Survivor Series 2021
Date: November 21, 2021
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,120
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Pat McAfee

Since it’s Survivor Series and there are no other possible options for the show in the history of ever, it’s time for a Battle Of Brand Supremacy with wrestlers who have been on the roster for about a month. That means a battle of World Champions Roman Reigns and Big E., plus Survivor Series tag matches and….a Rock 25th Anniversary battle royal? Let’s get to it.

For the sake of simplicity, all matches involving champions are non-title.

Kickoff Show: Damian Priest (Raw) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown)

US Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion and Rick Boogs handles Nakamura’s entrance, much to Pat McAfee’s (now dancing on the announcers’ table) delight. Priest works on the arm to start but a Boogs guitar solo cuts that off, allowing Nakamura to grab a headlock. Nakamura takes him into the corner for Good Vibrations, with Boogs playing something that is in no way Good Vibrations.

Back up and Priest knocks him down and grabs a chinlock, meaning Boogs plays some more for a distraction. Some strikes to the head rock Priest and the sliding German suplex makes it worse (with McAfee jumping up to celebrate). Priest fights up and hits a running elbow in the corner, followed by a hard clothesline for two.

South Of Heaven is broken up though and Nakamura kicks him in the head again. Kinshasa is countered into South Of Heaven for two but the Reckoning is blocked. Priest counters an armbar into a triangle choke but Boogs guitars Nakamura to freedom AGAIN. Finally Priest goes outside and breaks the guitar (McAfee: “YOU SON OF A B****!”), with one of the pieces nailing Nakamura for the DQ at 9:24.

Rating: C. I was having fun with the back and forth as they had some chemistry together, but at the same time, there is only so much you can get with the constant Boogs interference. I do like that they didn’t have a champion get pinned here and instead went with Priest snapping to finish things up. Not a great match, but a fast paced one to start things off.

Smackdown – 1
Raw – 0

The opening video talks about how this is two sides battling….and we see a clip from Rock’s Netflix movie Red Notice. The voiceover talks about how many things the movie and show have in common before moving into the nonsense about this being the ONE NIGHT where Raw and Smackdown go head to head. Clips from the movie mock teamwork, which is what this show is all about. After more clips and more generic opening video statements about how important the show is, we’re ready to go.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte. They were old friends but then both wanted to be the best, with Lynch getting there in a big way. Then Lynch left on maternity leave and Charlotte bragged about how great she (as in Charlotte) is so now that Lynch is back, it’s time to fight.

Before we got there though, there was also the VERY awkward moment where Charlotte was supposed to hand over the Raw Women’s Title and dropped it instead, leading to ALL KINDS of problems/discussion. Oh and Charlotte’s REALLY annoying “UH-OH” promo. This does at least have a personal story rather than just doing the Raw vs. Smackdown deal.

Charlotte (Smackdown) vs. Becky Lynch (Raw)

For a bonus, they’re both dressed as characters from Wandavision, with Charlotte as the villain and Becky as the hero. Becky hits her in the face to start and the brawl is on early. Charlotte goes for the leg but has to escape a Disarm-Her attempt. Back up and Charlotte hits a spear but Becky hits a heck of a spinning kick to the face. They head outside for a hard posting to Charlotte but it’s too early for the Manhandle Slam.

Charlotte gets her down and rams Becky’s face into the mat over and over. Becky is sent outside so Charlotte loads up the moonsault, which is shoved HARD into the barricade for a great looking crash instead. Charlotte sends her into the barricade and they both get back in at the same time for the big staredown. Becky avoids a shot to the knee in the corner but an armbar is countered into a powerbomb for two.

Some stomps in the corner have Charlotte in trouble and the fans aren’t thrilled with Becky. A fall away slam sends Becky into the corner for a crash, followed by the Andrade double moonsault for two. Charlotte snaps her throat first across the top but Becky knocks her into the ropes. The Fameasser onto the ropes gives Becky two and Charlotte misses the big boot, only to ram her head into Becky’s for two instead. The second big boot gets two instead so Becky is right back with a Christian layout reverse DDT.

Back up and the Manhandle Slam gives Becky two more, setting up a cross between a Figure Four and a heel hook. Charlotte turns it over for the break anyway and they’re both down for a bit. I’m not sure why Becky is down but it does make things a bit more dramatic. Yet another big boot knocks Becky outside and the moonsault…well it comes close to her at least, with the replay not making it any better.

Back in and Charlotte grabs her own Disarm-Her but Becky slips out. They fight into the corner where Charlotte grabs a rollup with ropes for two, as the referee sees the cheating. Becky reverses into a rollup of her own and doesn’t get caught grabbing the ropes for the pin at 18:13.

Rating: B+. These two work well and they treated it as a huge match, especially at the start where they both came out swinging. The ending was more of a way to save Charlotte than to give us a definitive winner, but after Charlotte has gone over so many times, doing a tainted job to the biggest female star ever isn’t asking too much. Great opener, with all kinds of energy and the big fight feel.

Raw – 1
Smackdown – 1

Classic Rock Moment: Debuting at Survivor Series 1996.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Raw: Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley
Smackdown: Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, King Woods, Happy Corbin, Sheamus

Survivor Series match and MVP/Madcap Moss are the respective sixths. Lashley has his spot after taking it from Dominik Mysterio and also caused Rey Mysterio to lose his spot to Theory. On the other side, Sami Zayn lost to Hardy, costing himself a spot on the team. You know, in case you needed a recap on the five people per show being thrown together. Rollins, the self proclaimed Raw captain, lets Owens start, so Owens bails to the floor and leaves for the countout less than a minute in.

After Owens takes a bow, McIntyre jumps Rollins on the floor as Theory comes in to face Woods. Theory gets his arm cranked on and it’s McIntyre coming in to launch him into the corner. Sheamus and McIntyre take turns chopping at Theory (McAfee is rather giddy) and Corbin gets in on it with a pretty good right hand. Theory manages to punch his way to freedom though and the tag brings in Rollins, who is knocked right back into the Smackdown corner.

It’s Hardy coming in to start on the arm and a quick splash gets one. Rollins is able to grab Sheamus by the arm though and Balor comes in to work on that arm for a change. Again though, that doesn’t last long as Sheamus drags him right back over for the tag to Corbin. We continue to e parade of arm cranking between people who don’t really dislike each other, making this match feel all the less interesting. Deep Six gets two on Balor with Lashley making the save, meaning everything breaks down.

With almost everyone else being knocked down, Balor kicks Corbin in the head and drops the Coup de Grace for the elimination. Hardy comes in to face Balor and the fans are rather pleased. It’s Hardy taking over with the basement dropkick but Balor’s own dropkick gets his own two. Lashley comes in for a running shoulder in the corner to Hardy, which has McAfee worried on commentary.

Hardy fights out of Balor’s chinlock and hits Whisper in the Wind, leaving Lashley and McIntyre to fight on the floor. Lashley posts him (McAfee: “DREW ARE YOU OK???”), leaving Theory to cover Hardy for two as the fans are interested in….something. It’s back to Woods to clean house, including a discus forearm to Theory. Lashley crotches Woods on top though and the Hurt Lock is good for the elimination to make it 4-3 Raw.

Everything breaks down again and Balor’s slingshot dive is pulled out of the air by Sheamus. We get the big Lashley vs. McIntyre showdown with Lashley backing up for some reason. McIntyre jumps him instead but Lashley powers him into the corner. That earns him a clothesline out to the floor with McIntyre following to post Lashley for a change. They fight over the barricade and that’s a double countout to get rid of the big guys.

The fans are NOT happy, even as Lashley jumps McIntyre after the eliminations. A Claymore drops Lashley though and a Glasgow Kiss drops a laughing Rollins before both guys leave. We’re down to Sheamus/Hardy vs. Rollins/Theory/Balor with Sheamus charging into a boot in the corner. That’s enough for Rollins to dive over for the hot tag to Balor, who is quickly powerslammed for two.

Balor is back up with a Sling Blade but the Coup de Grace misses, setting up the Brogue Kick to give Sheamus the pin. Theory is right in for a heck of a dropkick and it’s Rollins coming back in for a chinlock. After a pretty good while, Sheamus powers up and brings Hardy in to clean house.

Everything breaks down with Sheamus playing Matt Hardy for a springboard splash to the other two in the corner. That’s enough for Sheamus and Hardy to hit stereo ten forearms to the chest, followed by White Noise to Rollins. Everything breaks down again and Rollins pulls Hardy off the apron, leaving Theory to roll Sheamus up for the elimination. That leaves us with Hardy vs. Rollins/Theory…but Sheamus decks Theory before he leaves….and then does it to Hardy too.

Rollins is fine enough to get the tag and hit a frog splash for two on Hardy as we settle in to the beating. Theory takes Hardy up top but gets knocked down, setting up the Swanton for the pin. Rollins isn’t happy and glares at Hardy, who grabs a rollup for two. A hard forearm to the back of the head gets two on Hardy but the Twist of Fate drops Rollins. The Swanton hits raised knees though and the Stomp gives Rollins the final pin at 29:55.

Rating: B. It was a fun, hard hitting match, but the Raw vs. Smackdown lineups continue to feel so worthless. They might as well do a Lethal Lottery format and you would get the same result. The good thing is that the talent is here and can make a match like this work, but the format desperately needs to change to make it more interesting.

Raw – 2
Smackdown – 1

WWE did some charity stuff in Harlem.

Vince McMahon arrived earlier and got a big reception from a bunch of the wrestlers. Then he pulled out a gold egg, because cross promotion.

Classic Rock Moment: recreating the Montreal Screwjob a year later at Survivor Series 1998.

Roman Reigns comes in to see Vince McMahon, who shows him the egg. That’s Cleopatra’s egg, which was given to him by the Rock. Apparently it’s worth $100 million dollars, which Reigns says is as much as his next contract. And that’s it.

The Rock 25th Anniversary Battle Royal

Shanky, Commander Azeez, T-Bar, Robert Roode, Angel, Humberto, Shelton Benjamin, Sami Zayn, R-Truth, Cedric Alexander, Montez Ford, Jinder Mahal, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Otis, Mansoor, Drew Gulak, Erik, Chad Gable, Ivar, Apollo Crews, Omos, AJ Styles, Ricochet, Angelo Dawkins

The Street Profits come to the ring with a bunch of Pizza Hut. Nothing wrong with a sponsorship. Cole and Graves get pizza but Saxton is denied, as he should be. Styles bails to the floor and stands on the announcers’ table as everyone else fights for the smart move of the night. Gulak and Benjamin are out to start with Humberto following them. Truth heads outside to get some pizza, which he offers to Omos and Otis.

The latter takes it before throwing Truth out and going after Omos. Otis doesn’t last long and Gable armbars Cesaro over the rope. That’s broken up and Cesaro knocks Gable out and T-Bar is dropkicked to the floor by Ricochet. The fans want pizza but have to settle for Alexander and Garza being tossed out. There goes Erik and Ivar at the hands of Shanky, because the potential is in Shanky instead of the Viking Raiders. Omos gets rid of Shanky with ease and Roode catapults Mansoor out.

Roode and Ziggler go after Omos and the giant gets rid of Roode, leaving Styles to Phenomenal Forearm Ziggler for the elimination. Zayn tries to rally the remaining Smackdown names but yells at Ricochet, leaving Ford and Dawkins to toss him out. Omos gets rid of Azeez, who pulls Styles out despite Omos’ protests. Crews is out next and we’re down to Omos, Dawkins, Ford, Cesaro and Ricochet. Cesaro rallies the troops to go after Omos, earning himself an elimination. There go Dawkins and Ford, leaving us with Ricochet vs. Omos. That doesn’t last long either as Omos tosses him out for the win at 10:38.

