. He can’t follow up though and Strong hits AJ with a clothesline, followed by the running forearms to make it even worse. The belly to back faceplant gets two and Strong monkey flips AJ into a running knee from Nakamura.

Strong gets knocked down and Nakamura’s sliding knee to the head gets two more. AJ’s reverse DDT is good for another two and some frustration is setting in. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives AJ two more with Strong not being able to make the save. Strong can break up the Styles Clash, but the crash means Nakamura lands on his face anyway. The Angle Slam gives Strong two on AJ as Sami is helping Nakamura with his breathing on the floor.

The coaching works though as Nakamura goes up and hits a doomsday kick to the chest for two on Strong, who grabs his knee and screams. Cole: “You’ve got to wonder if Strong is hurt.” Does Vince go out of his way to make Cole say these stupid things? Sami posts AJ as Strong hits a jumping knee for two on Nakamura. Just to egg the crowd on a bit, Nakamura hits a Go To Sleep on Strong but AJ breaks up Kinshasa. A spinning backfist staggers Strong and Nakamura suplexes him onto AJ.

There’s Kinshasa to Strong and AJ dives in for a save. That puts Strong on the floor so Nakamura tells AJ to COME ON. The striking exchange is on with Nakamura hitting a middle rope knee to the face. Nakamura’s Landslide gets two but AJ hits a forearm out of the corner. The Phenomenal Forearm connects but Strong comes in and steals the pin at 16:44.

Rating: B. Much like the previous one, this was all about action with all three guys looking like they could pull it off. Strong stealing the pin is fine enough and again, the bigger name taking the fall is protected. They were beating the fire out of each other here and we have our second good match in a row, though a little better than the first due to less chaos.

NXT – 3

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

Therefore, NXT can only be tied and can’t lose.

The Miz tries to give Daniel Bryan a pep talk but get glared away.

Cole explains the Mauro Ranallo is missing due to blowing his voice out. Right.

NXT Title: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Dunne is challenging after winning a triple threat match last night. They’re both very banged up after Takeover but Cole should be in far worse shape of the two. Dunne spins out of a wristlock to start and Cole’s headlock works just as badly. A shot to the ribs puts the injured Cole down but Dunne’s knee is bothering him as well. Cole’s arm gets twisted around and Dunne takes him to the floor to stomp on it again.

Back in and Cole gets smart by going after the bad knee with some cranking and a dropkick to the leg to make it worse. Dunne’s leg is good enough for the X Plex and you can see the shock of pain going through Cole as his ribs hit the mat. An enziguri in the corner lets Dunne stomp on Cole’s fingers and a sitout powerbomb gets two. Cole tries to bail to the floor so Dunne takes him out with a moonsault.

Back in and Dunne kicks him in the head but a moonsault hits raised knees. The Shining Wizard gets two as Cole was too banged up to hit it at full strength. Dunne shrugs off a pump kick to the face but can’t shrug off the brainbuster onto the knee. Back up and Dunne grabs a quick Bitter End before going for a moonsault out of the corner. Cole is right there with a superkick to the upside down Dunne (still awesome and incredible timing) for two more.

A big forearm puts Cole on the floor but he gets in a kick to the knee. They fight on the apron and Dunne’s knee gives out, allowing Dunne to hit a crazy looking Panama Sunrise onto the apron. They barely beat the count back in and Cole superkicks his head off for two more. Dunne tells him to come on and snaps the fingers but the Bitter End is countered into another Panama Sunrise. The Last Shot retains the title at 14:04.

Rating: A-. This is a case where the televised version worked a lot better than the live version as commentary and the better camera angles focused on Dunne’s knee injury that much better. You couldn’t get much out of that in the arena (or at least from the upper deck) and commentary sold the story very well. This was a heck of a back and forth match with both guys working very hard and selling their damage from the previous night.

Some wrestlers visited an elementary school.

