IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 12, 2018
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home week for Extreme Rules and my goodness that doesn’t exactly bode well for the things they’ll be recapping here. This show has been one of the weakest builds in recent memory and while Smackdown was better this week, Raw was its usual horrid self. How often do I have to say something like this anymore? Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Titus Worldwide vs. Authors of Pain

Crews does what he can with Akam but gets tossed into the corner, followed by Rezar tossing him right back out of said corner. It’s back to Akam for a cobra clutch and a t-bone suplex but Crews sends him into the corner as well. The hot tag brings in Titus to show off some power, including a powerslam for two on Akam. Not that it matters as the Last Chapter is good for the pin at 4:22.

Rating: D+. Actually not too bad here as they kept it moving and the Authors got to look good. The important thing here is to have the Authors establish themselves on the main roster and beating up teams like this is a great way to start that process. It’s nothing great and it won’t mean anything, but at least they’re getting the idea right.

Video on Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns.

From Raw.

Lashley and Reigns are in the back, arguing about Reigns going to the ring. Lashley wants Reigns to call him out as a DANIEL BRYAN chant drowns out some of whatever they’re saying. Lashley steps to the side and tells Reigns to carry on.

Here’s Reigns in the ring for a chat and he wastes no time in calling Lashley out. Before anything can happen though, here’s Kurt Angle, flanked by Baron Corbin, to interrupt. Angle wants them to save it for Sunday but the brawl is on anyway. A bunch of midcarders can’t break it up and the fight breaks out over and over again. Reigns is finally taken to the floor as Finn Balor gets in a shot on Corbin for a nice bit of continuity.

The fight keeps breaking out with even more people coming out and failing to separate them. Lashley keeps punching and throws Reigns inside but is finally pushed to the back. Reigns isn’t done though and hits the BIG dive over the top to take out about twenty people at the same time. Reigns’ music plays but he comes back AGAIN and dives at Lashley. Really, really solid segment here but it’s going to be annoying when this headlines again over the World Title. Also, they need to bring this intensity to the match instead of the boring match Reigns and Samoa Joe had at Backlash.

Again from Raw.

Nia Jax/Natalya vs. Mickie James/Alexa Bliss

Natalya wastes no time in trying a Sharpshooter on James but gets kicked away, allowing the tag to Bliss. The same Sharpshooter attempt sends Bliss bailing to the floor so Natalya baseball slides both villains down. Back from an early break with Natalya being sent into the corner so Bliss can hit her running slap. We hit the chinlock so IT’S TIME FOR AN INSET PROMO FOR SUNDAY! Sweet, I was worried that we wouldn’t get these stupid things again. Back to full screen with Natalya getting over for the hot tag to Nia, who starts wrecking Mickie. The splash in the corner sets up the big leg to give Nia the pin at 8:09.

Rating: D. Well what we saw was decent, but the inset promo felt like a second commercial. That and Nia just running over everyone has been done, especially since it’s a near guarantee that she loses on Sunday, allowing Bliss to go to Summerslam and hang with Ronda Rousey for a long match. Just not enough content here to make it work.

Immediately after the pin, Bliss hits Jax in the back with a kendo stick. The stick is quickly taken away and broken as Bliss runs away in a hurry.

Video on Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman.

Curt Hawkins vs. Chad Gable

Hawkins takes him down with a wristlock and actually gets a LET’S GO HAWKINS chant. Gable easily wins the second wristlock battle and armdrags him into an armbar. A monkey flip sends Hawkins flying but he rams Gable throat first into the rope. Back from a break with Hawkins getting two off a Michinoku Driver in a near fall. A powerbomb is loaded up but Gable slips out and sends him into the corner for Rolling Chaos Theory and the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C-. I know it’s not likely to go anywhere anytime soon but Hawkins is getting closer to actually winning a match. I’m not sure if they’ll ever actually pull the trigger and have him win something but at least they’re not having it be squash after squash. Hawkins can put on a good enough match and that’s what he did here, with Gable getting to look good in the end.

We see the big brawl that opened Smackdown and set up the main event.

New Day/HELL NO vs. Bludgeon Brothers/Sanity

In kayfabe, that’s some pretty awesome timing for the production staff to know when the match is going to grind to a halt so these videos can air. Back to full screen with Dain hitting a backsplash, just in time to go to a commercial. We’re not even nine minutes into this match and we’ve had two commercials and an inset promo. I know this is crazy for a fan to say, but I’d actually like to watch the match instead of an ad every three minutes.

Back with Woods still in trouble and Harper’s Michinoku Driver getting two. New Day makes the save, allowing Woods to hit his springboard tornado DDT on Harper. The hot tag brings in Bryan to hammer on Young as everything breaks down. We hit a parade of secondary finishers until Big E. spears Dain off the apron. Back in and Bryan knees Young down for the pin at 16:41.

Rating: C+. Well what we saw of it was good. A match that isn’t even eighteen minutes long doesn’t need two breaks and an inset promo as a mini break, but WWE has too much stuff to advertise to do a match like this uninterrupted. If nothing else Sanity getting this kind of push (two months after being announced) out of the shoot is nice, and odds are they win on Sunday.

And from Raw one more time.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

If Rollins wins, Drew is banned from ringside on Sunday. McIntyre powers him into the corner with ease to start, allowing McIntyre to do his kneeling pose. A dropkick has almost no effect and McIntyre runs him over with a shoulder. It’s off to an armbar with McIntyre in full control so far. A chinlock keeps Rollins in trouble and McIntyre chops him back down to set up another armbar.

McIntyre drives him back first into the apron and we take a break. Back with Rollins flying off an overhead belly to belly and some stomps to the arm setting up yet another armbar. Rollins fights up and finally gets a breather by sending McIntyre face first into the middle buckle. McIntyre heads to the floor for back to back suicide dives, followed by the middle rope Blockbuster for a near fall of his own.

A charge in the corner goes badly for Rollins though as McIntyre grabs a reverse Alabama Slam, sending Rollins face first into the mat on a nasty looking landing. A sitout powerbomb gets two more but McIntyre gets caught up top, allowing Rollins to kick him into the Tree of Woe. That’s fine with Drew, who sits up and superplexes Rollins back down.

The Claymore is blocked with a superkick into the Falcon Arrow to rock McIntyre. It doesn’t rock him enough though as McIntyre scores with a headbutt, which seems to fire McIntyre up all over again. Rollins is fine enough to hit a Buckle Bomb and low superkick, followed by a curb stomp to an invading Ziggler. The distraction is enough for McIntyre to hit the Claymore for the pin at 21:06.

Rating: B. Now that’s more like it as this show was needing a long, good match to really boost things up. Thankfully they seem to have started planting the seeds for McIntyre to split from Ziggler but that needs to happen around Summerslam or so because Ziggler is already getting way too much focus by comparison. At least McIntyre won here though, as a loss would have been a rather bad idea.

Overall Rating: D+. Holy sweet merciful goodness what has happened to Smackdown? I mean I know it’s just Smackdown being Smackdown but egads this was basically the Raw highlight show with Smackdown being thrown in at the end. That was the case with Extreme Rules as well and it’s becoming more of a problem every week. Just pretend it matters. Is that too much to ask.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

I like Drew McIntyre.  A lot.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-choose-drew/

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 9, 2018
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the go home show for the mostly non-extreme Extreme Rules. Instead we’re currently focused on Kevin Owens being locked in a portable toilet and being covered in blue liquid, because that’s what the end of last week’s show spent ten minutes setting up. I wonder what thrills we have on tap this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Bobby Lashley’s original WWE career, leading into his return and feud with Roman Reigns.

Lashley and Reigns are in the back, arguing about Reigns going to the ring. Lashley wants Reigns to call him out as a DANIEL BRYAN chant drowns out some of whatever they’re saying. Lashley steps to the side and tells Reigns to carry on.

Here’s Reigns in the ring for a chat and he wastes no time in calling Lashley out. Before anything can happen though, here’s Kurt Angle, flanked by Baron Corbin, to interrupt. Angle wants them to save it for Sunday but the brawl is on anyway. A bunch of midcarders can’t break it up and the fight breaks out over and over again. Reigns is finally taken to the floor as Finn Balor gets in a shot on Corbin for a nice bit of continuity.

The fight keeps breaking out with even more people coming out and failing to separate them. Lashley keeps punching and throws Reigns inside but is finally pushed to the back. Reigns isn’t done though and hits the BIG dive over the top to take out about twenty people at the same time. Reigns’ music plays but he comes back AGAIN and dives at Lashley. Really, really solid segment here but it’s going to be annoying when this headlines again over the World Title. Also, they need to bring this intensity to the match instead of the boring match Reigns and Samoa Joe had at Backlash.

Nia Jax/Natalya vs. Mickie James/Alexa Bliss

Natalya wastes no time in trying a Sharpshooter on James but gets kicked away, allowing the tag to Bliss. The same Sharpshooter attempt sends Bliss bailing to the floor so Natalya baseball slides both villains down. Back from an early break with Natalya being sent into the corner so Bliss can hit her running slap. We hit the chinlock so IT’S TIME FOR AN INSET PROMO FOR SUNDAY! Sweet, I was worried that we wouldn’t get these stupid things again. Back to full screen with Natalya getting over for the hot tag to Nia, who starts wrecking Mickie. The splash in the corner sets up the big leg to give Nia the pin at 8:09.