Rating: C. This was ALL about Omos, who threw out about half of the field and dominated throughout. It worked for Andre and even if Omos isn’t quite there, it was a nice performance. Omos is someone who works well in this kind of a spot, even if this had absolutely NOTHING to do with the Rock.

Raw – 3
Smackdown – 1

Post match Styles goes for the pizza but Ford kicks him in the head and throws it into the crowd.

Classic Rock Moment: winning the 2000 Royal Rumble, even if Big Show really won.

We look at the pre-show match.

RKBro (Raw) vs. Usos (Smackdown)

Riddle starts fast with an armbar attempt on Jimmy but gets stacked up for two and the break. A headbutt just makes Riddle mad and he grabs a spinning gutwrench suplex to send Jey flying. Orton comes in and we hear about his hear in Ohio Valley Wrestling for a bit of a rarity. The threat of an RKO sends Jimmy bailing to the floor so it’s off to Jey, who stomps Orton down in the corner.

That just earns Jey a punch to the nose (simple, yet effective) and a trip to the floor, allowing Riddle to hit the springboard Floating Bro. A drop onto the barricade cuts Riddle off though and it’s back to Jimmy for the suicide dive. We slow things down a bit with Jey hammering away in the corner until Riddle manages a kick to the head. That’s way too soon for a hot tag to Orton though and Jimmy is back in with a chinlock.

Riddle fights up and manages a Bro To Sleep (which doesn’t make anything close to full contact), allowing Orton to come back in to clean house. Snap powerslams drop the Usos and Jey gets belly to back dropped onto the announcers’ table. Not to be outdone, Jimmy gets the same as McAfee is losing it even more than usual. Back in and the hanging DDT hits Jey but he’s fine enough to block the RKO.

Riddle is up again and kicks Jey in the head before nailing Jimmy with a running forearm. Jey manages to kick Riddle down for two and the pop up Samoan drop gets two. There’s a superkick to Riddle and a double superkick to Orton. The double superkick from either side gets two on Riddle, who kicks out and stays rigid for a weird moment. Riddle’s enziguri gets him out of trouble though and Orton gets a blind tag. Jimmy doesn’t notice though and his Superfly Splash is pulled into the RKO to give Orton the pin at 14:48.

Rating: B. Two of the best teams in WWE have a good match when they are given about fifteen minutes on a big stage. Sometimes these things write themselves and that was the case here, as Orton even managed to get in the cool RKO that he hits in these important matches. Another solid match on the show in what shouldn’t be a surprise at all. Now just do it again for the titles.

Raw – 4
Smackdown – 1

Classic Rock Moment: vs. John Cena at Wrestlemania XXVIII. I’d say that counts, though it’s still hard to believe Cena lost.

Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce wait for Vince McMahon in his office. Vince comes back…and the egg is gone. The middle management goons are sent to find out who did it, saying if they don’t find out tonight, Vince will find out himself on Raw.

Video on Xia Li, the Protector, in comic book form. Yeah this was too cool to work and it never went anywhere.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women

Raw: Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella, Queen Zelina
Smackdown: Sasha Banks, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi, Toni Storm, Natalya

Zelina is still a queen and Ripley is half of the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Nikki Ash, which mean a grand total of nothing (Zelina and Carmella would win them the next night on Raw). Toni Storm (as announced in a completely necessary tweet earlier in the day) starts with Carmella, who drops Storm with a right hand. Hold on though as Carmella hands it off to Zelina before heading outside to put on her protective mask. It takes forever to put the mask on so Carmella has Zelina do it, allowing Storm to grab a rollup for the pin.

Belair and Banks come in for a Wrestlemania rematch but Shotzi tags herself in. A quick backsplash gets two on Belair but she’s right back up to knock Shotzi silly. Belair’s jumping splash gets two so Morgan comes in for a middle rope….uh, something, and a near fall. Natalya comes in for two off a snap suplex and a pinfall reversal sequence gets some near falls each. The step over basement dropkick gives Natalya two more but it’s off to Ripley to freshen things up.

Natalya doesn’t seem to mind and brings Baszler in for a double suplex. The jumping stomp to Baszler’s arm is blocked though and the slugout is on. Ripley has to fight out of an armbar as well as the Kirifuda Clutch, allowing her to stomp on Baszler’s head. Shotzi saves Baszler from the Riptide though and everything breaks down. Ripley breaks out of another choke and it’s a double tag to give us Belair vs. Banks.

Belair tries the power but gets pulled straight into the Bank Statement. That’s broken up so Banks sends her face first into the middle buckle, setting up a tornado DDT for two on Belair. Back up and Zelina tags herself in so Belair launches her at Banks for two more. No one will tag Banks so she has to block Zelina’s Code Red. Banks tags herself in and flips Zelina over into a cutter for the pin. Morgan comes in for a pinfall reversal sequence of her own until Oblivion connects to get rid of Storm.

Baszler comes in to choke Morgan and even kicks Ripley off the apron to prevent a tag (that’s smart). It’s off to Shotzi for a weird looking splash, followed by Banks’ frog splash to eliminate Morgan. Ripley comes in and muscles Banks up for a delayed suplex and a near fall. A missile dropkick sends Banks flying into the corner but Shotzi comes in off a blind tag. Shotzi offers a distraction so Baszler can come in with a knee to the face to pin Ripley, leaving Belair vs. Natalya, Shotzi, Banks and Baszler.

Belair comes in and suplexes Natalya for two before firing off the shoulders in the corner. Baszler’s distraction lets Natalya hit a powerbomb out of the corner for two and it’s off to Banks. Shotzi gets into it with Banks and pulls her to the floor where Banks gets counted out to make it 3-1.

Natalya comes in and Sharpshooters Belair, who rolls Natalya into Baszler for the break. A rollup finishes Natalya to make it 2-1, with Baszler coming in next. The Kirifuda Clutch is countered into a release Glam Slam to get rid of Baszler and it’s Shotzi vs. Belair. Shotzi grabs a choke in the corner and a faceplant drops Belair again. The running hip attack in the ropes gets two on Belair, who sends Shotzi into the corner and hits the KOD for the pin/win at 23:46.

Rating: C-. Well that was ridiculous. The last five minutes of this was Belair doing her best Super Cena impression, as she ran through three people on her own (four if you count getting rid of Banks). The match wasn’t anything special otherwise, as the Belair vs. Banks segment was the only thing worth seeing. This felt long until the ending, when it became one head shaking moment after another. Storm was trying and got a bit of a run, but this was all about making Belair look strong and to say they went overboard would be an understatement.

Raw – 5
Smackdown – 1

Classic Rock Moment: The Rock is at the first Smackdown on FOX and rips on Baron Corbin/hangs out with Becky Lynch.

Paul Heyman knows nothing about the missing egg but thinks those people from BROOKLYN might have had something to do with it. That’s not what he is being asked about though: what about Brock Lesnar’s suspension being lifted soon? Uh, Heyman doesn’t want to talk about that either.

Video on Bobby Lashley.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Big E. Last month, Big E. cashed in Money In The Bank to become the new Raw World Champion. The New Day celebrated because they’re a brotherhood, but Reigns said they were no Bloodline. Reigns broke Woods’ King Of The Ring crown and now it’s time for a clash between World Champions.

Big E. (Raw) vs. Roman Reigns (Smackdown)

Paul Heyman is here too as we hear about their time together in FCW. They fight over a lockup to start with neither getting anywhere, meaning it’s off to another staredown. Big E. shoves him a bit and Reigns bails to the floor, where Heyman lists off some Anoa’i family members at the table. Back in and Reigns hits the jumping clothesline for two before stomping away rather hard.

An elbow drops Reigns and Big E. gets to talk a bit of trash to set up the missed apron splash. Big E. comes up favoring his knee and you know Reigns is happy with that. Back in and the chinlock goes on for a bit until Big E. powers up for the break. You don’t do that to Reigns, who boots Big E. down for two more. Big E. is sent outside again as Reigns is getting frustrated and growling at the crowd. A reversed whip into the steps puts Reigns in trouble for a change and some belly to bellies make it worse back inside.

The Warrior Splash connects but Big E. charges into a Samoan drop for two. Reigns fires off the corner clotheslines until Big E. Rock Bottoms him out of said corner for two of his own. The Stretch Muffler has Reigns in trouble so he powers up into a sitout powerbomb to rock Big E. again. A Rock Bottom gets two more as they’re sticking with the big shots here. Two Superman Punches only keep Big E. down for a few seconds so Reigns hits a third…but Big E. is back up before the spear can even launch.

Reigns is sent to the apron for the spear out to the floor but comes right back in with his own spear (minus through the ropes) for a rather near fall. They take their time getting up, with Reigns talking about how Big E. doesn’t deserve to be here. The guillotine is broken up but Big E. tries another spear through the ropes and gets caught in the choke. Reigns gets it on again back inside, only to muscle Reigns up into the Big Ending for two.

They head outside again, with Big E. fired up this time as he sends Reigns face first into the announcers’ table. A posting and ram into the barricade have Reigns in more trouble but he’s fine enough to send Big E. knees first into the steps. A Superman Punch off the steps lets Reigns kick the knee out and hit a spear for the pin at 21:56.

Rating: B. It took some time to get going and could have had a few minutes cut out, but this was a heck of a fight. The problem here though was there was no reason to believe Reigns would lose. Big E. is great, but winning the title via Money in the Bank makes him feel a step beneath Reigns, in addition to the fact that Reigns already feels like a bigger star than anyone else at the moment. Big E. was trying here, but you know Reigns getting pinned is going to be a huge moment, not something in a stand alone show like this one.

Raw – 5
Smackdown – 2

Overall Rating: B-. This show is going to depend on how you look at it. While the wrestling was mostly good, with the main event and men’s Survivor Series match carrying it, the biggest problem is NOTHING HAPPENED. Raw dominated the head to head competition and there was nothing on here that I felt like I needed to see. Reigns is still the unstoppable force and whoever got the red shirts this year had a strong night. What else is there to say about the wrestling with non-existent stakes?

Then you have everything else and it was just sad. The Rock obsession was cool and made sense, but without him actually having anything to do with the show the impact kind of falls apart. I know he’s busy, but if he isn’t going to be there, maybe don’t focus on him so much. The egg stuff was stupid, though I can’t fault WWE for trying to make money and it was relatively short.

Overall, as has been the case for a long time, there was enough good to pretty good action to make the show a decent watch, but there is absolutely nothing from a storyline perspective. The Battle For Brand Supremacy stuff worked for a few years but now WWE has given up on it meaning anything, so why should I care about what they’re doing? Good enough show, but totally unimportant.

Ratings Comparison

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Damian Priest

Original: C+
Redo: C

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men

Original: B-
Redo: B

Battle Royal

Original: C
Redo: C

Usos vs. RKBro

Original: C+
Redo: B

Smackdown Women vs. Raw Women

Original: C-
Redo: C-

Big E. vs. Roman Reigns

Original: B
Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Oh yeah this is about as similar as it gets.

 

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Survivor Series 2019
Date: November 24, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 13,271
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

I was thinking about this show the other day and couldn’t remember it very well so it was time for a rewatch. The theme here is the three way fight between all of the brands, with NXT launching a full on invasion for the sake of this show. That should be more than enough to carry things with a bunch of different brand vs. brand vs. brand matches. Let’s get to it.

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

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal

OC, Revival, Forgotten Sons, Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler, Street Profits, Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins, Breezango, Lucha House Party, Imperium, Heavy Machinery

Only one member has to be eliminated. It’s the usual brawl to start and the Forgotten Sons are out rather quickly. The House Party follows them (thankfully meaning their seconds go with them), as do Hawkins and Ryder in a hurry. Ziggler is catapulted to the apron and pulls Dawson with him for an exchange of headbutts.