We recap Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend. Bray Wyatt won the title earlier in the month at Crown Jewel and started taunting Bryan to make him his first victim. Bryan has teased bringing back the YES Movement to fight Wyatt but won’t go all the way with it. Therefore, he might not be ready to face the Fiend.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan is challenging and we get the full Fiend entrance, complete with severed head lantern. The crowd goes almost silent as the red lights come on and that’s an impressive reaction. Bryan hits a running dropkick into the corner to start but tries another and gets blasted by a clothesline. An uppercut puts Bryan on the floor and Bray plants him in the ring for a bonus.

There’s the toss suplex and Bray starts writhing around before grabbing the neck crank. With that broken up, they head outside where Bray misses a charge into the steps. He’s right back up though and Bryan has to break up Sister Abigail, meaning it’s a posting to stagger Bray again. A big dive off the top drops Fiend and he’s taking a little more time to get up.

Back in and Daniel hits the missile dropkick, followed by the YES Kicks to….just bring Bray back up. Fiend laughs at him and seems to say bring it on so Bryan hits the big kick to the head. More stomps have Fiend in trouble and the running knee (with YES chants from Bryan) gets two. Bray charges into a boot in the corner but grabs the Mandible Claw anyway. That’s reversed into an armbar over the top rope but dives into a right hand. Bryan tries the running knee again and charges straight into the Mandible Claw for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: B. They were getting somewhere with this one but it never hit that next level. It’s like Bryan needs one more gear, like the YES Movement, to get all the way over the hump. The Fiend comes off like a movie monster and it is going to take someone special to beat him. Having Bray beat a star like Bryan is a good move for him, but it’s hard not to imagine Roman Reigns getting the nod at this point. Anyway, this was a good match but it needed one more level to make it great.

Rey Mysterio says he first faced Brock Lesnar almost fifteen years ago. He’s a new man now and pulls out the pipe to prove it. Normally Rey would want his son Dominick to turn away but tonight he wants his son to watch and see what happens when Rey takes out Brock’s legs.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Raw: Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens

Smackdown: Roman Reigns, Shorty G., Mustafa Ali, King Corbin, Braun Strowman

NXT: Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Walter, Matt Riddle, Damian Priest

Same rules as the women’s match: triple threat and you can only tag your team members. Ali is rather happy to be in his hometown, as he should be. The fans are behind Walter, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Rollins and Ciampa slug away at Strowman to start so he dropkicks both of them down at the same time. McIntyre and Walter come in for the big three way hoss showdown and it’s Strowman being hammered down in the corner. Walter and McIntyre chop it out with Walter kicking him down but getting run over by Strowman.

A heck of a Rolling Chaos Theory hits Ricochet and it’s Riddle coming in to a big reaction. Gable gets the ankle lock on Riddle but it’s broken up in a hurry for the staredown. Another Chaos Theory doesn’t work on Riddle as Ciampa tags himself in, only to get kicked in the head by Gable. Ricochet kicks both of them down and it’s Owens going up top. He thinks about splashing Gable or Ciampa before going with the frog splash to get rid of Gable at 6:29.

Corbin comes in and bails from the threat of a Stunner so Owens follows him with the Cannonball. The Stunner connects on the floor but Ciampa catches Owens with Willow’s Bell for the pin at 7:41. Orton is behind Ciampa but Ciampa is smart enough to turn around without walking into the RKO. Ciampa hammers away and tries another Willow’s Bell but gets dropped onto the apron instead. Back in and it’s the Garvin Stomp but Ciampa gets over for the tag to Priest, only to walk into the RKO. Another RKO gets rid of Priest at 10:16 but Riddle rolls Orton up for the pin at 10:26.

Orton RKOs Riddle as well and it’s stealing the pin at 10:54 to some great heel heat. That’s how you use Corbin and it worked great here. Lee and Strowman come in so the fans are already singing. McIntyre breaks up the staredown with a forearm to Lee but gets run over by Strowman. That means the big running train around the ring, which works so well that Strowman does it again. This time though, Lee runs him over for a change and McIntyre adds a Claymore to count Strowman out at 13:17.