Rating: D. Well what we saw was decent, but the inset promo felt like a second commercial. That and Nia just running over everyone has been done, especially since it’s a near guarantee that she loses on Sunday, allowing Bliss to go to Summerslam and hang with Ronda Rousey for a long match. Just not enough content here to make it work.

Immediately after the pin, Bliss hits Jax in the back with a kendo stick. The stick is quickly taken away and broken as Bliss runs away in a hurry.

Post break, Nia promises to use the extreme rules to get back at Bliss for everything she’s done to her in the last few months because anything goes.

We recap Braun Strowman tormenting Kevin Owens last week.

Owens comes in to Angle’s office and complains about Angle allowing all of this to happen. He threatens Angle with various legal issues over last week but has a doctor’s note banning him from competing tonight. Therefore, he’ll be hanging out in Angle’s office to hide from Strowman. And he even brought his own chair. I’m still not sure why Owens is supposed to be the heel in this whole thing.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

The long awaited rematch. Mojo shrugs off some early forearms and runs Jose over with a shoulder. We hit the chinlock and thankfully don’t go to an inset ad for Sunday. A running splash in the corner sets up another chinlock as this is already dragging. Jose fights up with some right hands but gets caught with a wicked Alabama Slam for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: D+. Mojo continues to grow on me but they need to do something with him already. This “feud” has been going on for a few weeks now and we’re not exactly anywhere further than we were before. Let Rawley see what he can do in a slightly bigger feud and maybe this can go somewhere.

Earlier today, Bayley and Sasha Banks had more therapy in the same office with a different therapist. Bayley blames Banks for everything and that’s it for now.

Jinder Mahal tells Seth Rollins to search for inner peace. Rollins seems to get it and breathing ensues but Rollins sneaks out.

Here’s Rollins for a chat. He loves the nicknames he’s built up over the years but right now the most important is FORMER Intercontinental Champion. This Sunday is all about becoming the Iron Man and the Intercontinental Champion again, but Dolph Ziggler is going to bring the Scottish Wookie Drew McIntyre with him. Rollins is SETH FREAKING ROLLINS though and cue Ziggler and McIntyre for a rebuttal. Ziggler says he’ll bring his skills, the psycho McIntyre and the title, where he’ll walk out as still champion.

Sure, Rollins is great but he’s not Ziggler. Maybe Dolph can win 100-0 on Sunday to really hammer the point home. He botches a line about Rollins having no dignity left and then talks about his victories as a college wrestler. Rollins thinks Drew helped him win there too but then asks why McIntyre sticks with Ziggler. Maybe Ziggler has pictures of McIntyre getting friendly with sheep in Scotland? That’s enough for a challenge from McIntyre so Rollins accepts, saying he’s a baaaaad man.

The B Team impersonates Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt. Again.

Here’s the B Team for a match and another impersonation, this time with Bo Dallas wondering what he can eat alongside the world on Sunday. Matt and Bray pop up on screen to say the time for fun and games is over. Laughter and fear are contagious so let’s do this right now.

Bo Dallas vs. Matt Hardy

An angry Matt starts hammering away in the corner to start as the Revival is watching in the back. That would be a rather nice development indeed. A suplex on the floor keeps Axel in trouble and we take a break. Back with Matt holding a cravate and an inset promo for Asuka vs. Carmella on Sunday. Matt takes him to the floor for a Side Effect onto the steps and some posing back inside. A neckbreaker across the ropes is broken up by a Curtis Axel distraction though and Dallas gets the pin at 8:39.

Rating: D. You know all those times that we’ve seen this before? Well this is the most recent version. I really hope we get to the Revival getting the titles out of this as neither of these teams are exactly interesting. At least we might get something entertaining from the Revival. Sure the impressions were funny at first, but repeating them for a month isn’t entertaining.

Post match Matt and Bray clean house.

We look back at the opening segment.

Lashley wants Reigns to fight on Sunday because Reigns isn’t walking out. Believe that.

Tyler Breeze offers the Riott Squad some fashion advice but they rip up the Breezango shirts.

Bliss can’t wait to hurt Nia again, this time in front of Ronda Rousey.

Ember Moon vs. Liv Morgan

Ember shouts a lot and runs Liv over a lot, knocking her outside as we take an early break. Back with Morgan keeping Moon in trouble with a cross arm choke and doing some screaming of her own with the blue tongue on full display. Cole asked Morgan why she had the blue tongue. Morgan: “I like blue.” Back up and Liv busts out a Matrix move to avoid a clothesline but gets sent face first into the middle buckle off a headscissors from the mat. Moon hits a springboard right in the corner and grabs a quick Jackknife rollup for the pin at 7:52.

Rating: D+. Another short match with the commercial cutting out the majority of whatever value we might have gotten from it. Neither of these two have anything going on at the moment so it’s not like this is going to lead anywhere. The Squad isn’t much without Ruby around to give them a voice, but Morgan has gotten better in the ring.

Finn Balor isn’t worried about tonight’s tag match but here’s partner Bobby Roode to say the two of them are similar. They’ll be partners tonight and it will be GLORIOUS. Balor doesn’t like Corbin and he’ll take it out on him in the ring.

Owens complains about Angle’s office when McIntyre and Ziggler come in. Angle cuts them off and says if McIntyre loses tonight, he’s banned from ringside on Sunday.

Here’s Elias to say he hasn’t performed in two weeks but it’s been for a reason. He’s been in the studio recording his debut album, which is happening because WWE stands for WALK WITH ELIAS. As you might expect, the song mocks Boston and the Boston accent, with Elias saying Tom Brady told him to just pretend to like the Boston fans like he’s done for so many years. Cue Corbin, to say he’d like to sing a bit as well, which means we get a version of Itsy Bitsy Spider mocking Balor’s size. In other words, it’s the warmed over Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass feud all over again.

Finn Balor/Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin/Elias

Joined in progress with Roode taking Elias down into a headlock but making the mistake of going after Corbin on the apron. The distraction lets Elias knee Roode in the face and it’s Roode in early trouble. We hit the chinlock and this time it’s an ad for Reigns vs. Lashley. Back to full screen with Roode fighting up for the hot tag to Balor, who gets distracted by Corbin so Elias can send him into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Elias grabbing another chinlock because we haven’t seen one of those in five minutes. Balor fights up and Sling Blades Corbin, allowing the hot tag off to Roode. House is cleaned for a bit until Roode dives into a chokebreaker with Balor breaking up the count. The Blockbuster gives Roode two as Elias makes a save of his own but the Coup de Grace is broken up. Instead it’s the End of Days to put Roode away at 13:07.

Rating: C-. That’s a match that happened as Corbin continues to get a push while having one of the lamest feuds you can have in wrestling. Roode continues to be stuck in the same role he’s been in for months now and while a heel turn would help, it depends on what he goes after that. Not a terrible match, but it could be more about the match getting some time.

Owens is having a sandwich when Strowman comes in. Angle is tired of Owens running so on Sunday, it’s a cage match. Strowman sprays Owens with air freshener.

Sasha and Bayley are still in counseling and they’ll have to report to Angle next week. Dang it this could have been good.

Reigns says Lashley’s physical gifts don’t matter in a fight. When your gifts are in wrestling and fighting, yeah they kind of do. After Sunday, Lashley can be the guy somewhere else.

Extreme rules rundown. Still needs a lot more gimmicky stuff to live up to the name.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

If Rollins wins, Drew is banned from ringside on Sunday. McIntyre powers him into the corner with ease to start, allowing McIntyre to do his kneeling pose. A dropkick has almost no effect and McIntyre runs him over with a shoulder. It’s off to an armbar with McIntyre in full control so far. A chinlock keeps Rollins in trouble and McIntyre chops him back down to set up another armbar.

McIntyre drives him back first into the apron and we take a break. Back with Rollins flying off an overhead belly to belly and some stomps to the arm setting up yet another armbar. Rollins fights up and finally gets a breather by sending McIntyre face first into the middle buckle. McIntyre heads to the floor for back to back suicide dives, followed by the middle rope Blockbuster for a near fall of his own.

A charge in the corner goes badly for Rollins though as McIntyre grabs a reverse Alabama Slam, sending Rollins face first into the mat on a nasty looking landing. A sitout powerbomb gets two more but McIntyre gets caught up top, allowing Rollins to kick him into the Tree of Woe. That’s fine with Drew, who sits up and superplexes Rollins right back down.

The Claymore is blocked with a superkick into the Falcon Arrow to rock McIntyre. It doesn’t rock him enough though as McIntyre scores with a headbutt, which seems to fire McIntyre up all over again. Rollins is fine enough to hit a Buckle Bomb and low superkick, followed by a curb stomp to an invading Ziggler. The distraction is enough for McIntyre to hit the Claymore for the pin at 21:06.

Rating: B. Now that’s more like it as this show was needing a long, good match to really boost things up. Thankfully they seem to have started planting the seeds for McIntyre to split from Ziggler but that needs to happen around Summerslam or so because Ziggler is already getting way too much focus by comparison. At least McIntyre won here though, as a loss would have been a rather bad idea.