Kaiser tries to make a save but it lets Roode knock Dawson out to get rid of the Revival, with Kaiser being eliminated to eliminate Imperium too. Otis stops to dance and gets tossed as they are flying out of here so far. Fandango is sent outside (not out) and manages to catch Breeze, who is eliminated a few seconds later. The Profits dropkick the Revival out and we’re already down to Roode/Ziggler, the OC and the Profits.

Ziggler has to save Roode from the Magic Killer and superkicks the OC out to leave us with two. Roode and Ziggler get the better of things until Ziggler superkicks Roode by mistake. The Sky High lets Ford go up but he gets sent out to the apron. He’s able to get back up and frog splash Ziggler, only to get tossed by Roode for the win at 8:22.

Rating: C. They flew through this and that’s probably a good thing, as this was little more than a way to get things going. It’s nice to see the match just move along so quickly, with Ziggler and Roode being a fine choice to win. Not a good match or anything, but it was a fast paced start.

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 0
Raw – 0

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

Rush is defending. They stare at each other to start until the challengers get together to knock Rush outside. Back in and Rush tries to make a save but is sent to the floor just as fast. Kalisto kicks Rush in the head on the apron but gets kicked down by Tozawa. Rush is back in to strike away at both of them as they’re at a very fast pace to start. Tozawa punches Rush in the face (he’s always been good at that) and a sliding boot to the face drops him as well.

Kalisto catches Rush on top and Tozawa goes up with them for a super….well they all flipped over and they’re all down. It looks like Rush super armdragged both of them, setting off an exchange of strikes to the face. Tozawa’s bridging German suplex gets two on Rush, as does the Salida del Sol, with Tozawa making the save. Tozawa’s top rope backsplash hits Rush as well but Kalisto makes the save this time. Another Salida del Sol hits Tozawa but Rush is in with the Final Hour to Kalisto to retain the title at 8:20.

Rating: B. They went with the fast paced, rather athletic match here and it worked rather well. Rush might have some issues behind the scenes, but the way he can move and fly is rather impressive. There is something fun about watching these people go nuts, even if they didn’t have a ton of time. Another rather good choice for the Kickoff Show.

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
Raw – 0

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

They’re all champions but this is non-title. Big E., Ivar and O’Reilly start things off with O’Reilly’s strikes not working in the slightest. Fish comes in and gets tossed with ease, leaving Ivar to slip out of Big E.’s slam attempt. Instead Big E. runs him over with a shoulder, only to get low bridged to the floor by the Era. That leaves the Vikings to beat the Era up until Big E. is back in for a tag to Kingston.

New Day and the Vikings have their big showdown until the Era is back in to break it up. Fish kneebars Kingston with Ivar making the save, leaving Fish to beat on Kingston on the apron. With the other four on the floor, Ivar slams Erik onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Ivar misses a charge into the corner, allowing Kingston to hit a standing double stomp on Erik.

The Midnight Hour gets two, with Ivar making the save. Big E.’s spear through the rope hits Erik but Kingston’s Trouble In Paradise hits the post. That leaves Big E. to get caught with the German suplex/springboard clothesline combination. The Era gets back in and O’Reilly is promptly powerslammed onto Fish to give Ivar the pin at 14:42.

Rating: B-. It got a good bit more time and while it wasn’t hard to figure out the result, it was another fast paced match that made for an entertaining showcase. The Raiders winning is a good way to go, as occasionally the best method is just straight power. It’s rarely great to see a champion lose, but a developmental champion losing to a main roster one makes it a bit better.

Smackdown – 1
NXT – 1
Raw – 1

And now, the show proper.

The opening video looks at the brand vs. brand vs. brand issue, with the big focus on NXT invading, as it should be. The other matches get some attention as well, which is a nice bonus.

Women’s Survivor Series Match

Smackdown: Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross
Raw: Charlotte, Natalya, Sarah Logan, Asuka, Kairi Sane
NXT: Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Toni Storm, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae

Three in the ring at once, regular elimination rules. Storm, Evans and Logan start things off with Evans knocking both of them down but walking into a double flapjack. Cross comes in and gets knocked down, leaving Logan to cartwheel knee Storm in the back of the head. Everyone gets knocked down and it’s off to Sane, Sky and Carmella, the latter of whom tries to get attention while the other two stare each other down. That earns her some shots to the face so Brooke comes in instead.

A springboard headscissors drops Shirai and it’s Brooke coming back in for some rollups. The handspring elbow crushes Shirai and Sane, followed by a Swanton to both of them. It’s back to LeRae to kick Evans down and strike away in the corner. A middle rope spinning Downward Spiral plants Evans for two and it’s off to Ripley for a heck of a roar. That earns her a cross armbreaker from Asuka, setting off the parade of knockdowns.

Banks clears the ring and LeRae and Shirai are knocked out to the floor for a nasty crash (which comes after they were both in WarGames the previous night). That’s enough for the two of them to be out at around 7:45 so NXT is already down to three. Ripley, Charlotte and Banks come in, with Ripley taunting the other two of them to quite the reception but it’s off to Belair, Logan and Cross without any contact being made. Cross hammers on Storm on the floor, but the distraction allows Belair to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes to pin Cross at 9:38.

Carmella comes in to clean house but walks into a KOD, sending Carmella outside. Logan is back up with running knees from the apron to Charlotte and Storm but gets tossed down by Belair. The handspring moonsault gets two with Natalya making the save so Belair 450s Logan for the elimination at 12:10.

Charlotte comes in to yell at Belair and gets rolled up for her efforts. Carmella is in with a super hurricanrana to send Charlotte onto Belair for two each. Back up and Natural Selection hits Carmella for the pin, allowing Charlotte to mock Banks’ dance. That leaves us with four for Raw and three each for the other two as Banks, Sane and Storm come in. Storm takes Sane down in a hurry and Banks adds the Meteora to get rid of Sane at 16:48. Asuka is in to fire off the kicks, including a huge one to eliminate Brooke at 17:25.

Charlotte forcefully tags herself in and gets in a shoving match with Asuka, who gets shoved down. Evans tries to come in off a cheap shot and gets struck down, only for Asuka to mist Charlotte. Asuka walks out and the Women’s Right gets rid of Charlotte at 19:07. So Natalya is alone for Raw against Evans/Banks for Smackdown and Ripley/Belair/Storm for NXT. Natalya comes in and drops Evans, followed by the discus lariat to Storm. A rollup gets rid of Evans at 19:56 as commentary realizes that NXT is suddenly way ahead. Storm gets caught in a Sharpshooter/Banks Statement for the tap at 20:47.

Belair yells at Natalya and gets caught in a Hart Attack for the elimination at 21:16 to continue the rapid fire eliminations. That leaves us with Natalya vs. Banks vs. Ripley, with Banks quickly turning on Natalya and getting the easy elimination. We’re down to one on one and you can tell the fans are into the idea of Ripley getting this kind of a chance. Ripley stares her down and adds a running dropkick but Banks is right back up with a choke.

Banks sends her into the corner for some running knees, followed by the middle rope Meteora for two. That sends Banks back up, with Ripley kicking her out of the air for two more. The Prism Trap has Banks in more trouble until she flips her way into a Bank Statement on Ripley. Cue Shirai and LeRae to make the save…as I guess they’re still in this.

As I try to figure out if that means Asuka should still be in there as she left without her elimination being announced either, Banks knocks both of them down with a baseball slide. Ripley cuts that off but the Riptide is broken up. Shirai offers a distraction and hits a springboard missile dropkick, followed by Ripley’s Riptide for the win at 27:53.

Rating: B. The kind of confusing ending aside, this was one heck of a coming out party for Ripley, who came off like an absolute star throughout and that’s exactly the point. Other than that you have Charlotte and Asuka’s issues continuing and Belair looking like a star as well. The fans get to cheer for NXT though (especially in Ripley’s case), and that’s exactly what needed to be done for this crowd, who are certainly more behind them than anything else.

NXT – 2
Smackdown – 1
Raw – 1

We look back at Kevin Owens making a surprise return to NXT last night at Takeover.

Seth Rollins comes up to Owens, his Raw teammate, and asks what was up with that. Owens says NXT doesn’t need him like Raw does, so tonight he’s on the red side. He does however find it interesting that SETH ROLLINS of all people is talking about disloyalty…and he mocks the Shield pose.

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

Battle of the midcard champions with a dancing Sami Zayn here with Nakamura. Styles gets kicked down to start and a knee to the ribs drops Strong as well. Strong is back up to clean house and send Nakamura outside. Styles knocks Strong to the floor as well, followed by a hard knee to the head. Nakamura is back up with a suplex to Strong and a knee drop to Styles, with Zayn looking rather pleased.

Back up and Strong stretches Nakamura over his back before swinging him into a gutbuster. Styles sleepers Strong down, which doesn’t last long as Strong is back up to strike away at both of them. The running forearms in the ropes have Styles in trouble, as does a belly to back faceplant. Nakamura sends Strong into the corner though and kicks Styles down for two more. A sliding knee gets two on Strong with Styles making the save. Strong kicks Styles down to break up the Clash to Nakamura, who is pulled outside by Zayn.

Back in and a tiger driver gives Strong two before Nakamura drops him. Kinshasa is broken up by Styles, who is cut off by Zayn. That leaves Strong to knee Nakamura down for two but Nakamura is back up to clean house. Strong is knocked outside so Nakamura tells Styles to COME ON, meaning it’s time for a strike off. The Landslide gives Nakamura two and he blocks the Styles Clash attempt. Instead Styles settles for the Phenomenal Forearm, only for Strong to steal the pin at 16:48.

Rating: B+. I didn’t remember liking this one as much but they were all working hard and it didn’t get dull despite getting quite a bit of time. In addition to NXT getting yet another win, there was something great about Zayn on the floor as he was giving it his all out there. Solid match here and a rather nice treat.

NXT – 3
Smackdown – 1
Raw – 1

Daniel Bryan is warming up when the Miz comes in. Miz talks about feeling the evil of the Fiend and wants Bryan to put an end to him for the sake of themselves and their children. Bryan: “Get out of my face.”

NXT Title: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and is really banged up after being in WarGames last night. Dunne works on the arm to start, which is quickly broken up. They fight outside with Cole getting in a shot and starting in on Dunne’s bad knee. Dunne fights up and moonsaults over Cole in the corner, setting up an enziguri. The release German suplex sets up a big kick to the head, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two as they take a bit of a breather.

Dunne’s moonsault to the floor drops Cole again but another one hits raised knees back inside. The Last Shot gives Cole two and he brainbusters Dunne onto the knee for the same. The Boom misses and Dunne grabs the Bitter End for another near fall. They trade kicks to the head until Dunne goes up, only to have his moonsault superkicked out of the air (that always looks awesome) for two.

Dunne powerbombs him down for two more and Cole bails out to the floor. They head out to the apron, where Cole grabs a Panama Sunrise for a near countout. Back in and Dunne slugs away but the Bitter End is spun around into another Canadian Destroyer (and it didn’t look bad). The Boom retains the title at 14:06.

Rating: B. At this point, it was feeling like Cole was never going to lose the title no matter what happened, as he was coming in banged up from the night before and still hung in there to beat someone as good as Dunne. It’s still a good match, but seeing Cole retain without even having to cheat is a bit much to take. Yeah Dunne wrestled the night before as well, but Cole took the big bump in WarGames. That should mean a bit more.

The Smackdown men argue over leadership.

We recap the Fiend defending the Smackdown World Title against Daniel Bryan. The Fiend won the title at Crown Jewel and is all evil and such, even attacking Bryan, who was a heel at the moment. It seemed that the Fiend wanted to push Bryan into bringing back the YES Movement so he could kill it once and for all, which is quite the fiendish thing to do.

Smackdown World Title: Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

The Fiend is defending. Bryan fires off the dropkicks in the corner (under the red lights) until Fiend hits a running clothesline. Fiend slugs away and knocks him to the floor for a ram into the barricade. A hard posting drops Bryan again and there’s the backsplash on the floor. The release Rock Bottom drops Bryan back inside and a toss suplex makes it worse. The nerve hold goes on for a bit before they head outside again.