We’re down to Lee/Ciampa vs. Ricochet/McIntyre/Rollins vs. Ali/Corbin/Reigns. Ricochet springboards in with a clothesline to Corbin and there’s the big running flip dive to Reigns. The 450 misses Lee though and Corbin hits the End of Days to finish Ricochet at 14:31. Ali tags himself in and starts cleaning house with some kicks to the face.

Rollins counters the rolling X Factor by launching Ali over his head, only to have Ali X Factor Ciampa instead. The tornado DDT hits Rollins and it’s Ali hitting a suicide dive onto a bunch of people. Corbin won’t let Ali get a cover though and the distraction lets Rollins hit the Stomp to get rid of Ali at 16:10.

Reigns and Corbin get into it on the floor until McIntyre and Rollins break it up. Back in and McIntyre’s reverse Alabama slam gets two on Ciampa but the spear cuts McIntyre down for the pin at 17:39. Rollins, the only member left of Team Raw, kicks Reigns to the floor but the suicide dive is blocked with a right hand. Willow’s Bell cuts Reigns off but he reverses the Fairy Tale Ending into the Superman Punch.

Corbin pulls Reigns over to the corner for the tag, only to yell at Reigns instead of going after Ciampa. Eventually Ciampa escapes the chokeslam, leaving Reigns to spear and Superman Punch Corbin to give Ciampa the pin at 19:57. It’s Reigns for Smackdown, Rollins for Raw and Ciampa/Lee for NXT. Reigns, Rollins and Ciampa slug it out with Lee coming in for a failed save attempt.

That leaves Reigns vs. Rollins because we need to get the Shield stuff in. They decide to work together again but can’t hit a DoubleBomb. Instead Ciampa catches Rollins with Project Ciampa for a VERY close two but it’s a Superman Punch to Ciampa. The Stomp gets rid of Ciampa at 24:02 and we’re down to one apiece.

Lee is ready to go and slingshots in with a double crossbody to put them both down. The Limit Breaker is countered by Rollins and a superkick sets up the frog splash for two as the fans are behind Lee. Rollins goes after Lee again but walks into the Limit Breaker for the completely clean pin at 26:32 to get rid of Raw. The roof goes off the place as Lee is instantly a legit contender to pull off the major upset.

Reigns starts fast with a Superman Punch for a very quick two and Graves is DEMANDING a replay. The spear is loaded up but Lee cuts it off with a Spirit Bomb for a very, very close two. Lee misses the moonsault though and gets speared down for the pin at 29:18 as the air doesn’t go all the way out of the place.

Rating: B+. The ending sequence was the reason I’ve always wanted to see one of these shows in person: they hit the drama out of the park and had you believing that Lee could pull off the impossible. Lee got the big pin on Rollins so he’s a made man as a result, along with Ciampa for pinning Owens and Corbin. Just like in the women’s match, the NXT men felt like they belonged here and that was the point of the whole thing. Very fun match here with a lot of people (including Gable) getting to show off for a long time. Lee got the big rub here though, and they nailed every bit of what they wanted to do with him.

NXT – 3

Smackdown – 2

Raw – 1

Post match Reigns and Lee show respect.

Becky Lynch talks about being the man seven days a week while Shayna Baszler has been training every day. Shayna is going to have to destroy her completely and no one can do that to her. Then there’s Bayley, who thinks Becky has been ducking her. Becky even broke her own rule and came looking for Bayley. Tonight, Becky is taking them out and showing that she is the Man.

We recap Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar. Brock attacked Rey and his son so Rey brought in Cain Velasquez to help him fight. Once Lesnar got rid of Cain in less than three minutes, Rey fought for himself and took out Lesnar’s knee with a steel pipe. Tonight it’s No DQ so Rey can have a chance.

Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar is defending and anything goes. Rey is dressed as the Joker (again) and that might not be the best visual for a match that is supposed to be rather serious. Paul Heyman introduces Brock as weighing about two and a half Rey Mysterios for his funny line of the night. Rey goes straight to the floor and pulls out the pipe so Lesnar bails to the floor in a smart move.

Brock gets Rey to chase him and the big clothesline makes him drop the pipe. The beating begins as Rey is sent outside and over the announcers’ table in a crash. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Brock throws him into the cover. Rey is beaten down so badly that Brock can even stop to tie his boot. It takes so long that Rey can get in a posting but Brock won’t let him grab the pipe. A release German suplex drops Rey onto the pipe (geez) and another (no pipe) makes it even worse.

There’s a third suplex so here’s Dominick with a towel. Brock takes that away and throws it out (maybe in a shot at the ending to Cody vs. Chris Jericho at Full Gear). Brock grabs Dominick so Rey hits him low and even Dominick gets in his own shot. Some pipe shots set up a double 619 (sweet) and Dominick adds a frog splash (in a nice tribute to his dad). Rey adds his own frog splash for two and the fans know it isn’t happening. Dominick gets suplexed down and the F5 retains the title at 6:54.

We recap the women’s triple threat match. Becky Lynch knows she is the best but Shayna Baszler came in and said she’d beat Becky just like the rest. Bayley has been fighting to make people think she matters in this whole thing other than to take the fall.

Bayley (Smackdown) vs. Becky Lynch (Raw) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT)

Non-title Battle of the Women’s Champions. Ignore how Bayley’s shirt with BAY over LEY with the belt around her waist spells AEW of course. The announcers mention Ronda Rousey quite a few times during the entrances and I can’t imagine that’s a coincidence. Bayley knocks Baszler into Becky to start and the fans aren’t exactly interested early on. Baszler and Bayley hammer away at each other on the mat and fight to the floor.

Becky takes both of them down before throwing Bayley back inside. The spinning legdrop misses but Becky is right back up with a slingshot dropkick through the ropes to keep Baszler down. Bayley hits (or close to it) a sunset bomb into the corner as the silence is notable here. With Becky down, Baszler starts working on the arm but Becky cuts off a charge into the corner. Bayley stomps Becky down and slams her face into the mat a few times as the fans try to get a weak Becky chant going.

Baszler is back in to break it up but Bayley knocks her down as well. Becky gets back up this time with a DDT to Baszler and a reverse DDT to Bayley at the same time, though it isn’t enough to get the crowd going. The guillotine legdrop gets two on Bayley and Baszler has to break up the Disarm-Her. The Bayley to Belly gets two on Baszler but she’s back up with a suplex of her own. Becky comes back in with a missile dropkick to make Baszler drop Bayley.

We get the CM PUNK chants as Baszler and Becky slug it out until Bayley sends Becky outside. The charge on the apron is cut off with a Kirifuda Clutch but Becky comes back in with a sitout powerbomb for two on Baszler. Now it’s Becky getting Clutched inside until Bayley makes the save, only to get sent outside again. They all wind up on the floor with Becky being sent into various steel objects. Bayley takes Baszler back inside and has to suplex her way out of a quick Clutch attempt. The top rope elbow is countered into the Clutch though and Bayley taps at 18:05.

Rating: D+. They were trying here but the match didn’t have much of a flow and wasn’t the most thrilling. You can also see the amount of influence that the crowd can have as they weren’t interested here. However, there were some rather negative chants in the arena and they didn’t get picked up by audio here, which is a rather good thing. The match wasn’t good but it also wasn’t a nightmare and the heavily negative chants weren’t deserved. It didn’t help when the best Bayley could have done was tie the score and Becky had no chance to win anything for Raw, but there were other issues going on.

NXT – 4

Smackdown – 2

Raw – 1

Post match Shayna celebrates on the announcers’ table but Becky jumps her from behind. A legdrop off the apron lets Becky pose to end the show. That doesn’t get the best reaction either.