Overall Rating: C-. The Reigns vs. Lashley stuff was rather good though I’m not wild on the idea of having them close the show over another World Title match. Of course that’s the most likely scenario because you have to keep Reigns strong so he can continue doing nothing but that’s a different story for later. The rest of the show wasn’t exactly inspiring stuff, especially with the idea of Rollins vs. Ziggler in another thirty minute match. The cage match is a nice addition but I’m really not feeling anything extreme about Sunday. I’m sure that expecting a lot of extreme things on a show called EXTREME RULES is just a mistake though.

Results

Nia Jax/Natalya b. Alexa Bliss/Mickie James – Legdrop to James

Mojo Rawley b. No Way Jose – Alabama Slam

Bo Dallas b. Matt Hardy – Hanging swinging neckbreaker

Ember Moon b. Liv Morgan – Jackknife rollup

Baron Corbin/Elias b. Bobby Roode/Finn Balor – End of Days to Roode

Drew McIntyre b. Seth Rollins – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 5, 2018
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

Oh come on already. Do I really need to watch Monday Night Raw all over again? Anything related with that show is going to be a chore at this point but that’s what we have to work with here. Well that and the Smackdown stuff which was perfectly watchable, although not exactly great. In other words I’m not sure what to expect here but it might not be the best thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ascension vs. Heath Slater/Rhyno

The ECW chants start up but switch to HE’S GOT KIDS in a hurry. Viktor can’t do anything with Slater so it’s off to Rhyno vs. Konnor for a power battle. A flying shoulder puts Konnor down but Rhyno charges into the buckle to put him in trouble. The fans get behind Rhyno but Konnor’s running splash into Viktor’s jumping knee doesn’t make things much better. The belly to belly gives Rhyno a breather and it’s back to Slater off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Rhyno is sent to the floor, leaving Slater to take the Fall of Man for the pin at 5:07.

Rating: D. Just a Main Event match, but that’s the first time Ascension has won a match since February 7, 2017 in a twelve person tag. It’s their first two on two tag win since Superstars in February 2016. That’s getting up there in Curt Hawkins territory and I have no idea why they weren’t given at least a mini push at some point. Make them a one off challengers for the titles or something but don’t let them sit around doing nothing. What’s the point of calling them up in the first place?

From Raw.

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre

Ziggler and Rollins start with an early cradle getting two on Seth. Another rollup gets the same so Seth dropkicks him into the corner. Drew comes in to run Rollins over and a shove by the throat puts him down again. It’s off to Reigns who is powered into the corner so Drew can punch him in the head.

The Samoan drop is broken up and McIntyre runs Reigns over again. A superkick gives Ziggler two but one heck of a right hand knocks him out of the air. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Rollins as the pace picks up. A suicide dive hits McIntyre and an apron kick into the frog splash gets two with McIntyre diving in for the save. Rollins and Ziggler exchange rollups until Dolph is sent to the floor.

That means a dive off the post to both villains and we take a break because the match needs to keep going instead of going home after a hot ten minutes. Back with Rollins fighting out of Ziggler’s sleeper and sending him into the corner. McIntyre is right around the other side to pull Reigns off and break up the hot tag, so Rollins kicks him in the face. Now it’s time for the hot tag but the Revival pulls Reigns off the apron for the DQ at 15:49.

Rating: C+. Good match here and they got the ending right. You don’t want the champ, McIntyre or Rollins taking a fall here and Reigns isn’t going to lose so the DQ is as good of an idea as you can get. This was starting to rock before the break and would have been great if they just wrapped it up there but I’ll take what I can get.

Post match the Revival beats Reigns down as Rollins takes the Claymore/Zig Zag combo. Reigns takes a Shatter Machine for a bonus.

From Raw again.

Revival vs. Bobby Lashley/Roman Reigns

Reigns and Dawson start things off with Roman powering him into the corner. Dawson takes a breather on the floor and Reigns refuses to tag Lashley in. Back in and Dawson punches away at Reigns’ ribs, which were banged up earlier tonight. Some stomps set up a bodyscissors to keep Reigns in trouble as he can’t get anything going.

A gutbuster gives Wilder two and another shot to the ribs cuts off Reigns’ comeback. There’s a hard whip into the corner to cut Dawson off but Reigns still won’t tag. Instead it’s Lashley coming in without a tag for a pair of spinebusters but Reigns shakes off the offer of a tag. Revival unloads on him in the corner and that’s a DQ at 7:11.

Rating: C. It was much more about the angle than the match but I’ll take the Revival not looking like a pair of losers for a change. I could go for a lot more of the Revival, but that just doesn’t seem to be in the cards around here. Reigns vs. Lashley should be fine and if they make Revival look a little more valuable in the process, so be it.

Post match Lashley walks away while Reigns takes another Shatter Machine and a top rope splash. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!”

From Smackdown.

Usos vs. HELL NO

If the Usos win, they’re added to the Tag Team Title match at Extreme Rules. Bryan drop toeholds Jimmy down to start and puts on the surfboard. A corner dropkick seems to wake Jimmy up for some reason so it’s off to Jey, who gets dropkicked as well. Kane comes in and misses an elbow but shoves both twins over the top at once. They pull Kane out with them though and it’s back to back dives to drop Bryan and Kane as we take a break.

Back with Bryan speeding up things up and hitting another running dropkick on Jey in the corner. There’s a super hurricanrana and the YES Kicks have Jey in even more trouble. The Usos finally get their stuff together and take Bryan down with Jimmy stomping away in the corner. A backbreaker/middle rope chop combination gets two and the Usos make a wish on Bryan’s legs.

Back up and a double clothesline allows the hot tag to Kane but he’s kicked to the floor without much effort. Jey charges into an uppercut but it’s time for the superkicks. Back to back double superkicks put Bryan down and get two on Kane and it’s time to go up. The Double Us is caught by the throat, allowing Bryan to knee Jey down and Kane to chokeslam Jimmy for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C. Kane looked REALLY bad here, barely able to move and not doing much of anything other than being knocked back a few steps and signature stuff. The guy is 50 years old and barely even wrestles part time anymore, but his talking and character stuff is still more than enough reason to have him around. Bryan worked most of the match and was his usual self, but the important thing was they got the finish right.

Bryan and Kane do the YES pose and hug, only to be cut off by the Bludgeon Brothers. A big staredown ends the show.

Quick look at Rusev attacking AJ Styles on Smackdown.

Jinder Mahal vs. Zack Ryder

Mahal works the arm to start but walks into a dropkick to put him on the floor. Back in and Ryder’s backslide gets two but Mahal kicks him in the face. A faceplant and corner forearm look to set up the Broski Boot, the threat of which sends Mahal bailing to the floor as we take a break. Back with Mahal choking in the corner and grabbing a chinlock. Mahal’s suplex gets two and it’s right back to the chinlock. Ryder fights up with the usual, including the middle rope dropkick. A Sunil Singh distraction breaks up the Broski Boot and the Khallas gives Mahal the pin at 10:13.

Rating: D. I’m not sure why it took over a year for WWE to figure out but this is pretty much Mahal’s comfort zone: boring matches against lower level competition with no chance of elevation. He’s just not that good and having him in a prominent position on television doesn’t work for anyone but him. I’m hoping the experiment is over, just for the sake of my sanity.

We look at Braun Strowman wrecking Kevin Owens’ car.

From Raw.

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Owens gets shoved down, rolls outside and runs away for the countout at 51 seconds.

Strowman gives chase so Owens runs into his car, only to not have his keys. Instead, he hides in a well placed portable toilet as Strowman arrives. The fans try to tell Strowman where Owens is as Strowman looks into the car window. He teases going back inside but puts the pieces together. Using a falsetto voice, Strowman asks if anyone is in there and Owens gives himself away.

Strowman wraps duct tape around the thing to seal Owens inside before dragging the toilet and Owens back into the building. We watch as Strowman drags him all the way back into the arena (which takes a good few minutes) and up onto the stage. Of course it’s knocked off the stage and Owens emerges covered in blue liquid. If you listen carefully, you can hear Vince dying with laughter about Owens being “COVERED IN BLUE STUFF” for the next five hours to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh now you knew they were showing the whole ending to Raw here. For them that’s comedy gold and while I have no idea how that can be seen as the best idea, there’s a good chance that we’re going to be hearing about it more over the next few weeks. This was a dreadful show after a dreadful Raw with even the clipped version not being worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 2, 2018
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole

We’re getting closer to Extreme Rules but we’re missing a lot of the extreme. At the moment we have one match with any kind of a gimmick announced with Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler in an Iron Man match. Other than that we might get to find out what Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley are fighting for since Brock Lesnar might not be working Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Lashley and Reigns’ issues, including losing a match to the Revival to even their series. The third match is tonight. We also look at the Intercontinental Title match with Drew McIntyre costing Seth Rollins his rematch.

Here’s Reigns for a chat. He knows Lashley is a tough guy and that means he wants a fight right here right now. Lashley is an egomaniac so let’s do this. Instead here are Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, to say Reigns couldn’t mind his own business last week. The fight is on in a hurry with the numbers taking Reigns down until Rollins runs in for the save.