This time Fiend’s running knees hit the steps, followed by a posting from Bryan. Fiend gets taken down by a running knee from the apron, plus a big dive from the top. Back in and Bryan kicks away at the head, with Fiend getting up over and over. The stomping to the head has Fiend down and the running knee connects for two. Fiend does the big scary stand up so Bryan grabs a rollup, only to get caught in the Mandible Claw to retain the title at 10:01.

Rating: B-. This was about the Fiend running through one of the biggest heroes WWE has ever seen because the Fiend is one of the biggest monsters around. It made for a nice story, though it was hard to believe that Bryan had much of a chance here. Even with the alleged return of the YES Movement, it didn’t feel like much of a threat to beat the Fiend, certainly not so soon after he won the title.

Rey Mysterio is going to be more violent against Brock Lesnar and hopes his son Dominik is watching up close.

Men’s Survivor Series Match

Raw: Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton
Smackdown: Roman Reigns, King Corbin, Shorty G, Braun Strowman, Mustafa Ali
NXT: Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Walter, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle

The fans are VERY behind Walter (who you might know better as Gunther) as we figure out who is starting. Ciampa, Rollins and Strowman start things off, with Ciampa being shoved down. McIntyre and Walter come in, with Walter being more than happy to have a hoss fight. A running clothesline drops Strowman and McIntyre gets crushed with a seated senton.

Walter German suplexes McIntyre but can’t do the same thing to Strowman. Instead it’s a running dropkick to send Strowman into the corner, only for McIntyre to Claymore Walter for the pin at 2:57 in one heck of a middle finger to the fans. Priest comes in and strikes it out with McIntyre as the fans are ticked off about Walter. Strowman misses a charge into the post, allowing G (Gable, in case you had blocked out this stupid idea) to moonsault Priest. Riddle comes in and gets into a wrestling match with G, which doesn’t seem like a good idea.

The grappling goes to a standoff so Ricochet comes in with a springboard moonsault to G and McIntyre. Owens gets the tag and picks to frog splash G for the pin at 6:27. Owens goes outside but gets caught by Ciampa with the Willow’s Bell for the pin at 7:46. Orton comes in to stare Ciampa down but Ciampa is smart enough not to walk into the RKO. Instead they get up and brawl, with Orton grabbing the RKO a few seconds later. Priest tags himself in though and tries to roll the dice, only to get reversed into the RKO for the pin at 10:16.

Riddle comes in and has to escape an RKO attempt, which he counters into a rollup to pin Orton at 10:29. Riddle celebrates the huge win and walks into an RKO, allowing Corbin to get the pin at 10:54. Lee comes in and the fans are VERY pleased, only for McIntyre to take him down with a cheap shot. It’s back to Strowman, who takes them outside for the running shoulders….and then does it again for a bonus, only for Lee to cut him off in a massive crash.

McIntyre adds a Claymore to Strowman, who is counted out at 13:18. So we’re down to Rollins, Ricochet and McIntyre for Raw, Reigns, Corbin and Ali for Smackdown and Lee and Ciampa for NXT. Ricochet comes in to clean house but walks into the End Of Days for the pin at 14:30. Ali (hometown boy) comes in to clean house, including a sweet pop up X Factor to Ciampa. The tornado DDT drops Rollins and Ciampa gets posted. Corbin pulls Ali back to the floor though and yells a lot, which is enough for Rollins to hit the Stomp for the pin at 16:10.

Reigns yells at Corbin and McIntyre plants Ciampa with the reverse Alabama Slam for two. The Claymore is cut off with a spear though and McIntyre is done at 17:33, leaving Rollins alone. Rollins jumps Reigns but the suicide dive is knocked out of the air. Willow’s Bell hits Reigns, who counters the Fairy Tale Ending into a Superman Punch. With both of them down, Corbin comes in to knock Lee off the apron, though he’s also smart enough to drag Reigns over for the tag. Corbin yells at Reigns but a chokeslam to Ciampa doesn’t work, leaving Reigns to spear Corbin and Ciampa gets the pin at 19:55.

That leaves Reigns vs. Rollins vs. Ciampa/Lee with Reigns and Rollins getting together on Ciampa before doing the same to Lee. Rollins throws Ciampa outside but Lee is back up to cut off the TripleBomb through the announcers’ table. Back in and Ciampa’s running knee and Project Ciampa get two on Rollins but the Fairy Tale Ending is escaped. Ciampa avoids the Stomp but can’t avoid Reigns’ Superman Punch. The Stomp gets rid of Ciampa at 24:00 and we’re down to one each. The fans start to sing for Lee, who gets serious as he heads back inside.

Lee runs them both over with shoulders and sends Rollins flying, followed by a slingshot crossbody to take both of them out. Rollins escapes the Big Bang Catastrophe and kicks Lee down, setting up a frog splash for two, leaving commentary stunned. Back up and the Big Bang Catastrophe gets rid of Rollins (and Raw) at 26:34.

Reigns is back up with some Superman Punches for two on Lee, who kicks out, even as the referee hits the mat for the third time. The spear is countered into the Spirit Bomb for two more and my goodness the heat on that near fall. Lee goes up but misses the moonsault, allowing Reigns to hit the spear for the pin at 29:55.

Rating: B+. This was a lot more like it, as it felt like NXT had a chance to shock the world. Lee came off like an absolute star here and Ciampa more than held his own. At the same time, it might have been a bit of a stretch for NXT to be able to beat all star teams like this, even with their issues. The good thing is that NXT held its own here, and that’s exactly how you make it feel like a genuine third brand rather than just developmental. The Walter nonsense aside, this was a good performance from NXT and the fans went nuts all the way.

NXT – 3
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1

Post match Reigns shows Lee some well earned respect.

Becky Lynch is tired of these fights with Shayna Baszler because Baszler has been training while Lynch has been going around the world. It doesn’t matter though as Lynch knows there is nothing Baszler can do to take her down. Then there’s Bayley, who made Lynch come looking for her. Now she’s going to hurt her.

We recap Brock Lesnar defending the Raw World Title against Rey Mysterio. Lesnar beat up Rey and then attacked his son Dominik (almost unrecognizable compared to what he would be a few years later) to make it personal. Rey brought in former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez to go after Lesnar, which went pretty horribly, so now Rey is fighting for himself.

Raw World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, is defending and anything goes. Mysterio gets smart by grabbing a lead pipe to start, sending Lesnar to the floor. Back in and Lesnar runs him over with some clotheslines, sending Mysterio outside. Mysterio gets sent flying over the announcers’ table and then rammed hard into the post as the slow beating is on. Another posting is broken up though as Mysterio sends him into the post instead, only for Lesnar to German suplex him onto the pipe.

Lesnar gets in another German suplex but here is Dominik Mysterio with a towel. Lesnar grabs Dominik so Rey gets in a low blow, as does Rey. Some pipe shots have Lesnar in trouble and Dominik adds a chair shot, followed by a double 619. Dominik and Rey hit a frog splash each…for two, and you can feel the air go out of the place. Lesnar is back up with a German suplex to Dominik before pulling Rey out of the air for the F5 to retain at 6:55.

Rating: B. The good thing about Mysterio is that you can put him in a spot like this and the fans will believe that he could pull off a miracle. The false finish with the double 619 was great but after that, you knew it wasn’t going to happen. They were smart to keep this short and action packed, as there was only so much of a way to believe that Mysterio was going to be a threat long term.

We recap the women’s triple threat. Becky Lynch is still arguably the biggest star in WWE but Shayna Baszler isn’t scared of her. Bayley has to be there too because of the triple brand thing.

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

Non-title again. Bayley rams Baszler into Lynch but Lynch fights out without much effort. A clothesline puts Lynch down, leaving Baszler and Bayley to brawl to the floor. That’s broken up and Baszler is knocked outside, leaving Bayley to sunset bomb Lynch into the corner. Baszler takes Lynch’s place and gets beaten up again, only to come back with a stomp to Bayley’s arm.

Bayley is back up and knocks Baszler outside before unloading on Lynch in the corner. A Stunner over the ropes cuts Baszler off again but Lynch knocks Bayley down to take over. Lynch plants both of them and drops the top rope legdrop for two on Bayley. Baszler is back up as well, only to get kneed down by Bayley, who takes Lynch out as well. The Bayley To Belly gets two on Baszler, who is right back with a gutwrench faceplant.

Baszler fireman’s carries Bayley, which is broken up by a missile dropkick from the returning Lynch. Bayley breaks up the slugout and gets choked by Baszler, with Lynch making the save. Lynch powerbombs Baszler out of the corner but gets choked as well. Baszler is sent into Bayley for the save and Lynch gets the Disarm-Her, which is broken up too. Bayley pulls Baszler outside but hurts her own leg, allowing Baszler to take both of them out. Baszler plants Lynch on the announcers’ table but gets suplexed by Bayley back inside. That’s shrugged off and the Kirifuda Clutch gives Baszler the win at 18:03.

Rating: B-. They were working hard and it was far from a bad match, but there was very litter crowd energy for this. At the end of the day, the crowd was just done after the Lesnar/Mysterio and Men’s Survivor Series matches. You can’t take that much energy out of them and then expect a match which doesn’t mean a ton (NXT was at worst tying here) to feel special. It’s not bad, but the show needed to be laid out better.

NXT – 4
Smackdown – 2
Raw – 1

Post match Baszler poses over Lynch, who knocks her onto the announcers’ table. Lynch puts her through said table (with a chair falling on Baszler’s head to make it even worse) and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Excellent show here, with NXT feeling like they had arrived and actually winning with a pretty dominant performance. There’s nothing close to bad on the whole show and the crowd carried it to another level. I had forgotten how good the matches were throughout and the three way competition actually worked all night. Find a better way to finish and it’s that much better, but this was awesome stuff.

 

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal:

Original: D
2020 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C

Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto

Original: C+
2020 Redo: C
2025 Redo: B

New Day vs. Viking Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

Original: B
2020 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B-

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Original: B-
2020 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles

Original: B
2020 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B+

Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Original: A-
2020 Redo: B+
2025 Redo: B

The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B
2020 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B-

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Original: B+
2020 Redo: A-
2025 Redo: B+

Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+
2020 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B

Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch

Original: D+
2020 Redo: C
2025 Redo: B-

Overall Rating:

Original: B+
2020 Redo: B+
2025 Redo: A-

The main event was a lot better than I gave it credit for before, as was the tag team battle royal. All around, an outstanding show.

 

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

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Survivor Series 2010
Date: November 21, 2010
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker

So what we have here is a show with Survivor Series matches a few months after a huge Survivor Series style match headlined Summerslam. Therefore, the solution is to have a big focus on John Cena, who is guest refereeing the main event. If Cena helps his Nexus teammate Wade Barrett (yes it was a thing) win, he’s free but if he doesn’t, he’s fired. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is of course about Cena, who talks about how he is being asked if he will compromise his integrity one time…but at what cost? No other match is even mentioned.

United States Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Daniel Bryan

DiBiase, with a bored looking Maryse, is challenging. They fight over wrist control to start until Bryan hits a dropkick…and the lights dim a bit. A boot to the chest cuts off DiBiase’s leapfrog attempt but he’s fine enough to suplex Bryan out to the floor. Back in and Bryan’s kicks to the ribs are cut off and DiBiase hammers away as Maryse looks….well she exists. A nice standing dropkick gives DiBiase two and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and Bryan hits a running dropkick into the corner, allowing him to moonsault over DiBiase. The running dropkick connects and Bryan sends him to the floor for the suicide dive. As usual, Bryan bangs up his shoulder, but he’s able to hit a missile dropkick to cut DiBiase down again.