Overall Rating: B+. Aside from a not great main event, this was a heck of a show with one good to great match after another. They would have been better off having a tie coming into the main event but WWE hasn’t seemed interested in drama around here for the last few shows. NXT got the rub it was looking for though and that is the best thing that could happen. I’m sure it’ll be enough to fight off AEW, which is one of the major points of this whole thing so well done? In theory? Anyway what we got was borderline great though and I got what I was wanting out of the show so I’ll call it a major positive.

Results

Team NXT b. Team Raw and Team Smackdown last eliminating Sasha Banks

Roderick Strong b. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura – Phenomenal Forearm to Nakamura

Adam Cole b. Pete Dunne – Last Shot

The Fiend b. Daniel Bryan – Mandible Claw

Team Smackdown b. Team Raw and Team NXT – Spear to Lee

Brock Lesnar b. Rey Mysterio – F5

Shayna Baszler b. Bayley and Becky Lynch – Kirifuda Clutch to Bayley

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

Main Event
Date: November 21, 2019
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Byron Saxton

I’m a bit behind here so it could be interesting to see how this serves as a recap. The big story of the week has been NXT’s Invasion, which could make for some entertaining television. The story has been energizing for the two main roster shows and hopefully that shows through here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Mojo Rawley vs. Boston Bob

Bob is a guy in a Celtics shirt and shorts so Rawley isn’t all that interested in beating him up. Bob’s early attempts at offense are cut off but a hard clothesline and more trash talking, including some applause and a “Way to go Bob!”. The chinlock doesn’t last long but Mojo has time to throw his sweat on the crowd. The comeback is actually on with a few shots to the face and a clothesline until the Alabama Slam gives Mojo the pin at 3:30.

Rating: D. I could go for more like this as Rawley was a little funny as he picked Bob apart. What else do you want from something like this? This was your old school squash and it let Mojo be arrogant, which is as good as he is going to get at the moment. Let him show some frustration with the lower level competition and maybe he can get a small step forward for once.

We look back at the Fiend attacking Bray Wyatt.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz quickly introducing Daniel Bryan. Miz asks about the Fiend attacking Bryan last week but Bryan can’t bring himself to say anything. Miz wants to know what is going on with Bryan, who looks confused about everything going on. Does Bryan not know who he is anymore? Bryan stands up and says he’s been quiet because MizTV sucks, just as it always has.

Miz doesn’t understand the passion that he has, just like these people. It was a mental instability combined with his passion that drove him to do things. Bray Wyatt understands though and that’s what makes him dangerous. Bray is unstable….and the Firefly Fun House starts up. Wyatt says it’s rude to talk about someone when they aren’t there. Being confused is a scary feeling, but maybe Fiend did it to scare Bryan. Or maybe it’s because of what Bryan did. You remember what that is, right Bryan?

It isn’t explained, because we need to look in Bray’s toy box. After throwing out some stuff, including a saw, he finds the Universal Title. If Bryan wants to come play, all he has to do is say that one word. Bryan: “NO!” This turns into an argument with Bray’s friends but if they’re going to fight, it’s going to be for the Universal Title. Bray says yes and starts his own YES chant. That goes on for a long time with Bray’s eyes bugging out. Bray stops and Miz announces the title shot for Survivor Series. Bryan leaves to end the show.

From Raw.

Becky Lynch/Charlotte vs. IIconics

The bell rings after a break with Joe on commentary, describing himself as a Brock Lesnar proof commentator. The IIconics jump them to start and Peyton spinkicks Charlotte in the face to give Billie an early two. A missed charge in the corner gives Billie two more but Charlotte is right back with a quick Figure Eight. Becky Bexplodes Peyton and Billie taps at 2:17.

Post match the Horsewomen come in and jump the IIconics, drawing Becky and Charlotte back for the fight. The numbers get the better of Becky and Charlotte but they’re fine enough to chase the three of them into the crowd. Becky punches out a security guard to a big reaction.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio.