Back from a break with Rollins and Reigns running into Kurt Angle in the back. The tag match is made for next week. Reigns wants it tonight but Reigns and Lashley are teaming up against the Revival. AGAIN. Actually hang on though as Angle makes Rollins/Reigns vs. McIntyre/Ziggler tonight. No word on if the Revival match is still on or not.

Matt Hardy vs. Curtis Axel

Bray Wyatt isn’t here tonight because of a car wreck on Friday, but of course WWE can’t possibly blame his absence on the B Team. That might make too much sense and they might have to write something original so it’s not in the cards. Nah instead here’s the B Team parodying Wyatt and Hardy again because it’s funny (pal). Matt shoves him down and Bo Dallas offers Curtis some advice.

A neckbreaker gives Matt two but it’s too early for the Twist of Fate. Back from a break with Axel hitting a bad looking dropkick and a backbreaker gets two. Hardy sends him into the buckle and grabs the Side Effect for two. The Twist of Fate is loaded up but Dallas offers a distraction, allowing Axel to post Hardy. The Axhole ends Hardy at 9:30.

Rating: D. This feud started off with some potential and has gotten old very fast because it’s a two note story: the B Team are a couple of schmucks and they parody Hardy and Wyatt. That’s the entirety of the story and there’s no hint that they’re going anywhere else. It comes off as more lazy writing and another case of coming up with the lone idea then putting up your feet and saying “back in a month”. This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem on Raw and this feud does it almost as badly as anything else.

Reigns and Rollins are talking about Seth’s Iron Man match when Lashley comes in. He wants to fight Reigns too but they’ll get it together tonight. Reigns says all Lashley has to do is stand on the apron and smile while collecting the win. Lashley is ready to fight now but they’ll work together tonight.

We recap Sasha Banks and Bayley exploding (again) last week.

Earlier today, Bayley went to counseling and Sasha was there too. Dr. Shelby (of Team HELL NO anger management fame) is their therapist and is ready to take them into the friend zone. Inside his office, Shelby goes over the seven tenants of friendship. More on this later because we have a running joke.

Titus Worldwide vs. Authors of Pain

Titus actually powers Rezar into the corner to start and brings Apollo in with Akum following him. A Dominator plants Crews as Cole spits out adjectives to describe the Authors. You know, because a team of powerful monsters need descriptions. There’s a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Crews and Titus is sent shoulder first into the post. The Last Chapter ends Crews at 2:56.

Kevin Owens is just arriving and looks very nervous about leaving his car. A valet comes up and asks for his keys but Owens says no chance.

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre

Ziggler and Rollins start with an early cradle getting two on Seth. Another rollup gets the same so Seth dropkicks him into the corner. Drew comes in to run Rollins over and a shove by the throat puts him down again. It’s off to Reigns who is powered into the corner so Drew can punch him in the head.

The Samoan drop is broken up and McIntyre runs Reigns over again. A superkick gives Ziggler two but one heck of a right hand knocks him out of the air. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Rollins as the pace picks up. A suicide dive hits McIntyre and an apron kick into the frog splash gets two with McIntyre diving in for the save. Rollins and Ziggler exchange rollups until Dolph is sent to the floor.

That means a dive off the post to both villains and we take a break because the match needs to keep going instead of going home after a hot ten minutes. Back with Rollins fighting out of Ziggler’s sleeper and sending him into the corner. McIntyre is right around the other side to pull Reigns off and break up the hot tag, so Rollins kicks him in the face. Now it’s time for the hot tag but the Revival pulls Reigns off the apron for the DQ at 15:49.

Rating: C+. Good match here and they got the ending right. You don’t want the champ, McIntyre or Rollins taking a fall here and Reigns isn’t going to lose so the DQ is as good of an idea as you can get. This was starting to rock before the break and would have been great if they just wrapped it up there but I’ll take what I can get.

Post match the Revival beats Reigns down as Rollins takes the Claymore/Zig Zag combo. Reigns takes a Shatter Machine for a bonus.

We look back at Strowman flipping Owens’ car last week.

Owens complains to Angle about Strowman so Angle makes a match between them for tonight.

Bayley and Sasha are still at therapy with Bayley ranting about something we can’t hear.

Here’s Constable Baron Corbin to talk about how his job is to make everyone better. Last week he pulled Finn Balor from the ring because Balor was clearly tired. When he tried to talk strategy with Balor, he was attacked so the fight was on. Corbin wants Balor to come out here and apologize so here’s Balor, who doesn’t seem interested in apologizing.

Instead Corbin goes first and gives him some backhanded compliments, with Balor insulting Corbin’s clothes and haircut. That sends Corbin over the edge so Balor accuses him of being Stephanie’s stooge. Corbin punches him in the face but gets knocked to the floor, only to leave before Balor can dive. This is all fine as long as it doesn’t lead to Stephanie showing up to collect Finn’s balls.

Elias is playing in the background when the Riott Squad comes up. He plays a bit more as they wreck stuff.

Ember Moon vs. Liv Morgan

Liv slaps her hard to start so Ember tosses her to the floor for a very early break. Back with Ember going for an ankle lock but getting enziguried for her efforts. Liv actually wins a slugout and shouts that Moon is nothing, earning her a toss into the corner. A double stomp brings her out of said corner and the Eclipse gives Moon the pin at 7:26.

Rating: D+. Morgan got in a lot of offense here and that’s a positive sign for her going forward. She wasn’t a great worker when she started and while she’s still a work in progress, it seems that they have some confidence in her. Moon is still fine with the Eclipse, but that’s only going to carry her for so long.

Back in the office, Dr. Shelby is at his breaking point but he has the two of them talk as each other. This of course required them to imitate each other because that’s funny see. They argue again and Shelby screams a lot.

Revival vs. Bobby Lashley/Roman Reigns

Reigns and Dawson start things off with Roman powering him into the corner. Dawson takes a breather on the floor and Reigns refuses to tag Lashley in. Back in and Dawson punches away at Reigns’ ribs, which were banged up earlier tonight. Some stomps set up a bodyscissors to keep Reigns in trouble as he can’t get anything going.

A gutbuster gives Wilder two and another shot to the ribs cuts off Reigns’ comeback. There’s a hard whip into the corner to cut Dawson off but Reigns still won’t tag. Instead it’s Lashley coming in without a tag for a pair of spinebusters but Reigns shakes off the offer of a tag. Revival unloads on him in the corner and that’s a DQ at 7:11.

Rating: C. It was much more about the angle than the match but I’ll take the Revival not looking like a pair of losers for a change. I could go for a lot more of the Revival, but that just doesn’t seem to be in the cards around here. Reigns vs. Lashley should be fine and if they make Revival look a little more valuable in the process, so be it.

Post match Lashley walks away while Reigns takes another Shatter Machine and a top rope splash. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!”

Owens begs Angle to cancel the match tonight, offering to organize his office or give him some Shania Twain tickets while Owens babysits his kids. Angle says no, so Owens says Angle doesn’t deserve Shania Twain tickets.

Back from a break and we look at Reigns getting beaten down again.

Reigns comes in to see Lashley and the match is on for Extreme Rules.

No Way Jose is in the ring for a match with Mojo Rawley but Rawley says he’s paid too many dues to let something like this happen. He’s sacrificed everything for this opportunity and all Jose can do is dance. Mojo decks him from behind and beats up a member of Jose’s conga line. They brawl some more and Mojo gets the better of it. I find myself more and more interested in this story every week.

We recap Ronda Rousey snapping into a suspension.

Earlier today, Rousey said she’ll be in the front row at Extreme Rules.

Mickie James vs. Nia Jax

Alexa Bliss is with Mickie. Before the match, Nia talks about thinking she was done with Bliss for ever but we’re right back where we started. This needs to end so let’s make it an Extreme Rules match. Reality seems to set in for Bliss but it gets worse as Nia brings out Natalya to be in her corner. Mickie can’t do anything with Nia to start and gets thrown down in a heap. A trip tot he floor doesn’t go well for Mickie either and it’s a big staredown as we take a break.

Back with Mickie baseball sliding her off the apron and kicking away at the leg. A kick to the head keeps Nia in trouble and a running dropkick takes the knee out again. With Nia down, Mickie goes with just punching the knee but Nia grabs a bodyscissors for an escape. Mickie’s kick to the head is blocked so she slaps Nia in the face. A sitout powerbomb crushes Mickie and Natalya intercepts Bliss. The Samoan drop is good for the pin on James at 9:51.

Rating: C. The knee work was better than usual as Mickie mixed things up a bit but Nia winning was the right call. You have buddies like Mickie for reasons just like this and it’s a good enough way to advance the feud. Since we can’t use jobbers for the most part, this is about as good as it’s going to get.

Owens is trying to learn breathing techniques from Jinder Mahal but gets interrupted by an interviewer. Tonight, Owens is going to show the world how to destroy a monster.

We take another look at Reigns getting beaten down.

Lashley says Reigns got what he asked for. Reigns never would have been the guy if Lashley had been here.

Pay per view rundown.

Remember earlier tonight when we looked back at Owens’ car being destroyed? Well here it is again.

Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman

Owens gets shoved down, rolls outside and runs away for the countout at 51 seconds.

Strowman gives chase so Owens runs into his car, only to not have his keys. Instead, he hides in a well placed portable toilet as Strowman arrives. The fans try to tell Strowman where Owens is as Strowman looks into the car window. He teases going back inside but puts the pieces together. Using a falsetto voice, Strowman asks if anyone is in there and Owens gives himself away.