The LeBell Lock is blocked though and DiBiase hits a running clothesline for two more. Dream Street (cobra clutch slam) is broken up as well though and Bryan knocks him down. DiBiase takes him up top but gets crotched, setting up a top rope belly to back superplex for two. The LeBell Lock retains the title at 9:56.

Rating: B-. Bryan was starting to become a much bigger deal around this time and he managed to do some nice stuff with a pretty generic heel. DiBiase had the look and some ability on the microphone, but he just never got to a higher level. If Bryan can only get you to pretty good, it’s not a great sign, which was about everything in DiBiase’s career after his debut.

Post match Bryan goes to leave but Miz jumps him with his Money In The Bank briefcase (and Alex Riley). Miz mocks Miami and says that LeBron James will never win a title here. As for the wrestling side though, he’s tired of carrying the briefcase and is cashing in soon. Tomorrow in fact. The lights going out two more times here didn’t help but Miz rolled with the whole thing.

We recap Sheamus vs. John Morrison. Sheamus has been bullying Santino Marella so Morrison came out for the save (as he has done a few times) so the match is set.

Sheamus is ready to beat Morrison up and show him what a bully is like.

Sheamus vs. John Morrison

Morrison starts fast with a headscissors to the floor, followed by a slingshot dive. Back in and Sheamus hammers away, which works a bit better for him. The chinlock is on early before Sheamus slowly forearms away at the back. A backbreaker gives Sheamus two and we hit another quickly broken chinlock. Sheamus hits some seated forearms to the chest (it was a work in progress) and they go up top with Morrison knocking him back down. Morrison’s high crossbody is rolled through though and Sheamus plants him for two more.

The Brogue Kick is loaded up but Morrison scores with an enziguri instead. Sheamus’ High Cross attempt is countered with a catapult into the corner and a Russian legsweep gives Morrison two. Morrison is sent into the corner and gets his leg knocked out for two, leaving Sheamus SCREAMING about it being three. Sheamus gets sent into the corner again but Starship Pain is broken up. The Brogue Kick misses though and a running knee gives Morrison the quick pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. I’ve always liked these two together and it seemed like Morrison was on the way to a higher level. If he could have been more of this serious version, it certainly could have worked out. Sheamus was his usual solid self as well, knowing how to do a power match rather well throughout.

R-Truth comes up to John Cena and brings up the fact that Nexus is banned from ringside for the main event. The thing is, R-Truth isn’t banned and since you can only win by pinfall or submission, what if R-Truth came out and something happened to Randy Orton? An accident happened and Cena gets to keep his job! Cena gets really serious and says he can’t do it because he’d be seen as a joke. He’s calling this down the middle, but R-Truth says he’ll believe it when he sees it. They’re trying with this, but it’s really hard to buy that Cena is actually leaving no matter what. You know, because it’s Cena.

Intercontinental Title: Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kaval is challenging after beating Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) on Smackdown and this is his guaranteed title shot for winning the second season of NXT. A running shoulder drops Ziggler to start so he knocks Kaval into the corner. The Hennig necksnap gives Ziggler two but Kaval fights back, only to get distracted by Guerrero. Ziggler drops him onto the turnbuckle and we hit the chinlock to slow Kaval down.

That stays on for a good while until Kaval gets up and kicks him in the back of the head. Kaval’s handspring kick to the face (OUCH) gets two but he misses a phoenix splash, only to land on his feet. A quick Fameasser gives Ziggler two and he launches Kaval up to the top, where he bounces back with a spinning kick to the head. They trade some rollups for two each until Ziggler rolls him up and grabs the tights to retain at 9:33.

Rating: B-. Kaval did some good stuff here and those kicks were looking great, but if you can’t win the midcard title after winning NXT, there is only so much of a future. That’s probably why Kaval was gone from the company in about a month and a half with this as his big moment. Ziggler felt like he was doing the same thing for years and this was right in the middle of that run.

Jack Swagger is not happy with being on Team Alberto Del Rio because he’s the only former World Champion on the team. Cody Rhodes comes up to mock Swagger for not being able to get into a club last night. Del Rio, Drew McIntyre and Tyler Reks (the rest of the team) come in with Del Rio giving them a pep talk. He wants to see little kids crying tonight and if they win, he’ll buy the beers! Rhodes hates to admit it, but Del Rio is good.

Team Del Rio vs. Team Mysterio

Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger
Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Chris Masters, Kofi Kingston, MVP

Mysterio (in blue, like the rest of his team in a nice touch) start things off with Del Rio, who hands it off to Rhodes before doing anything. This lets Striker and Cole debate if Rickey Henderson is the greatest baseball player ever, with Lawler having to get them back on track. They run the ropes a bit and Rhodes gets an early two. It’s off to MVP vs. Del Rio with MVP kicking him into the corner.

Kingston comes in for a front facelock but Del Rio kicks away at Masters’ leg to take over. The villains take turns stomping on Masters in the corner and McIntyre goes up, only to dive into a raised boot (thankfully looking like he was trying a splash rather than just jumping for the sake of jumping). It’s back to MVP to take over but Del Rio trios him up on a suplex, allowing McIntyre to fall on top of him for the pin at 5:35. Masters comes in and hammers away on Del Rio, who cross armbreakers him for the elimination at 6:41.

Show comes in and tells Del Rio to try it on him. It’s off to Swagger, who is quickly beaten up, so Del Rio comes in, only to chop McIntyre for a tag. The WMD hits Del Rio (despite McIntyre being legal) and Show has to fight out of the Futureshock attempt. Show slams Kingston onto McIntyre as Del Rio is helped out. Rhodes gets hit in the face and insists that his mirror jacket is held up to reaffirm his dashingness. Back in and Kingston hits him in the face again, followed by the WMD for the pin at 10:58.

Apparently Del Rio is out so we’re down to three on three. Reks clotheslines Show down for two and Swagger comes in to start on the leg. The chokeslam attempt is countered into Swagger’s ankle lock, which is broken up so Mysterio can come in. The springboard spinning crossbody hits Swagger, who is able to block the 619.

That means the ankle lock goes on, with Mysterio escaping rather quickly. Another 619 is cut off by Reks and it’s off to Kingston, who dropkicks Reks down. Various kicks and a high crossbody give Kingston two but he gets hung in the Tree Of Woe. That’s reversed with an upside down dropkick to pin Reks at 15:11.

Swagger is back in with an ankle lock, which is broken up, followed by another ankle lock to make Kingston tap at 15:56. Swagger comes in to break up Mysterio’s assisted splash, only to get caught with the 619. Now the assisted splash gives Mysterio the pin at 17:36, leaving us with McIntyre vs. Show/Mysterio. McIntyre is cut off with 619 and the chokeslam for the final pin at 18:21.

Rating: C+. Not bad here, and they did a nice job of keeping things moving so it wasn’t clear who was going to survive. That’s one of the perks of a match like this, as you can mix and match so much stuff and get something interesting as a result. Mysterio and Show worked well together in the end, though Del Rio leaving so early didn’t exactly help much. Also of note: DANG 2010 had some awesome theme songs, like Smoke And Mirrors and Broken Dreams, plus Del Rio’s rather snazzy music.

Randy Orton doesn’t care about John Cena, the Miz or Wade Barrett. All that matters is his title so tonight, it’s an RKO for Barrett.

Divas Title: Laycool vs. Natalya

Laycool is defending in a handicap match. Natalya headlocks McCool to start and then wrestles her down without much trouble. Back up and McCool takes her into the corner, where Layla gets to send Natalya outside. That’s shrugged off and Natalya throws both of them over the barricade, with Layla being in trouble. Back in and Natalya plants McCool and grabs the Sharpshooter for the title at 3:39.

Rating: D+. This was nothing but a cool down match and they didn’t hide that fact. Natalya ran through the team like they were nothing and took the title, which didn’t make for the most thrilling stuff. You can only get so much out of this kind of a match and it’s a fine example of how little chance the women had in this period. What are you supposed to do with three and a half minutes in this structure?

Post matcy Laycool jumps Natalya but Beth Phoenix runs in for the save.

We recap Kane vs. Edge for the Smackdown World Title. Kane is full on evil with Paul Bearer behind him but Edge was back from his latest injury and became #1 contender. Edge then kidnapped Bearer, which had Kane freaking out, partially because Edge kept attacking Bearer…with food.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Kane

Kane is defending and gets his throat snapped across the top to start. Edge fights out of a chokeslam attempt and hits a spinwheel kick. The big boot misses for Kane and Edge goes after the leg to put him down. Back up and Kane puts him on the apron so the big boot can connect. We slow down a bit and the neck crank goes on, with Kane asking where Bearer is.

A basement dropkick gives Kane two and the cravate goes on. That’s broken up and Edge hits a high crossbody before dropkicking Kane out of the air. The uppercut connects for Kane and the side slam plants Edge for two. The chokeslam is countered into the Impaler but the spear is cut off with a big boot. Now the chokeslam can connect for two but Edge scores with the spear for the pin at 12:50….and all four shoulders are down so it’s a draw.

Rating: D+. Bleh, with the ending taking away what little good the match had in the first place. This didn’t feel like an important story and was a great example of how having two World Titles wasn’t always a good thing. It came off like little more than a glorified midcard title, with Bearer’s kidnapping apparently being a “well get to this later” major plot point.

Post match the fight is still on, with Edge sending him into the steps. Edge puts him into a wheelchair for a crash through the barricade.

Wade Barrett comes in to see John Cena and talks about how this is the same building where the Nexus attacked everyone on June 7. Now Cena is here as part of the team, but all he has to do is do the right thing and he’s free. Cena does remember June 7, just like he remembers every single thing Nexus has done to him. Tonight, when the time is right, he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Tag Team Titles: Nexus vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov

Rating: Nexus, with the Nexus, is defending. Marella throws Slater down to start and it’s off to Gabriel, who misses some spinning kicks. Kozlov comes in to kick Gabriel in the chest but he takes out Kozlov’s leg. A neckbreaker puts Kozlov down and Slater drops a knee for two as the double stomping is on.

Gabriel comes in for a cravate so Kozlov drives him into the corner. That earns a cheap shot from Slater, allowing Nexus to bring Kozlov back into the corner again. Back up and Kozlov clotheslines his way to freedom, allowing Marella to come in for the house cleaning. The flying headbutt hits Gabriel but a quick distraction slows Marella down. Slater’s running Zig Zag (or something close to it) retains at 5:10.

Rating: C-. This was yet another period where the Tag Team Titles were about as important as the Women’s Title and it showed again here. This match could not have felt less important and it’s not like either team was particularly good in the first place. Marella and Kozlov were a nice oddball pairing, but that’s not enough to carry interest here.

Post match we get an email from the Anonymous Raw GM, who reminds us that Nexus is banned from ringside in the main event.

We recap Randy Orton defending against Wade Barrett. John Cena has been forced to join Nexus and hates everything about it. Barrett has a title shot with Cena as guest referee. If Cena helps Barrett win, Cena is free, but if Barrett doesn’t win, Cena is fired. Cena is of course conflicted, because he’s Cena and therefore can never do anything wrong.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett

Barrett is challenging and John Cena is guest referee. They start rather slowly until Cena accidentally distracts Orton, allowing Barrett to knock him down. Barrett slowly stomps away and they go outside, with Orton being sent into the steps. Back in and Barrett gets two before punching Orton down for the same (with the count possibly being a bit slow). The chinlock goes on for a bit until Orton fights up and starts the comeback.

The backbreaker gives Orton two (pretty much the same cadence as Cena gave for Barrett) but Barrett knocks down and hits a middle rope elbow for two of his own. A pumphandle slam and the Winds Of Change get two and Barrett is getting frustrated at the (so far fair) count. Wasteland gets two, with Orton having to grab the rope to escape.