Cedric Alexander vs. Eric Young

They lock up to start with Cedric armdragging him into an armbar. Young blocks the spin out of a wristlock and takes it into the corner. That earns him an anklescissors into a dropkick and they head outside. Young drops him onto the apron and we take a break. Back with Cedric in more trouble, including Young lifting him for a dragon sleeper in the corner.

The neck crank/chinlock goes on for a bit until Cedric gets up for a dropkick. The Neuralizer puts Young on the floor for the big flip dive and the springboard Downward Spiral gets two back inside. Young’s DDT and top rope elbow get the same, only to have Cedric grab the Lumbar Check for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: C. These Main Event matches where people are actually trying are becoming a trend and I’m not sure what to think of them. Maybe it’s just that Young is a talented guy who can do good things in the ring, as long as he isn’t pushed as the top heel in the company. Cedric is rather talented too, but it wasn’t translating on Raw and pulling the plug on him was probably the right move.

From Raw to wrap it up.

Tag Team Titles: Randy Orton/??? vs. Viking Raiders

Orton and his mystery partner who isn’t a mystery if you are paying even the slightest bit of attention, Ricochet, are challenging. Ricochet chops away at Erik, who takes him down and plants him face first on the mat. A dropkick puts Erik on the floor and Orton tags himself in before the flip dive can launch. Ricochet tries a moonsault to the floor but gets kneed in the face.

Orton drops Erik onto the apron but we cut to the back where Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode are beating up what looked like Eric Young and Cedric Alexander. Back from a break with Ricochet and Ivar trading flips until Ricochet is sent outside. Ivar hits his big dive and here’s Smackdown to jump Orton for the DQ at 8:23.

Rating: C. There is something amusing about WWE setting up Hawkins and Ryder as #1 contenders at a house show match in German but then having them taken out before they can even get to the ring. Anyway, the match was good enough until the finish, which fit in with a theme tonight. I don’t think the titles were ever in any real jeopardy and there were bigger things at stake here.

Orton, Ricochet and the Raiders clear the ring but here’s NXT for the brawl. NXT gets the better of it and here are even more of them, including the Undisputed Era. NXT comes in but I believe Steve Cutler walks into an RKO (which the camera misses). Everyone gets in at once but here’s Rollins with Raw for the big fight. We cut to the back with HHH saying that this is the beginning of the end. It’s over in six days when NXT shows that it is the A brand. On Wednesday, it is an open door to Raw and Smackdown to come to NXT and do whatever they want. Back in the arena, the brawl ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The ending was hot, though you would expect to see something from NXT after the big HHH speech. What we got was good enough though and Young vs. Alexander was surprisingly good. The important thing here was focusing on Survivor Series and they did that well enough. Just watch Survivor Series though and you’ll be better off.

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

Smackdown
Date: November 29, 2019
Location: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We’re finally back to normal around here after a pretty wild month that saw NXT invade and everything get turned upside down. Things have settled back down though with Smackdown coming in second place at Survivor Series. I’m not sure if that is going to make much of a difference but now it’s off to TLC. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Roman Reigns to open the show. In his house, if there are still leftovers in the fridge, it’s still Thanksgiving so Happy Thanksgiving everyone. What matters the most around this time of year are health and family and last year at this time he only had family. Things are better now and Smackdown won at Survivor Series. The NXT chants are on and Reigns says it’s all WWE, but Smackdown survived on Sunday.

Reigns thanks his teammates, but says he won’t thank the one dummy on his team. Cue King Corbin, to say it was his leadership that won the match, but Reigns says Corbin was the one who got eliminated. Corbin talks about his feast today and all of the servants he had waiting on him today. Reigns probably had a burned turkey but he’s used to eating dog food anyway, just like everyone here. Corbin can face this man instead.