Strowman wraps duct tape around the thing to seal Owens inside before dragging the toilet and Owens back into the building. We watch as Strowman drags him all the way back into the arena (which takes a good few minutes) and up onto the stage. Of course it’s knocked off the stage and Owens emerges covered in blue liquid. If you listen carefully, you can hear Vince dying with laughter about Owens being “COVERED IN BLUE STUFF” for the next five hours to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh dear this was a rough one and a lot of that comes back to the lack of Brock Lesnar. Right now you have Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley fighting to be the top star on the roster but with no title to go after, which for some reason requires two Reigns matches. Finn Balor couldn’t have teamed with Rollins instead? Oh no because we need Corbin to have witty exchanges with Balor instead, making them both look and sound like idiots.

Then there’s Strowman, who is picking on Owens because there’s nothing better for him to do and no World Champion to stalk with the briefcase. At the moment this is at least going to be the case until after Extreme Rules and hopefully the rumors about Lesnar not working Summerslam are untrue. Other than that we had Nia being a jerk to Alexa because Bliss used the briefcase as it was intended to be used, the B Team parodying Hardy and Wyatt again, and Ziggler being pushed as the bigger deal over McIntyre.

It feels like some combination of bad writing and just not caring and that makes for a long sit. Smackdown is better, mainly because they don’t seem to put in as much effort into making us sit through this horrible writing. The show felt like they were just throwing stuff out there that made them laugh and put in as little effort as possible, which continues the trend of this being a very rocky few months. It wasn’t so much bad as much as it was lazy and uninspired, which is often a lot worse.

Results

Curtis Axel b. Matt Hardy – Axhole

Authors of Pain b. Titus Worldwide – Last Chapter to Crews

Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler via DQ when the Revival interfered

Ember Moon b. Liv Morgan – Eclipse

Roman Reigns/Bobby Lashley b. Revival via DQ when Revival double teamed Reigns

Nia Jax b. Mickie James – Samoan drop

Braun Strowman b. Kevin Owens via countout

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 3, 2018
Hosts: Kayla Braxton, Mike Rome

It’s the first show of the year but as a special, we’re looking at the Best Of 2017 in a double length episode. These are always fun to look at as there’s nearly a guarantee that you’ve forgotten at least something that you’ll see tonight. There’s been a lot of good throughout the year for NXT so let’s get to it.

As usual, even if the versions presented on the broadcast are clipped, I’ll be posting the full review of each match.

Opening sequence.

We look at Bobby Roode defeating Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Title in January.

We look at the rematch from Takeover: Orlando with the full entrances, albeit with some different camera angles during the entrances. Roode retained and Nakamura got the big sendoff.

Video on Shinsuke Nakamura’s NXT career from William Regal announcing his debut all the way to his farewell in April.

Video on Drew McIntyre coming to NXT.

From Takeover: San Antonio.

Tag Team Titles: DIY vs. Authors of Pain

We look at Drew McIntyre winning the NXT Title at Takeover: Brooklyn. Again it’s just a few minutes of highlights from a long match. Post match, the yet to be named Undisputed Era ran in and attacked McIntyre.

Video on the Undisputed Era, focusing on Adam Cole.

We look at the Undisputed Era stealing the Tag Team Titles two weeks ago.

Here are some of the tag teams to watch in 2018: the Undisputed Era, the Street Profits, Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss, Heavy Machinery and TM61 (returning from injury in two weeks).

Video on Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream. I underrated the heck out of that match.

From Takeover: WarGames.

Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream

Black does his still awesome rising up entrance. Dream debuts some custom made tights with himself on one leg and Black on the other ala Rick Rude back in the day. The fans are rather pleased with Dream, even as he slaps Black in the face. They hit the mat to start with Black working on an armbar before grabbing something like an Octopus hold. Dream slips out and actually tries to turn it into a striking match, earning himself a trip to the floor.

That allows Black to backflip into his sitting pose, right in front of Dream. A hip swivel doesn’t seem to get on Black’s nerves, but he does look away a bit. Dream sits down as well as the fans chant SAY HIS NAME. Black crawls forward like Dream did a few weeks back, freaking Dream out for a change. Dream actually snaps his throat across the ropes to send Black outside, meaning it’s time for more posing.

Back in and Dream gets two off a good looking superkick before we hit a reverse chinlock (Dream: “SAY IT! SAY IT!”). Black gets tied up in the ropes as the fans really want him to say it. Dream slaps him though and that’s just not a good idea. Black speeds things up with some strikes and a springboard moonsault press for two (SWEET, according to the annoying fans).

A quick Death Valley Driver gives Dream two so he tries a super version, only to get kicked down. Black knees him in the face for a close two, only to get caught in a Sister Abigail into a DDT for a delayed two. The Purple Rainmaker lands on a raised boot though, sending Dream into the ropes. Black kicks him in the face but walks into a superkick. That’s enough for Black though and it’s Black Mass for the pin at 14:41.

Rating: B+. Who knew Dream had that in him? This was all about the mind games at first but at the end of the day, you (mostly) knew it was going to be Black Mass wrapping this up. Black seems ready to become a huge deal around here and Dream….I’m not sure where he goes from here actually. Really good match though.

Post match Black takes the mic and says “enjoy infamy….Velveteen Dream.” I’m not sure what to make of that. Sign of respect maybe?

Video on the build to Andrade Cien Almas vs. Drew McIntyre.

From November 17, the night before Takeover: WarGames.

NXT Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Adam Cole

Date: November 17, 2017

Location: Aztec Theater, San Antonio, Texas

Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

Drew is defending, Cole has Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly with him and Shawn Michaels is guest referee. McIntyre takes him down with almost no effort and Cole seems to need a fresh plan. Cole gets tossed off a headlock and bails to the floor as the stalling begins. Back in and a jawbreaker staggers Drew, allowing Fish to grab his foot. Fish and O’Reilly get on the apron so Shawn ejects them both.

That earns a SWEET CHIN MUSIC chant as reality sets in for Cole. One heck of a backdrop puts Cole down (well up and then down) and a poke to the eye has no effect on Drew. Shawn calls Drew off of Cole in the corner and McIntyre isn’t exactly happy. Cole takes the knee out though and it’s time for a break. Back with Cole getting powerbombed down and a super Celtic Cross getting two.

Cole is right back by kicking the knee out and hitting a Shining Wizard for two of his own. Sweet Chin Music (well you knew that was coming) is loaded up but Drew drops Cole with the Futureshock. Back up and Cole superkicks Shawn by mistake, meaning the Claymore gets a very delayed two. Cue Fish and O’Reilly to stomp Drew down for a bit but the comeback bumps Shawn again. Shawn is up fast enough to superkick O’Reilly and it’s a swinging Futureshock (cool) into the Claymore to retain the title at 15:12.

Rating: B. This was almost more about Shawn than anything else and that’s just fine. Shawn was a special attraction in this one and really, he’s more interesting than a house show title match. I’m sure Cole is going to be back in the title hunt eventually (around Brooklyn against Gargano would be a nice choice) and Drew should be on the main roster once he gets back from injury. There’s nothing left for him to do in NXT and his size is way too much for the rest of the roster.

Quick look at Almas winning the title the next night, during which Drew suffered a bad arm injury.

Almas is ready to face Johnny Gargano, who he insulted after Gargano won the title shot last week.

We look back at Asuka’s NXT career from her debut to vacating the title.

Package on the women’s division, including looks at the Iconic Duo, Lacey Evans, Kairi Sane, Bianca Belair, Vanessa Bourne, Shayna Baszler and Nikki Cross.

Last week, Sane made it clear that she wants the title but got choked out by Baszler.

Baszler debuts next week.

Video on WarGames, which really was the carnage that it should have been. I know it wasn’t quite the match that a lot of people were expecting but it was still a heck of a performance with some rather memorable spots. Let the WWE have its own version rather than a watered down version of the WCW style, which wouldn’t work today anyway.

We look back at the injured Tommaso Ciampa explaining why he turned on Gargano at Takeover: Chicago. DIY was supposed to have a moment but Ciampa hurt his knee during a match. Fans started talking about Johnny wrestling on his own and that’s not what Ciampa wanted, hence the betrayal. However, during the ladder match, Ciampa tore his ACL in the match and would be out for the rest of the year.

Video on last week’s fatal four way with Gargano becoming #1 contender, earning a shot at Takeover: Philadelphia.

Also set for Philadelphia: Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black. I’m not sure Black wins that one and that makes things more interesting.

Gargano talks about his rough 2017, which started at such a high but then came crashing down around him, including the DIY split and all the losses that followed. He always knew he could do it though and 2018 is going to be the best year of his life. It makes sense to give Gargano this kind of focus as there’s no doubt that he’s going to be one of the top stars in NXT in 2018, likely holding the title at some point. He had a rocky 2017 but the performances were always there.