Barrett is so frustrated that he shoves Cena, who knocks him into the RKO for the pin (with the three being a bit slow) at 15:15. Striker: “CENA’S FREE!” Cole: “Cena’s fired.” Striker: “Oh. Sorry.” So yes, Striker managed to screw up the point of the ONLY MATCH ON THE SHOW that WWE hyped up at all.

Rating: C. It was a slow, plodding match where you kept waiting for Cena to do his big thing and when he finally did, it was about as tiny as imaginable. As was the case though, Nexus comes up short in the big moment again, which was one of the main reasons the stable was doomed. Without winning something important (and no, the Tag Team Titles were not important), they were little more than a nuisance than a threat and that was on display again here.

Post match Nexus comes in to go after Cena but he and Orton clear the ring. Cena hands Orton the title and hugs him, with Orton seemingly appreciative that Cena called the match fairly (and helped him win). Orton leaves and Cena is all upset in the ring. Cena takes his armband off and goes to say goodbye to commentary before going to the stage and looking out at the crowd. The copyright logo comes up and Cena goes into the crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. While there is some ok action to start, it becomes VERY clear that this is a show built around one match and one match only. That was all they hyped up at the beginning and pretty much throughout the show, which didn’t leave much else on the card. Throw in that Cena, who had been immediately fired as a result of the main event, was on Raw the next night and beat Barrett at TLC and the whole show felt even less important. The action was ok, but it was a show that bet everything on one match and that match didn’t deliver very well, basically dooming the whole night.

Results
Daniel Bryan b. Ted DiBiase – LeBell Lock
John Morrison b. Sheamus – Running knee
Dolph Ziggler b. Kaval – Rollup with tights
Team Mysterio b. Team Del Rio last eliminating McIntyre
Natalya b. Laycool – Sharpshooter to McCool
Edge vs. Kane went to a draw
Nexus b. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov – Running jumping Russian legsweep to Marella
Randy Orton b. Wade Barrett – RKO

Ratings Comparison

Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase

Original: B
2012 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B-

John Morrison vs. Sheamus

Original: B
2012 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B-

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval

Original: B-
2012 Redo: C-
2025 Redo: B-

Team Mysterio vs. Team Del Rio

Original: B-
2012 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: C+

Natalya vs. Laycool

Original: D+
2012 Redo: D
2025 Redo: D+

Kane vs. Edge

Original: D
2012 Redo: F+
2025 Redo: D+

Nexus vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov

Original: D
2012 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C-

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett

Original: D+
2012 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C

Overall Rating

Original: B
2012 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C

It always interests me when I’m expecting to be way to harsh on a show and it turns out it’s WAY nicer than I was the previous time. This show still isn’t very good though.

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: November 7, 2025
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Center, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Saturday Night’s Main Event and Cody Rhodes seems to be done with Drew McIntyre. After defending the title again, Rhodes is going to need a new challenger and with Survivor Series in about three weeks, there is a good chance we find out something about that tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Saturday Night’s Main Event if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Rhodes retaining the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Here is Rhodes, who talks about ending things against McIntyre once and for all. He wants someone new to come after the title and is willing to sit in the crowd and find out who it is. Cue Aleister Black and Zelina to interrupt, with Black saying there is a WWE Championship sized chip on his shoulder. Vega gets in Rhodes’ face but Nick Aldis comes out to make the match for tonight.

Ilja Dragunov runs into Tama Tonga in the back.

US Title: Ilja Dragunov vs. ???

Dragunov is defending in another open challenge, with DIY answering. Tommaso Ciampa calls out Dragunov for calling him a jackass last week, earning a JACKASS chant. Dragunov is willing to defend…against Johnny Gargano. Ciampa isn’t happy but goes with it and we’re ready to go. Gargano knocks him into the corner to start but gets taken down in some rolling German suplexes. Another suplex drops Gargano again and we take a break.

We come back with Gargano enziguring him down so they can trade forearms. The Constantine Special drops Gargano again and Dragunov hits a running boot in the corner. Gargano is right back with a superkick into a poisonrana, with Dragunov coming up with a busted nose.

They go to the corner with Dragunov knocking him off, setting up a middle rope backsplash. A belly to back slam plants Gargano but Candice LeRae pulls Dragunov outside. One Final Beat gives Gargano two but Dragunov catches him with an apron superplex. The H Bomb retains the title at 10:51.

Rating: B-. This was what you would expect from these two as they were doing their big time moves until Gargano lost. Dragunov vs. Ciampa is the big teased match and that could be quite the showdown. They have to do stuff like this to get there though and at least the match was good enough.

Sami Zayn comes in to see Nick Aldis and asks him to be ringside for Rey Fenix’s match tonight. Aldis has to turn him down again and that’s not a request. Zayn agrees, but he won’t do this much longer. R-Truth comes in and wants to be in the Last Time Is Now tournament. He puts his balls in Aldis’ hands (literally) but Aldis says he’s already in the field. This makes R-Truth mad and he leaves. Aldis: “I don’t know what just happened here.”

We look at Jade Cargill winning the Women’s Title at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Johnny Gargano apologized to Tommaso Ciampa for losing but Fraxiom comes in to mock them both.

Here is Jade Cargill for a chat. Cargill says that will happen to anyone who comes after her and she is that b****. And that’s it, though she runs into Charlotte and Alexa Bliss on the way to the ring as she leaves. Staring ensues.

Chelsea Green is ready to win the Women’s US Title back but Michin and B-Fab come in to mock her. Green says she’ll be the best champion on Smackdown but Jade Cargill comes in to scare her. B-Fab isn’t pleased and a match is made for next week.

Charlotte vs. Nia Jax

Alexa Bliss is here with Charlotte. They trade slaps to start until Charlotte hits a Thesz press to hammer away. After not quite sticking the landing on a nip up (she laughed about it), Charlotte is sent hard into the corner as we take a break. We come back with Charlotte booting her in the face and hitting a high crossbody.

A flipping clothesline drops Jax (and we go black screen due to some wardrobe issues), followed by a moonsault to give Charlotte two. Jax grabs a sitout powerbomb for two more but the Annihilator misses. Charlotte knees her for two and a tornado DDT gets the same. Cue NXT’s Lash Legend to jump Bliss and choke her on the floor, allowing Jax to splash Charlotte in the corner. The Annihilator finishes for Jax at 10:25.

Rating: C+. Charlotte is one of the few women who can hang with Jax size wise and it made for a better match. You don’t see Jax have something of a hoss fight very often and I was digging it here. Charlotte’s evolution is rather shocking as I never imagined it going this well and now we have a tag match set.

Legend and Jax leave together. I can absolutely go for Legend being on Smackdown full time.

We recap the Last Time Is Now tournament.

Nick Aldis draws two first round matches:

Miz vs. Jey Uso
LA Knight vs. ???

Aldis won’t say Knight’s opponent. That makes me think a returning Gunther or someone who will appear when you say his name.

Nia Jax says she and Lash Legend are indeed friends. Legend introduces herself and says they’re going to the top.

Women’s United States Title: Giulia vs. Chelsea Green

Green, with Alba Fyre, is challenging and Kiana James is here with Giulia. A headbutt rocks Green to start and the knee gets two. Giulia chokes on the ropes and James gets in a cheap shot, earning a superkick from Fyre. Giulia goes after Fyre…and gets rolled up with feet on the ropes to give Green the title back at 1:35. It’s not like Giulia was doing anything with the title anyway so go with the one on a roll at the moment.

Solo Sikoa wants more from the MFT’s, starting with Talla Tonga needing to teach a lesson. The team leaves and the Wyatt Sicks pop up behind them.

Charlotte checks on Alexa Bliss in the trainer’s room…but Asuka pops in to mist Charlotte in the eyes. Well that’s mean.

Talla Tonga vs. Rey Fenix

The MFT’s are here with Tonga. Actually never mind as the Motor City Machine Guns and Shinsuke Nakamura come out to brawl with them to the back. That leaves Fenix to hit a dive and the bell rings with Tonga easily shoving him down. A running big boot sends Fenix into the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Fenix’s springboard being knocked out of the air and some elbows in the corner keeping him in trouble. Tonga misses a charge though and gets kicked in the face, only to come back with a heck of an uppercut. Fenix kicks him in the head a few times, including a rope walk kick to the face. A springboard high crossbody gives Fenix two but a hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb. The chokeslam finishes Fenix off at 9:11.

Rating: B-. There was a good story here with the giant vs. the smaller guy and it worked well. The problem is that Tonga is only so good in the ring and Fenix has lost time after time to the point where it doesn’t mean as much. The MFT’s seem like they’re ready to do a bunch of stuff but none of it has really happened yet. That’s going to need to change, which has been the case for a long time.

Post match Tonga goes after Fenix again but Sami Zayn runs in with a chair for the save.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

The Miz says last week’s attack on Carmelo Hayes wasn’t payback before moving on to the Last Time Is Now tournament. He’s ready to win the tournament and beat John Cena again, just like he did in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Cody Rhodes vs. Aleister Black

Non-title and Zelina is here with Black. They trade armdrags to start fast until Rhodes jumps over him in the corner. The drop down uppercut is countered into a quickly broken cross armbreaker but Black kicks him out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Rhodes getting two off the snap powerslam before Black’s kick to the head gets the same. Rhodes comes back with a running forearm and another powerslam, followed by the Disaster Kick for two.

Cross Rhodes is countered and another kick drops Rhodes, who is back with a Cody Cutter for two more. Another Cross Rhodes attempt is countered and they kick each other down…and here is Drew McIntyre to Claymore the referee. Rhodes goes after McIntyre so Black jumps Rhodes, with Damian Priest coming in to go after the villains. Zelina’s interference doesn’t really work but Black gets in a shot to Priest’s eye. The match is a no contest at around 10:00.

Rating: B-. They got in some good stuff while they had the chance, which granted was only so long. The ending is a bit interesting as it opens up some doors, though Rhodes needs a new top challenger. While McIntyre is a big deal, he was only so much of a threat to take the title. I’m not sure Black is going to be anything more than a challenger of the month, but at least it’s something different.

Post match Nick Aldis suspends McIntyre to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The action here was fine, but this was another show that didn’t feel very exciting. The matches were ok enough and nothing was terrible, but there is nothing on here that makes me want to keep watching. Rather than rushing towards something, it comes off more like a leisurely jog with little in the way of drama. Nothing much to this one, which is a shame as the wrestling was pretty decent.

Results
Ilja Dragunov b. Johnny Gargano – H Bomb
Nia Jax b. Charlotte – Annihilator
Chelsea Green b. Giulia – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Cody Rhodes vs. Aleister Black went to a no contest

 

 

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Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI
Date: November 1, 2025
Location: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s a big show this time as we have the Raw World Title needing to be decided following Seth Rollins’ injury. Other than that, the Smackdown World Title is on the line as Drew McIntyre gets another shot at Cody Rhodes. The Intercontinental and Smackdown Women’s Titles are both on the line as well so let’s get to it.

The opening video features flashbacks to the original series before shifting to look at tonight’s edition.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre

Rhodes is defending and can lose the title via countout or DQ. We get the Big Match Intros and McIntyre insists on being introduced as the REAL American Dream in a great bit of trolling. Rhodes slugs away to start and McIntyre heads outside to slow things back down. Back in and McIntyre tries to send Rhodes into the referee, which McIntyre thinks should be a DQ. McIntyre bites his head and Rhodes stomps away, which has him almost shoving the referee in frustration.

That’s enough of a distraction for McIntyre to get in a cheap shot from behind and post Rhodes for a bonus. Back in and an elbow drops Rhodes before McIntyre sends him flying with a suplex. McIntyre goes up top and gets superplexed down and…the stream freezes for a few moments. We come back with Rhodes winning a slugout and hitting the Disaster Kick.