Robert Roode vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns sends him outside to start before hammering away in the corner. Roode is knocked outside again but Reigns glares at Corbin, allowing Ziggler to grab a leg so Roode can knock him into the announcers’ table. The spinebuster puts Reigns onto the table as well and a drive into the barricade takes us to a break. Back with Reigns kicking him in the face but walking into some boots to the face.

The Blockbuster gives Roode two but Reigns catches him with a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. They head outside with a Corbin distraction letting Roode send him into the steps. Back in and Roman Superman Punches him out of the air for two but the spear is countered into another spinebuster for two more. With nothing else working, Corbin slips Roode the scepter but Reigns spears him down for the pin at 13:41.

Rating: C+. Roode is still the guy who doesn’t do anything flashy but he does everything really well. That’s often a nice formula for a good match, which is what they had here. Reigns vs. Corbin is not an interesting feud, but I’ll take Reigns and Roode having a nice little match over Corbin making dog jokes every single time.

Post match Ziggler jumps Reigns but gets taken out. That brings in Corbin for the failed save, only to have Roode get in a scepter shot. Roode puts Reigns’ head on a chair and says something about his kids but misses the big scepter shot. The Superman Punch drops Roode to the floor for the big spear through the barricade.

Ziggler tries to come after him again but gets knocked over the barricade with the steps. With Roode still underneath the barricade, Reigns turns the announcers’ table onto him. It’s a good segment with a pretty awesome beatdown, but this is setting up Reigns vs. Corbin based on Corbin making jokes about Reigns being a dog. There isn’t much of a way to save that one.

We look back at Daniel Bryan vs. the Fiend on Sunday with Wyatt retaining.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray being thankful to still be champion. The Fiend cuts in with a Fiend themed title which is going to haunt my nightmares for a long time. Bray loves his new toy and he had a blast playing with Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series. The Fireflies seem to approve so if Bryan wants to join in, Bray can make it all change for the better. All Bryan has to do is let him in.

Sheamus is back and calls the current state of Smackdown pathetic due to all of the cowards. He sees no one with a backbone and no one like him. Smackdown is soft so now it’s time for him to return and ravage everyone in his way. Smackdown will be his.

Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak

Ali dropkicks him down to start but gets pulled off the top for a big crash. The half crab has Ali in trouble until he fights up and scores with a superkick. The tornado DDT sets up the 450 for the pin at 3:08.

Rating: C-. Nice little win for Ali here to make it clear that he is still a thing. Gulak’s work over the summer is wasted for another week, but I’m not sure how much of a future he was going to have on the main roster anyway. That being said, he was still too big for the dying 205 Live, but since NXT isn’t an option for no apparent reason, this is what we get.

Here are Sasha Banks and Bayley to say that what happened to the Smackdown women at Survivor Series was not their fault. Smackdown did not lose because NXT is better and Bayley did not lose because Shayna Baszler is better. They rip on the Smackdown women’s division so here’s Lacey Evans to interrupt.

Lacey has been tired for making a Thanksgiving dinner for thirty six people, including the in-laws. She wouldn’t trust these two nasties to lead the Chicken Dance at a garden party so it’s time for someone with some class to take over. We get a pretty loud LACEY EVANS chant before Lacey mocks Bayley for tapping out. Lacey taps the title so Sasha gets in her face. That’s good for a Woman’s Right and Bayley panics. Lacey leaves with a big smile and I guess we have a face turn.

Daniel Bryan isn’t sure if he should accept Bray’s challenge as we get the Firefly Fun House again. Huskus has eaten too much but the only thing that would make him feel better is if Bryan came and played with them. Bray tells us the real story of Thanksgiving, which was about the muscle men dancers and the reptilians throwing over humanity. It’s music video time with Bray and Huskus demonstrating the Muscle Man dance as Huskus talks about how fat he is. Bray insists that we CAN’T let the reptilians in but let him in instead. After all this, Bryan still has no answer.