Here are the categories for NXT’s End of the Year Awards

Takeover of the Year

Match of the Year

Tag Team of the Year

Breakout Star of the Year

Male Competitor of the Year

Female Competitor of the Year

Future Star of NXT

Rivalry of the Year

Overall Competitor of the Year

We get a long profile on Ember Moon, which started with her growing up in Texas watching wrestling with her grandfather. She went to train with Booker T. but got shot down in her first WWE tryout. WWE told her she didn’t have the Diva look (read as: she’s not a blonde model more than likely) but Norman Smiley say something in her. She stuck with Booker’s Reality of Wrestling promotion and developed a following, eventually earning herself a job after a second tryout.

Moon debuted with her crazy entrance and the Eclipse and was off to the races. Eventually she lost to Asuka though and it crippled some of her confidence, only to win the vacant title a few months later. Moon talks about knowing she can do it and being ready for anything to end the show. I remember watching an episode of the Reality of Wrestling show and thinking she was the standout star of the show. It turned out that she had already been signed by the time I saw it so maybe I have an eye for talent.

Overall Rating: B-. Normally I never know what to do for a Best Of show but this actually had some effort put in, which is a nice touch. They covered a lot here and I can appreciate the extra time being spent on something like this instead of just throwing a bunch of matches out there to fill in time. They even managed to add in extra stuff for next week and hype the Takeover because that’s what NXT knows how to do.

The exclusive match was fun and made the show feel special, but I really liked the profile on Moon. We really don’t know much about her and if there’s one thing WWE knows how to nail, it’s introducing you to a character and making them feel important. That’s what I got out of Moon and that’s what WWE needed to do more than anything else with her. Good show here, and the new year should be off to a hot start.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Takeover: WarGames
Date: November 19, 2017
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s time! After nearly twenty years of waiting, we’re FINALLY back to the biggest gimmick of them all. Well at least to the WWE version of the thing. Tonight there will be three trios involved in the match, which could make for a rather interesting edition of WarGames. At least it’s here though. Let’s get to it.

The opening video of course has a war theme, with clips of President Roosevelt declaring a state of war, peppered with clips from the build to tonight’s show. The rest of the card is thrown in at the end, which is how it should go.

Kassius Ohno vs. Lars Sullivan

Sullivan is an unstoppable monster who needs better competition. Ohno gets driven into the corner without much effort to start and a forearm to the jaw has no effect on Lars. They head outside with Ohno being dropped face first onto the apron, only to have Sullivan charge into a boot in the corner. An enziguri staggers the monster but a clothesline turns Ohno inside out. A pop up powerslam plants Ohno and Mauro is freaking out at the power display (fair enough).

Back up and Ohno slugs away with some solid success, including a flying forearm to the back of the head. The cyclone kick actually drops Sullivan for two (which was necessary to make the fans believe this could happen). Ohno STOMPS HIM IN THE HEAD over and over and drops a backsplash for one. Some discus elbows don’t have much effort though and it’s the Freak Accident for the pin on Ohno at 5:35.

Rating: C. Not a great match but EXACTLY how it should have been booked. Sullivan looked like he was in some trouble but then barreled his way through Ohno for the win. That’s all this should have been as Ohno is basically just a fresh meal for Sullivan, who has some serious potential. Well booked match here.

Some of the UK wrestlers are here.

We recap Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream. Black was ready to make an announcement but Dream interrupted him, saying that everything that fades to black will one day come to light, like the light of the Velveteen Dream. Black wouldn’t acknowledge Dream, which has Dream obsessed with getting Black to say his name.

Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream

Black does his still awesome rising up entrance. Dream debuts some custom made tights with himself on one leg and Black on the other ala Rick Rude back in the day. The fans are rather pleased with Dream, even as he slaps Black in the face. They hit the mat to start with Black working on an armbar before grabbing something like an Octopus hold. Dream slips out and actually tries to turn it into a striking match, earning himself a trip to the floor.

That allows Black to backflip into his sitting pose, right in front of Dream. A hip swivel doesn’t seem to get on Black’s nerves, but he does look away a bit. Dream sits down as well as the fans chant SAY HIS NAME. Black crawls forward like Dream did a few weeks back, freaking Dream out for a change. Dream actually snaps his throat across the ropes to send Black outside, meaning it’s time for more posing.

Back in and Dream gets two off a good looking superkick before we hit a reverse chinlock (Dream: “SAY IT! SAY IT!”). Black gets tied up in the ropes as the fans really want him to say it. Dream slaps him though and that’s just not a good idea. Black speeds things up with some strikes and a springboard moonsault press for two (SWEET, according to the annoying fans).

A quick Death Valley Driver gives Dream two so he tries a super version, only to get kicked down. Black knees him in the face for a close two, only to get caught in a Sister Abigail into a DDT for a delayed two. The Purple Rainmaker lands on a raised boot though, sending Dream into the ropes. Black kicks him in the face but walks into a superkick. That’s enough for Black though and it’s Black Mass for the pin at 14:41.

Rating: B+. Who knew Dream had that in him? This was all about the mind games at first but at the end of the day, you (mostly) knew it was going to be Black Mass wrapping this up. Black seems ready to become a huge deal around here and Dream….I’m not sure where he goes from here actually. Really good match though.

Post match Black takes the mic and says “enjoy infamy….Velveteen Dream.” I’m not sure what to make of that. Sign of respect maybe?

Asuka, Funaki and Finn Balor are here. What a random trio.

We recap the Women’s Title match. Asuka had to vacate the Women’s Title upon moving up to the main roster so it’s time for a four way to crown a new champion. Kairi Sane won the Mae Young Classic and the other three won qualifying matches.

Women’s Title: Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ember Moon

The title is vacant coming in and it’s one fall to a finish. It’s a brawl to start with everyone fighting everyone at once. They head outside with Sane diving onto Royce, only to have Moon dive onto both of them. Naturally Cross is right there but Moon powerbombs her on the floor (THUD).

Back in and Kairi hits a running spear in the corner on Moon but Royce is back in with a half nelson over the ropes, using her leg instead of the arm. Back up and another spear cuts Royce down, sending Sane up top rather early. Moon is right up there but Royce makes the save with a Tower of Doom for a huge crash. Cross is back in though and dives onto all three at once. Sane gets caught in the Tree of Woe for some stomping but Royce makes the save for some reason.

Cross’ fisherman’s neckbreaker gets two on Sane with Moon making a diving save. Royce is back up with a fisherman’s suplex for the same on Cross as Sane makes the save. Sane piles up Royce and Cross for a double Insane Elbow. This time it’s Sane making the save but Moon sends her outside. That sends Moon up top for the Eclipse to Royce and Cross at the same time for the pin and the title at 10:09.

Rating: B-. Good match but rather shorter than I was expecting. Moon was my pick to win and she makes sense after getting so close, though having her lose over and over to Asuka and then win the title without Asuka around doesn’t look great. At least there are some solid challengers to come after her in the near future though, which is a great sign.

Asuka presents Moon with the title.

Takeover: Philadelphia is on January 27.

Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe are here.

We recap the NXT Title match. Drew McIntyre won the title back in August and didn’t really have a major feud. Enter Andrade Cien Almas, who has recently been recharged by new manager Zelina Vega. Drew said come get a shot so here we are.

NXT Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Drew is defending and again towers over Almas. Andrade wastes no time in sending him outside for a hurricanrana attempt from Vega….who is calmly planted back on the apron. Drew knocks a dive out of the air but gets his throat snapped back across the top rope. We hit a triangle choke over the ropes into a Fujiwara armbar as Almas has an early target. A snap belly to belly gives Drew a breather though and a top rope clothesline sends the champ into a nipup.

Drew misses a charge in the corner though and gets caught in a reverse tornado DDT for two. A reverse hurricanrana is countered into a reverse Alabama Slam but Almas avoids another charge to send him outside. With Vega screeching, Almas scores with a moonsault press to the floor for a very close two back inside. Almas catches him in the Tree of Woe for the top rope double stomp, followed by the running knees in the corner for two.

Drew has had enough of this getting beaten up thing and comes back with a hard Batista Bomb for a near fall of his own as they’re both a bit spent. Future Shock out of nowhere gets two more but Almas sends him hard into the corner for another double knees to the back. Almas heads outside and grabs the title, allowing Vega to score with a hurricanrana driver.

The hammerlock DDT gives Almas a crazy close two and the crowd is losing it. Back up and a Claymore out of nowhere gets two with Vega putting the boot on the ropes. Another Claymore hits ropes though and Drew is in trouble. He heads up top for some reason but gets caught in an inverted draping DDT to give Almas the title in a big upset at 14:43.

Rating: B+. Well I’m surprised. This felt like a pit stop on the way to McIntyre vs. Adam Cole in Philadelphia but sweet goodness that was a shock. There’s a good chance that this is pretty much it for Drew in NXT as there’s just no reason to keep him toiling down there when he was ready for the main roster the day he debuted. Really good match here too with an even better ending.

Drew is dejected and Almas holds up the title on the announcers’ table.

Long recap of the main event. Undisputed Era showed up a few months ago and started attacking everyone on the roster, including Sanity. They tried to get Roderick Strong to join them but Strong wasn’t interested. The Authors of Pain had a rematch for the NXT Tag Team Titles but the Undisputed Era interfered. Therefore, Strong joined forces with the Authors to make it a three way feud.

There are some different rules than in regular WarGames matches. Three men will start with their partners in individual shark cages. After five minutes, one team will be allowed to send in its remaining two members. Then, after three minutes each, the other two teams will be added in as well. It will be the first pinfall or submission to win and if you leave the cage, you forfeit the match.