The Cody Cutter connects (though it looked like McIntyre tried to counter) for two but McIntyre is back with a spinebuster and sitout powerbomb for two of his own. With frustration setting in, McIntyre grabs the title, which he throws to Rhodes. That’s not enough to get Rhodes to snap as he throws the title away, only to get Claymored for two. They head outside where McIntyre can’t hit another Claymore but can knock him off the apron and through the announcers’ table for a heck of a crash.

Back in and another Claymore misses so Rhodes tries to climb the corner, only to bang up his knee. The knee is fine enough to hit the Cody Cutter for two (the first one must have been a botch) before the referee gets bumped. McIntyre grabs the title, which is knocked away, and it’s a double crossbody to leave everyone down. They both crawl for the belt, with Rhodes giving him a DDT onto it for the knockout. Cross Rhodes retains the title at 18:43.

Rating: B. Good, hard fought match here, which is what you want to see out of these two. They had something interesting with the idea of Rhodes being in more danger than usual. The fans were into what they were doing and it felt like the title was in jeopardy a few times. Rhodes is likely gearing up for his feud with Randy Orton over the title and this was a great way to give him a boost on the way there.

We recap Jade Cargill challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Stratton beat her once but Cargill came back and turned evil, even injuring Stratton’s knee on the way here.

Nick Aldis makes sure that Stratton is good to go, which she insists she is.

Various celebrities are here.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton is defending and slugs away to start fast. That earns her a quick chokeslam but Cargill misses a charge into the corner. Cargill is fine enough to catch her on top as Stratton gets caught in the Tree Of Woe. Some cranking on the knee has Stratton down on the floor and Cargill is not impressed. Stratton is able to send her into the steps for a breather and then drops her off the top inside. The Swanton hits Cargill for two but she’s right back with a fall away slam. It works so well that she does it two more times for another near fall. A pair of powerbombs puts Stratton down and Jaded gives Cargill the title at 5:32.

Rating: C+. This was built around the idea of Stratton’s knee being banged up and that’s a fine way to go. It turned into Cargill smashing through the injured Stratton, who got in a flurry to start but then just got overwhelmed. That’s a good way to end Stratton’s long reign, as she was beaten by someone she couldn’t stop. There are already people set to come after Cargill, including a likely soon to return Bianca Belair. This was how the title change should have gone down and it worked rather well.

Saturday Night’s Main Event is back in Montreal on January 24.

Intercontinental Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Rusev

Mysterio is defending and gets knocked to the floor to start fast. Rusev dropkicks Penta for two and then powerbombs Mysterio, allowing him to sneer a lot. They fight to the floor where Mysterio posts Rusev before Penta flip dives onto both of them. Back in and Penta’s slingshot dropkick hits Mysterio in the corner, with Rusev pulling Penta outside for a ram into the barricade.

Mysterio gets dropped onto the announcers’ table, allowing Rusev to tell the title that he’s coming. Back in and Rusev chokes on the ropes but Penta breaks up the Accolade attempt. The Backstabber out of the corner gives Penta two on Rusev and some basement superkicks make it worse. Rusev shrugs that off and hits the swinging release Rock Bottom for two of his own. With Penta down in the corner, Mysterio grabs a chair and throws it to Rusev…apparently forgetting that it’s No DQ.

Rusev wrecks Mysterio with the chair but Penta kicks it into Rusev’s face. A springboard tornado DDT plants Rusev for two but he’s back with an Alabama Slam. Back up and the Penta Driver plants Rusev, only to have him pop back up and superkick Penta out of the air. The Accolade goes on and the bell rings….but there was no tap out. Mysterio rang the bell for the save, which earns him quite the beating. Rusev gets sent into the steps though and Penta grabs the bell hammer, which accidentally hits Rusev. Mysterio takes Penta out and frog splashes Rusev to retain at 12:37.

Rating: B-. There is something awesome about Mysterio’s “What if Honky Tonk Man was just a little bit smarter?” title reign. On paper, Mysterio should be getting wrecked in every title match but he’s just smart enough to find a way out. That’s all he needs to do, and he’s already approaching seven months as champion. It might not be great, but it makes sense and it’s working well enough, even as Rusev takes yet another fall.

We get a preview of a big interview with John Cena, which will be released in full in the coming weeks.

Cena narrates a video announcing a sixteen man tournament (The Last Time Is Now Tournament) to earn the right to be his final opponent. There will be entries from all three brands and maybe even some surprises.

We recap Jey Uso vs. CM Punk for the vacant Raw World Title. Punk earned the shot against Seth Rollins, who got hurt, so Uso won a battle royal to earn the shot. They’re friends, but they both need to be champion.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Jey Uso

For the vacant title so of course they do the Big Match Intros. They take their time to start with Punk backing him into the corner and they go into the grappling. Uso rolls him up for a quick two before Punk grabs his headlock for the trademark SHOUTING IN HIS OPPONENT’S ear. Apparently the advice is “try to escape the GTS by going to the floor” before Punk takes him down for some elbows.

Punk’s neckbreaker drops Uso (after they seem to both try one at once for a weird visual) and they chop it out. Uso knocks him into the corner but the spear is countered with a front facelock and another neckbreaker gives Punk two. Back up and they slug it out with Uso getting the better of things. A quick GTS sends Uso outside though and Punk sends him back in, with Uso being smart enough to go towards the ropes. Punk grabs a suplex for two but Uso breaks up a superplex attempt.

Uso misses a dive off the top but starts hammering away, setting up the running Umaga Attack. Another is cut off so Uso hits a superkick and the spear into the Superfly Splash for a near fall. Punk catches him on top for a top rope superplex and they’re both down again. Back up and they slug it out until Punk takes over, including a leg lariat. Uso superkicks him out to the floor for a suicide dive and they’re both down for a breather.

Uso is back with a spear through the barricade but the Superfly Splash hits knees. Another GTS gives Punk two but Uso hits his own GTS. Punk hits an awful spear for two more and is back with a GTS. Another is attempted but Punk collapses, with Uso pulling him into the sleeper. That’s reversed into the Anaconda Vice so Uso makes the ropes. Another Vice attempt is countered into a rollup and Uso is back with some superkicks. Uso charges into a knee to the head though and a pair of GTS’s give Punk the pin and the title at 20:58.

Rating: B+. There were only so many ways to go after Rollins’ injury and Punk winning the title on a pretty big stage is the best option they have. Punk gets to show that he still has it without having a Money In The Bank cash-in waiting on him. At the same time, there are several people who could come for the title, including LA Knight, Sami Zayn and eventually Bron Breakker. It wound up being a rather good match as well, with Uso giving everything he could before falling in the end. Nice stuff here, with a limited amount of ways to go given the circumstances.

Punk celebrates as Uso looks up at him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was entertaining and less than two hours so they certainly got in and out without wasting time. At the same time, the show really didn’t feel that important. None of the stories came off like they were overly important, even with a pair of World Titles on the line. Punk vs. Rollins would have felt bigger, but there just wasn’t much to see here that kept me engaged. It’s a good show due to the action, but hopefully they have something a bit better on the way to Survivor Series, because they’ll need the upgrade.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. Drew McIntyre – Cross Rhodes
Jade Cargill b. Tiffany Stratton – Jaded
Dominik Mysterio b. Penta and Rusev – Frog splash to Rusev
CM Punk b. Jey Uso – GTS

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: October 24, 2025
Location: Mullett Arena, Tempe, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re rapidly approaching Saturday Night’s Main Event and now we get to see what that might mean. We need to have something set for the show on the Smackdown side, which is what we will likely get here. There is a good chance this involves World Champion Cody Rhodes, who is still dealing with Drew McIntyre. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s show, focusing on Jacob Fatu being attacked and setting up Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes in a surprise main event.

Jimmy Uso thanks Rhodes for standing up for Fatu last week. Rhodes asks if Jimmy and Jey are ok. Jimmy appreciates that and is off to talk to Nick Aldis.

Here is Rhodes for a chat. He mentions the upcoming title match against Drew McIntyre at Saturday Night’s Main Event, including mentioning hitting McIntyre with the belt last week. Cue McIntyre, who can’t believe the fans are still cheering for Rhodes. McIntyre lists off a variety of things Rhodes has done to him and promises to destroy the story next Saturday. As for Fatu, yeah he hates the family, but he didn’t do it. McIntyre suggests Rhodes did it so Rhodes wants to fight right now, only for Jimmy Uso to run out and go after McIntyre instead. Things are calmed down but here are Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s for their scheduled match.

Post break, Uso and McIntyre brawl in the back again.

MFT’s vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/Rey Fenix

Tonga strikes away at Nakamura to start but Nakamura slips away, allowing the tags off to Fenix and Mateo. Fenix quickly sends him into the corner and it’s a double Good Vibrations, followed by a double COME ON as we take a break. We come back with Tonga flipping Fenix inside out with a clothesline before Mateo grabs a nerve hold.

That’s broken up and Fenix kicks him in the head, allowing Nakamura to come in and kick away. It’s right back to Fenix for another kick to the head as everything breaks down. Sikoa offers a distraction though and Talla Tonga chokeslams Fenix onto the apron. Back in and Tama gives Fenix a running elbow (the Cutthroat) for the pin at 11:27.

Rating: B-. I can go for Nakamura getting a spot on the show helping to put people over, as it’s a nice way to wrap up his time in the company. On the other hand you have Fenix, who is basically the rotating tag partner, which isn’t a great sign for his current or future status. Then you have the MFT’s, who seem likely to be going for the Tag Team Titles again soon.

Jimmy Uso talks to Nick Aldis, who puts him in a No DQ match with Drew McIntyre tonight.

Chelsea Green and Kay Lee Ray interrupt Giulia and suggests a merger. Kiana James comes in to say not quite, with Giulia not seeming impressed.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James

Non-title and Giulia is here with James. Stratton’s wristlock is quickly escaped with a flip so she does some flips of her own, followed by an armbar. Some running knees to the back send James outside, where Stratton forearms her in the face. Giulia offers a quick distraction though and James gets in a cheap shot as we take a break.

We come back with James hitting a running shoulder in the corner for two. Stratton manages a knockdown for a double breather though and the clothesline comeback is on. It’s too early for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever though and James grabs a Falcon Arrow for two. James goes up but gets knocked down, setting up a Swanton. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever finishes for Stratton at 9:53.

Rating: C+. James is a good choice for the role of annoying assistant who can wrestle a match if needed. That was the case here, but the problem is that the bigger star isn’t doing much. Giulia might be a champion, though she’s not exactly doing much these days. That’s going to need to change, though at least James is getting better.

Post match Giulia runs in to take out Stratton, with Jade Cargill making the save….and then laying Stratton out as well. The big beatdown is on as we have a long overdue heel turn.

Sami Zayn congratulates Ilja Dragunov on his US Title win last week and Dragunov says he respects Zayn. Now it’s time for Dragunov to keep up the US Open challenge because Zayn knows he is the man to do it.

Jade Cargill is tired of not being rewarded so she’s going with power. That starts with her winning the Women’s Title.

Here is Ilja Dragunov for his open challenge, but first he talks about how he didn’t know if he was going to be back from his injury. He doesn’t know how to quit though and now he’s back, so get the challenger out here.

US Title: Ilja Dragunov vs. ???

Dragunov is defending against….Aleister Black, with Zelina Vega. Dragunov strikes away to start but it’s too early for the Constantine Special. Instead Black knocks him outside for a hurricanrana from Vega to send him into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Dragunov fighting back and going up.

Vega offers a distraction though and Black gets up for a Meteora. Dragunov kicks him into the corner but gets kneed in the face for two. Back up and Dragunov connects with the Constantine Special as we take a break. We come back again with Dragunov’s missile dropkick connecting for two, followed by a backsplash for two more.