Nikki Cross vs. Sonya Deville

Fallout from Nikki losing at Survivor Series. Hold on though because Mandy needs to say that Nikki looks like a cold plate of Thanksgiving leftovers. Sonya punches her in the face to start and hits a sliding knee for two. Trash is talked but Nikki pulls her down into a small package for the pin at 1:38.

Post match the beatdown is on but Alexa Bliss returns for the save.

The Miz talks to Bryan about what happens to people who face the Fiend and asks if that is worth it. Miz mentions Bryan’s family and gets stared out of the room.

Drake Maverick holds some mistletoe over Dana Brooke’s head. Dana: “Aren’t you married?” Maverick: “It’s complicated.” Cue the returning Elias to play a song about how he’s back for the Christmas season as Dana dances.

Here’s New Day to talk about everything they ate over Thanksgiving, including hog and….dog? That’s just a joke, but today is Black Friday so they have a deal: an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Now we need someone to answer the challenge though. Cue Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro with Sami Zayn running down the idea of Thanksgiving for being about gluttony and imperialistic evil. Sami rips on the idea of Black Friday and says it is time for some honorable men to win those titles.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro

New Day is defending. Cesaro shoulders Kofi to start so it’s off to Nakamura, who gets dropkicked down in a hurry. Kofi gets taken into the corner though and dropped head first onto the top turnbuckle. Sami offers a distraction on the floor and Cesaro uppercuts Kofi over the table as we take a break.

Back with Kofi making the hot tag to Big E. but the Warrior Splash misses Nakamura. Nakamura knees him in the head but walks into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two. A kick to the face puts Big E. down and it’s Cesaro coming in with a top rope headbutt for two more. Kofi backdrops Cesaro to the floor and kicks Nakamura in the head, setting up the powerbomb/top rope double stomp combination for the next near fall.

Kofi’s launch over the top is uppercutted out of the air and another hits Big E. Kinshasa is countered into a rollup for two so Nakamura kicks Kofi in the face. A sliding….something to the face (they missed on something there) gives Nakamura two more so it’s back to Cesaro to drop Kofi across the top rope. Sami tries to use the pancake tray but gets caught in the act, meaning it’s an ejection. Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro retains the titles at 11:16.

Rating: B. They had me believing that we might get a surprise title change so well done on the most important account. The Smackdown tag division doesn’t feature a lot of interesting challengers to New Day but they’re very good for placeholder champions until someone else can come after the titles. Good match too, though Cesaro already being put in a team and taking the fall in their first match is more of the same thing that has gotten on fans’ nerves for years.

We look back at Reigns attacking Roode earlier.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to talk about everything going on with Bray Wyatt tonight. Earlier today the Miz talked about how the Fiend will change him. Back at Survivor Series, Bryan felt the change from the people. For the last year, Bryan has talked about how the YES Movement is done, but now something has changed. So does he accept Bray’s challenge? YES he does! Cue the Firefly Fun House and Bray is very excited to get to play again but if Bryan does it again, we will see his true form. Bryan helped Bray change in the first place and the Fiend remembers that.

Oh he almost forgot: Bray promised a new face tonight and he is a man of his word. The lights go out in the arena and it’s the Fiend popping up through the ring. Bryan fights him away but gets Mandible Clawed down into the hole. Fiend pulls his hands out of the hole and has a bunch of hair in his hands. He does it again with a bunch of hair being left on the mat and the laughter ends the show. So he’s a Brutus Beefcake fan now?

Overall Rating: B-. This was a fast moving show which kept my interest the entire time. Hopefully that is the case going forward and not just the fallout from Survivor Series, as this show never dragged, despite the first thirty five minutes being dedicated to one story. Bray wanting to fight Bryan again is fine and a souped up Bryan could be a good challenger for Bray this time around. Anyway, solid enough stuff here, even if no one is going to watch.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Robert Roode – Spear

Mustafa Ali b. Drew Gulak – 450

Nikki Cross b. Sonya Deville – Small package

New Day b. Shinsuke Nakamura/Cesaro – Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro

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