Dustin Rhodes and Arn Anderson are here.

Sanity vs. Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain/Roderick Strong

There’s no roof on the cage. Strong has an Authors of Pain outfit this time, which doesn’t quite suit him. Eric Young, Adam Cole and Strong start things off and this is SO strange to see in WWE. Cole tries to bail to start but they all wind up in the same cage. Young sends Cole into the cage and it’s a double team to keep Cole in early trouble. He’s able to crotch both of them on top though and everyone is down.

Back up and Strong starts slugging away, sending everyone into a cage until Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are the first team in. Strong and Young are in very sudden trouble thanks to a series of strikes from the fresh team. Fish and O’Reilly send both of them against the cage and crash into them over and over as this is one sided at the moment. That sounds like time for a fresh team, which in this case is the Authors of Pain. Undisputed Era can’t hold the door closed and the destruction is on in a hurry.

Everyone is sent into another ring with the Authors LAUNCHING Strong onto the pile for a big old crash. Young and O’Reilly are caught in the Tree of Woe, leaving the Authors to give Cole and Fish Death Valley Drivers to untie them. The clock counts down and it’s Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain completing the field. Wolfe is smart enough to bring in a nightstick to beat down the Authors while Dain throws in some weapons. As Sanity cleans house, the fans want tables so Dain, who hasn’t gotten in yet, pulls one out. Dain finally gets in and locks the cage….before eating the key.

Dain beats on the Authors in the corner, including a shotgun dropkick with a backslash. That’s not enough so Dain climbs the cage for a huge crossbody and a near fall on Strong. Cole swings a cane at Dain with Fish coming in for a failed save attempt. Dain picks up O’Reilly and Fish for a fall away slam/Samoan drop combination while Razar does the same thing in the other ring. The slugout it until Dain crossbodies him down. Akum comes back in with a powerslam to Dain but O’Reilly walks the cage for a tornado DDT.

Strong gets caught in Chasing the Dragon for no cover. Instead Fish and O’Reilly clean house with a bunch of kicks before Kyle ties Wolfe up with a chain. Using said chain, O’Reilly puts on a cross armbreaker with Young making a fast save via a top rope elbow. Fish is back up with a moonsault and everyone is down at once. The Authors are back up with a Super Collide as Dain is a little busted open.

Young is back up with a Death Valley Driver to send Akum into Razar for two more. Strong pops up with the backbreakers and an Olympic Slam on Dain for the same. Everyone heads into the corners of the different rings, meaning stereo Towers of Doom. Cole managed to stay on the ropes though, meaning he’s the only one not destroyed at the moment. Smart man Cole. The Authors crotch him on the top though….and grab the tables. Wolfe is up though and for some reason saves Cole, who climbs up to the top of the cage.

Akum gets German superplex through the tables and Young neckbreakers Razar off the top. With Cole still on top, Dain cleans house and grabs a trashcan….FOR A COAST TO COAST ON O’REILLY!!! Ok so it was more like Coast to the Ohio Valley but not bad! Cole stands up on top of the cage but Strong is looking up at him. Strong climbs up as well (Fans: “PLEASE DON’T DIE!”)…..for a superplex onto the pile!

Strong covers Cole for two as we see Wolfe still down with a referee checking on him after the German superplex, which was nearly five minutes ago. Razar and Dain slug it out between the rings until Akum comes in for the Last Chapter out of nowhere. Something like Total Elimination drops Akum but Sanity takes out O’Reilly and Fish. Strong gets wheelbarrow suplexed into the cage but Cole knees a chair into Young’s face for the pin at 35:54.

Rating: A. Oh yeah it still works. This felt like the war it was supposed to be and that’s exactly what they were shooting for. Throw in Dain and Cole looking like killers and the Undisputed Era looking like stars, especially as we’re coming up on what will probably be their crowning night in Philadelphia. It says a lot when I’m actually tired after watching a match but that’s what happened here. Definitely check this one out as it more than lives up to the WarGames reputation.

Overall Rating: A. Well that was amazing. With the main event being outstanding and two other matches rocking as hard as they did, it’s about as good as you’re going to get. The worst match was a perfectly acceptable (and short) match with the perfect booking. Aside from that, this is good to excellent the rest of the way

Results

Lars Sullivan b. Kassius Ohno – Freak Accident

Aleister Black b. Velveteen Dream – Black Mass

Ember Moon b. Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce and Nikki Cross – Eclipse to Cross

Andrade Cien Almas b. Drew McIntyre – Hanging inverted DDT

Undisputed Era b. Sanity and Authors of Pain/Roderick Strong – Running knee into a chair to Young

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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We’re off to war! The latest NXT Takeover special is focused on one match, which is kind of a shame as the rest of the card looks great. If there’s one thing NXT can do better than anything else, it’s rise above the expectations coming in and knock the show out of the park. If they can come close to that, we’re in for a treat. Let’s get to it.

Lars Sullivan vs. Kassius Ohno

This is the a pretty logical step for the unstoppable monster known as Sullivan. He’s dominated jobbers for months now and it’s not like Ohno is there for anything other than to to people over. I don’t think anyone is expecting them to shatter through the glass ceiling here but that’s been said about many an NXT match and wound up being completely wrong before.

I’ll of course take Sullivan to win in the only thing we have on the show that could be considered a guarantee. There’s no reason for Ohno to win and Sullivan shrugging off his best shots would be a good way to keep getting him over as a monster. That’s the key to him at the moment as he could be quite the threat down the line. Once he loses for the first time a lot of that goes away, but at least we can get something like this out of him at the moment. Sullivan wins, as he certainly should.

Velveteen Dream vs. Aleister Black

Here’s where my love of NXT comes from. I was looking through the card and thought Black winning was an easy win. Like seriously, Black is going to beat Dream into the ground right? The more I got to thinking about it though, the less sure I was. Dream has been pushed very strong as well and the whole “say my name” stuff has me wondering how it’s going to go.

I’m going with Black, though this is where NXT shines: it really could go either way. Both guys are undefeated and a win would make one of them look like a much bigger deal. Black can take a loss more than the Dream with that awesome kick, but Dream losing makes the most sense. If nothing else I’m looking forward to how Black will say Dream’s name without giving Dream what he wants. I’d have Black kick his head off and then say Dream’s name so he can’t hear it live. If that doesn’t mess with Dream’s mind more than anything else, I don’t know what would.

Women’s Title: Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce vs. Ember Moon vs. Nikki Cross

The title is vacant coming in after Asuka moved up to the main roster. Remember how I said the previous match could go either way? That’s the case here but double the options. You really could go with any of the four and my goodness that’s a fun feeling to have. I’d assume that there’s a name you can write off but it might not be the one you’re thinking.

I’m going to go with Moon to win the title but I’m really not sure about it. I can’t imagine they want to go with Sane as she might come off like a simple replacement from Asuka. She’ll get there someday but it’s not quite yet. Royce seems to be the least likely but if there’s ever a match for her to steal the title (perhaps to be destroyed by Sane later), this is it. Cross could win also, partially due to just being crazy enough to pull it off. Therefore I’ll go with Moon, who seems to be the heir apparent to the division, likely with the Eclipse to Royce. This should be a blast though.

NXT Title: Drew McIntyre(c) vs. Andrade Cien Almas

This is another one where I’m a bit more sure, though still not entirely. The story here is rather simple as the big main event is spent on something else so let’s have the champ go through a simple title defense. Almas has gotten WAY better after acquiring Zelina Vega as his manager, mainly due to how great of a talker she’s become (and she can get physical when necessary).

I’ll take McIntyre to retain, mainly because it seems that we’re heading for McIntyre vs. Adam Cole for the title down the line. Almas is a better opponent than I was thinking, but at the end of the day it’s a Claymore to retain the title. On a side note, McIntyre still needs some physical opponents to defend against though as someone like Almas, who again isn’t very large, looks tiny compared to the huge champion.

Sanity vs. Undisputed Era vs. Roderick Strong/Authors of Pain

HERE WE GO! This is the match that old school fans have been waiting the better part of twenty years to see in WWE and….I guess they’re doing it right. This is WarGames, which was such a big deal that they’ve changed the name of the show upon announcement. It’s a three team feud with Strong and the Authors of Pain being added for the sake of giving us another trio. The other two are pretty firmly established though and that makes the match all the more interesting.

That being said, I’m going with Undisputed Era, as they make the most sense. If nothing else it sets up Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly getting the Tag Team Titles, likely in Philadelphia in January. Sanity has a chance as well, but they seem to be there for the sake of taking a fall to set up a future match. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here again: the fact that Strong and the Authors are easily the weakest of the three teams but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them win. That’s a great feeling to have and you rarely get it outside of NXT.

Overall Thoughts

Just in case you didn’t catch on to the idea yet, I love the fact that so many matches on this card are unpredictable. You really could go multiple ways with most of the matches and that’s why I’m so interested in this show. NXT has a great track record with this series and this one has the potential to do something special all over again.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

NXT
Date: November 15, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the last show before Takeover: WarGames and that means things could be getting very fun in a hurry. The big story tonight, aside from the build towards Saturday’s main event of course, it Andrade Cien Almas and NXT Champion Drew McIntyre coming face to face. That match hasn’t gotten a lot of attention so a good focus could serve it well. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Street Profits vs. Riddick Moss/Tino Sabbatelli

This has been built up in a culture clash feud over recent weeks. Sabbatelli drives Dawkins into the corner to start but a shoulder puts him down, allowing Ford to come in for a basement dropkick. That’s about it for Ford’s offense though as he gets double teamed in the corner, followed by Moss’ hard belly to back. Ford is able to get over for the hot tag though and house is cleaned in a hurry. Sabbatelli avoids a splash in the corner but gets punched in the jaw….for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: D+. Well that was sudden. Alexa Bliss did that to Mickie James a few weeks back but you kind of expect it to be a long time (like years) before you see it happen twice. Sabbatelli has an incredible look but you have to wonder just how bad he is to not get a chance after all this time.

Recap of Velveteen Dream vs. Aleister Black, which is all over Dream wanting Black to say his name and doing whatever he can to get such attention. The best ending: Black is about to say his name and then kicks Dream in the face so Dream can’t hear it.

Lars Sullivan vs. Raul Mendoza

Mendoza fires off some kicks to start before being run over in the corner. A powerslam and some crossface shots set up the Freak Accident (standing Boss Man Slam) for the pin at 1:50.

Post match Sullivan goes after Mendoza again but Kassius Ohno comes in for the save with no violence. Mauro makes a rare error by saying Takeover is one week from Saturday.

Johnny Gargano is in William Regal’s office to say he can turn it around. Regal knows he can and puts Gargano in a UK Title match against Pete Dunne next week.

Long recap of WarGames with a look back at how the Undisputed Era arrived and took out everyone in front of them. Sanity stood up to them and Roderick Strong/the Authors of Pain are out for revenge. It’s kind of a shame that British Strong Style can’t be the third trio but Strong and the Authors are a fine choice.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Ember Moon

Last week, Martinez said Moon can’t win the big one, which is pretty true so far. Martinez grabs a headlock to start and holds Moon down for a good while. Back up and a one footed dropkick has Martinez in trouble, followed by a double footed version to the side of the head for two. Martinez throws her outside though and we take a break. Back with Moon striking away but getting her skin chopped off for her efforts.

Three Amigos look to set up a fisherman’s buster but now the enziguri connects to get Moon out of trouble. That means a big suicide dive to the floor, only to have Martinez come back with a Tower of London, much to Nigel’s delight. Not that it matters as Ember kicks her down again and hits the Eclipse for the pin at 10:27.

Rating: C. This was a nice win for Moon as Martinez was turned into a big deal in the tournament but can put people over time and time again. The best thing about Saturday’s match is how any of the four could conceivably win, which is where NXT shines. It keeps you from being bored and waiting on the win as is so often the case on the main roster. Good tuneup for Ember here and I wouldn’t be surprised if she won the title.

Here’s McIntyre for the face to face meeting with Almas. Before Andrade comes out, Drew talks about how a plan came together. It was Zelina’s plan but it was still a plan indeed. When the pressure is on Andrade though, will be be able to rise to the occasion? Vega has been talking about mountains but for Almas, Drew is the mountain.

Drew wants Almas out here if Zelina will let him off the leash. Cue both Zelina and Almas and the brawl is on in a hurry. Zelina tries a crossbody but gets caught without much effort. A chop block takes out the champ’s knee though and Almas plants him with a hammerlock DDT. Zelina holds up the title to end the show. This was quick but it did its job.

Overall Rating: C+. Good episode that set up some stuff for Takeover, though most of the card was already set in stone anyway. It was nice to have the title match get some focus as, while it’s a simple story, it hasn’t gotten a ton of attention. Gargano vs. Dunne is a fine choice for an off week main event and then we can move on to the build towards Philadelphia in January. This show did its job though and that’s what matters most for a go home episode.

Results

Street Profits b. Riddick Moss/Tino Sabbatelli – Right hand To Sabbatelli

Lars Sullivan b. Raul Mendoza – Freak Accident

Ember Moon b. Mercedes Martinez – Eclipse

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

NXT
Date: October 18, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the Undisputed night as the Undisputed Era are back in the ring this week. Tonight it’s going to be the Undisputed Era vs. Sanity in a six man tag. The question though is how does this help us set up the upcoming Takeover: Houston and how the NXT Title will factor in. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick look at Sanity vs. Undisputed Era.

Opening sequence.

Sonya DeVille vs. Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riot

The winner is in the four way title match at Takeover. Riot hurricanranas Ember to start but gets lariated down by DeVille. Sonya is sent outside and it’s Ruby flipping Ember around into a standoff. The springboard crossbody gets two on Sonya and a kick to the face gets the same on Riot. Ruby it sent outside and Ember gets kicked down and we take a break. Back with Sonya suplexing them both down, only to be headscissored into Ember for two more.

Riot and DeVille slug away at each other until Sonya is knocked outside. It gets even worse for DeVille when she gets kicked out of the air by Ember. Moon is down as well though, only to have Ruby dive onto the two of them. She comes up with a horrible ankle though and things slow way down. Riot is still able to get inside, only to have DeVille slap on an ankle lock. The hold stays on for a good while until Moon comes in off the top with the Eclipse on Sonya and a pin on Riot at 11:34.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one for the most part as it felt disjointed for the most part. The injury at the end was fine and it seems that Riot’s ankle is fine. It’s not terrible but they didn’t have the best chemistry and it showed. Ember or Sane is the best option for the title at this point and it makes sense to have Moon make the title match. If nothing else it means another chance to see the Eclipse.

The Undisputed Era talked to Roderick Strong outside the Performance Center but we couldn’t hear what was said.

William Regal is about to announce how the fourth participant in the Women’s Title match will be chosen but the Iconic Duo comes up to interrupt. Regal gets around to saying that there will be a battle royal next week.

Aleister Black vs. Raul Mendoza

Before any contact, cue the Velveteen Dream on the apron with Black’s vest. The distraction lets Mendoza knee Black to the floor, setting up a running flip dive to the floor. A springboard Swanton gets two on Black but the rapid fire kicks take Mendoza down. Black Mass puts Mendoza away at 2:10.

Dream leaves with the vest with Black glaring at him.

Drew McIntyre had a sitdown interview and is thrilled with his title reign so far. It’s everything he had hoped it was and he’s been feeling pretty good. A few years back he was released from his dream job and it took him a long time to get things together. He was always a wrestler and even his father never understood things. Somewhere along the line his fire went out and now he’s back here to build something special.

Cue Zelina Vega to take over the interview to say Drew and Andrade Cien Almas have a lot in common. She was Andrade’s second chance and thinks Drew has been avoiding him. Drew suggests going to William Regal because he’d love to give Almas a shot. If Andrade is serious, come see the champ himself.

Kassius Ohno vs. Cezar Bononi

They strike it off to start until Bononi hits a dropkick for two. Another dropkick puts Ohno on the floor, followed by a suplex for two back inside. A third dropkick misses though and Ohno scores with his backsplash. Ohno kicks him in the jaw and the rolling elbow is good enough for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but Ohno is always going to get a reaction from his theme song alone. Bononi seems like someone who is ready to become a big star if he’s given the right push or character. You can last a long time on a look like that and Bononi hasn’t even scratched the surface yet.

Sanity vs. Undisputed Era

Fish and Wolfe start things off with Fish striking away, only to get tossed into the corner. O’Reilly has about the same level of success and it’s off to Dane to uppercut Kyle in the corner. The fast tags continue with Young adding a middle rope forearm to the chest for two. It’s back to Fish, who scores with more kicks and right hands to Young as the beating takes us to a break.

Back with Cole grabbing a chinlock until his partners work on Eric’s arms. O’Reilly gets two off a double suplex and some kicks keep Young down in the corner. Kyle is smart enough to kick Wolfe off the apron and bring Dain in, allowing him a chance to pull Young to the corner again. Not that it matters as Eric kicks O’Reilly away and makes the hot tag off to Dain.

That means it’s time for the big man offense, including a hard running dropkick and some corner splashes. Fish and O’Reilly get tossed at the same time but Cole superkicks Dain in the back of the head for the save. A belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination puts O’Reilly down and Cole is quickly surrounded. Sanity takes him inside….and here are the Authors of Pain to jump Sanity for the DQ at 13:31.

Rating: C+. I liked this one, though it didn’t hit the level I was hoping it would. The ending is interesting as it could set up a potential three way feud, which often means a heck of a story. The Undisputed Era wasn’t destroyed here as there was a reasonable chance that O’Reilly and Fish could have gotten back into it for the save. Good stuff here but it’s a step on a long path.

The Authors destroy Sanity as the Undisputed Era leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was the most interesting part of the show but more importantly we’re starting to see the card for Takeover forming. That makes for some interesting shows as we’re getting ready for the rest of the card. Just let us have a good special event and the TV feels even better than it already does. Solid show this week but nothing too great.

Results

Ember Moon b. Sonya DeVille and Ruby Riot – Pin on Riot

Aleister Black b. Raul Mendoza – Black Mass

Kassius Ohno b. Cezar Bononi – Rolling elbow

Sanity b. Undisputed Era via DQ when the Authors of Pain interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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