Torpedo Moscow is kneed out of the air though and a brainbuster gives Black two. Back up and Torpedo Moscow connects but Dragunov can’t cover. Vega trips Dragunov and gets ejected…and here is Damian Priest, complete with a bad eye. Dragunov used the distraction to hit another Torpedo Moscow and retain at 15:42.

Rating: B+. It didn’t quite hit some great level but this was two guys beating the fire out of each other for a long time. That’s what matters the most here as Dragunov gets to retain, despite needing a bit of a distraction, just like last week. Either way, Dragunov is likely going to do this for a few weeks, which is a nice way to get him back in the fans’ minds after such a long time away.

Post match Priest goes after Black and loads up a Conchairto. Vega makes a save though and Black bails into the crowd.

We recap Carmelo Hayes and the Miz blowing up.

Hayes is glad Miz helped him get here, but Miz went too far when things got physical. Now it’s time to for him to work on being Him. Kit Wilson comes in to call Hayes toxic and a match is set for next week.

Ilja Dragunov runs into Fraxiom, who would love shots at the US Title. Dragunov says that’s the point of the US Open Challenge and he’ll see them later. With Dragunov gone, DIY comes in to mock Fraxiom, with Axiom saying Gargano is scared to face him. Tama Tonga pops up to…make noises at Fraxiom.

Charlotte and Alexa Bliss accept Bayley’s challenge for a Women’s Tag Team Title match on Raw. Nia Jax comes in to suggest that they’ll turn on each other and Jax vs. Bliss is set for next week.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jimmy Uso

No DQ. Uso starts the fight in the aisle and sends McIntyre into the barricade but McIntyre slugs away inside. Back up and Uso kicks him outside, where McIntyre cuts off a dive with a forearm. The fight heads into the crowd, where Uso snaps off a suplex. They go back to ringside, where Uso loads up a table and we take a break. We come back with Uso enziguring him out to the floor, where McIntyre snaps off an overhead belly to belly.

McIntyre cracks him in the back with a chair but the Claymore in the chair is cut off. A Whisper In The Wind gives Uso two and he chairs McIntyre down over and over. McIntyre fights up but charges into a Samoan drop through the table. Instead of covering though, Uso goes up and gets chaired out of the air. The Claymore gives McIntyre (who gives a great facial expression, which says “thank goodness that’s over”) the pin at 12:21.

Rating: B. I liked these two beating each other up, as while Uso didn’t win, he did get the revenge that he wanted here. There was no reason to believe that Uso was going to win without some huge interference, but at least it went as it should have. McIntyre gets momentum and Uso gets what he wanted, which is quite the nice result.

Post match McIntyre stays on Uso so Cody Rhodes makes the save. McIntyre Claymores Rhodes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This show came together well and pretty much everything worked well. That’s a nice way to push the show towards Saturday Night’s Main Event, which should be a major event if given the chance. Rhodes vs. McIntyre is interesting, as it’s either going to be totally flat or have some kind of a twist. This show did a nice job of getting things ready, which is one of the most important parts in the whole thing. Nice show here.

Results
MFT’s b. Rey Fenix/Shinsuke Nakamura – Cutthroat to Fenix
Tiffany Stratton b. Kiana James – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Ilja Dragunov b. Aleister Black – Torpedo Moscow
Drew McIntyre b. Jimmy Uso – Claymore

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: October 17, 2025
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

We’re back in the states for Smackdown and the scheduled big match this week is Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre in a grudge match that has been built up for a long time now. We are also coming up on Saturday Night’s Main Event and that means the card is going to need to be set up. Let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Crown Jewel, including Seth Rollins beating Cody Rhodes in the Crown Jewel Title match. We also look at the Vision turning on Rollins the following night on Raw.

Here is Nick Aldis in the ring for a chat. He brings up the Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre match for later tonight, which is now a #1 contenders match to face Cody Rhodes, who joins us right now. Rhodes talks about the loss to Rollins, who has his own issues on Raw. As for tonight, Rhodes will handle Smackdown business, like that #1 contenders match. The road to Saturday Night’s Main Event runs through San Jose.

Solo Sikoa interrupts Rey Fenix in the back and the MFT’s beat him down.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Zaria/Sol Ruca

Zaria and Ruca are challenging and NXT’s Blake Monroe (facing Ruca next weekend at Halloween Havoc) is here in the crowd. Charlotte and Ruca start things off with Charlotte flipping out of a wristlock. Ruca and Zaria get booted in the face and it’s off to Bliss for a dropkick to stagger Zaria. A big spinebuster plants Bliss and we take a break.

We come back with Bliss fighting out of a chinlock and elbowing Zaria down. Ruca is right there with a spinning belly to back faceplant but Bliss kicks her way out of trouble. The big tag brings in Charlotte for a high crossbody and it’s time to fire off the chops. Charlotte kicks Zaria in the face and snaps off a suplex for two.

Ruca is back in with a springboard clothesline but dives into a quickly broke Liontamer. The Sol Snatcher gets two with Bliss having to make the save. Zaria cuts off a hurricanrana from the apron and Ruca moonsaults onto Charlotte on the floor. Hold on though as Monroe offers a distraction, allowing Charlotte to chop block Ruca. The Figure Eight retains the titles at 12:07.

Rating: B-. Ruca and Zaria getting a title shot is a good way to go as they’re certainly a thing in NXT and have a story of their own. It’s not like there are a ton of teams on the main roster coming for the titles, so go with whatever you have available. It wound up being a good match as well, as Charlotte and Bliss continue to work well together.

Post match, respect is shown.

Cody Rhodes runs into Jacob Fatu, who promises he’s coming for Rhodes after tonight. Works for Rhodes.

Aleister Black is glad to be back with his wife, Zelina Vega, who describes them as the mirror that shows the infections around here.

We look back at Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s interrupting last week’s US Open Challenge.

Nick Aldis is in the back with the Miz, when Sami Zayn interrupts. The US Open Challenge seems to be off for tonight, as Aldis wants Shinsuke Nakamura to get a fair rematch but he’s not here tonight. Zayn says the challenge is important and he’s going to the ring. Miz leaves as well.

We look at Hulk Hogan’s Rock N Wrestling, which are being added to the WWE Vault YouTube channel every Saturday.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. ???

Zayn is defending against….well it was supposed to be the Miz, but Carmelo Hayes jumps him from behind. Then ILJA DRAGUNOV returns and we’ve got a title match. We get a handshake to start before they fire off the forearms. An exchange of clotheslines goes to Zayn but Dragunov is back with a running boot in the corner.

We take a break and come back with Zayn grabbing a tornado DDT but Dragunov blasts him with a running boot to the face out of the corner. Zayn wrestles him down for some slow rolling German suplexes. Dragunov plants him down but charges into a Michinoku Driver for two. They fight to the apron, with Zayn hitting an implant DDT to drive Dragunov’s shoulder into the ropes (that’s different) as we take a break.

We come back with Dragunov’s backsplash connecting for two and a top rope superplex plants Zayn again. Zayn cuts him off but misses the Helluva Kick, allowing Dragunov to muscle Zayn up with a suplex. The Constantine Special connects for Dragunov but the Torpedo Moscow is cut off with a boot to the head. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two more and it’s Solo Sikoa time. That slows Zayn down and the Helluva Kick is countered into the Torpedo Moscow. The H Bomb gives Dragunov the pin and the title at 19:20.

Rating: B+. As tends to be the case with Dragunov, he gave this everything he had and it made for an awesome performance. That’s what you expect from him and I’m glad to see him finally win something on the main roster. While I’m sad to see Zayn’s Open Challenge come to an end, it wouldn’t have made sense for Dragunov to come back and lose so soon.

Post match the MFT’s run in and beat down both guys. Rey Fenix runs in for a failed save attempt. Solo Sikoa asks if we’ve all forgotten that they run Smackdown. The team will get everything his family lost and they will be champions again. The Wyatt Sicks pop up on screen to say seek and you will be find, but be worried about what is on the other side. That brings the Sicks up behind the MFT’s and the fans REALLY like this. Sikoa and company lose though.

Video on the Australia/Japan tour.

We look at the Women’s Crown Jewel Title match, with Stephanie Vaquer beating Tiffany Stratton.

Stratton isn’t happy with the loss but she’s moving forward. Kiana James comes in to say that attitude is why she wanted to represent Stratton. That doesn’t work for Stratton, who agrees to face James next week. So Rhodes and Stratton have both basically said that losing at Crown Jewel meant nothing, much like the show in general. Good to know.

Earlier today, Los Garza interrupted the Motor City Machine Guns and mocked them, with a match being set up for later tonight.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Los Garza

Shelley and Angel start things off, with Sabin coming in with a missile dropkick into a Downward Spiral to send Angel outside. Back in and Angel gets in a shot of his own before avoiding Shelley’s charge in the corner. We take a break and come back with with Shelley still in trouble but managing to grab a neckbreaker. The diving tag brings in Sabin to clean house, with a crucifix getting two on Berto.

Everything breaks down and the Guns get the better of a slugout until Berto powerbombs Sabin for two. The Gory Bomb/slingshot flipping cutter combination gets two on Shelley and they go to the floor. Berto hits a big flipping dive but Sabin makes a blind tag. Stereo shots in the corner rock Angel and Skull & Bones connects for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: B-. That’s what I’ve been missing from the Guns, as they’re a guaranteed good match no matter who they face. It’s good to see them back in the ring, even if they aren’t in the title picture at the moment. They don’t take time to reheat so let them do their thing and get some momentum going. It’s not like they have anything better to do right now.

Fraxiom wants to find their spot but they aren’t sure how to make that happen. DIY comes in to laugh at them for saying nothing has changed in the last two months. A match is teased.

Jacob Fatu has been attacked in the back and is bleeding from the mouth. Post break Fatu is awake but won’t answer any questions about what happened.

Here is Drew McIntyre for his scheduled match with Jacob Fatu but instead he mocks Fatu’s injury. Nick Aldis comes out to threaten McIntyre if he did this but McIntyre denies the whole thing. Cue Cody Rhodes to say McIntyre knows what he did so let’s do this title match right now. The fight is on and we take a break before the opening bell.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre

Rhodes is defending and in street clothes. We come back for the opening bell and McIntyre tosses him with an overhead belly to belly. Rhodes spears him down and hammers away but gets elbowed in the face for two. The Futureshock gets two and McIntyre pounds him down in the corner. Rhodes manages to fight back and scores with a Cody Cutter to send McIntyre outside. The suicide dive is cut off and McIntyre sends him into the timekeeper’s area, where Rhodes comes up with a belt shot for the DQ at 4:51.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here and it was basically the best idea that they had given the circumstances. That’s perfectly fine, but it makes me wonder if Rhodes was the one behind the attack. He’s been frustrated due to the loss, he’s been very enthusiastic to face Jacob Fatu, and he was very direct in accusing McIntyre. Or maybe it’s someone else, but Rhodes seems to be a strong possibility.

Post match Rhodes loads up the announcers’ table but McIntyre rakes his eyes. They fight onto the table, where security breaks it up, only for Rhodes to dive off the top and take a bunch of people out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Solid show here, even with the screwy change that wasn’t WWE’s fault. The wrestling was good tonight, with the US Title match being quite the fight and the opener being rather entertaining as well. They kept things moving here and I liked the show, which has me wondering where a lot of things are going, so nice job of setting up for the future.

Results
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss b. Zaria/Sol Ruca – Figure Eight to Ruca
Ilja Dragunov b. Sami Zayn – H Bomb
Motor City Machine Guns b. Los Garza – Skull & Bones to Angel
Drew McIntyre b. Cody Rhodes via DQ when Rhodes used the title belt

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: October 10, 2025
Location: RAC Arena, Perth, Australia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re on the road (and likely a boat or plane) this week as the show comes to Australia. In addition to being in a special location, we are also about twelve hours away from Crown Jewel, which should mean a strong push towards the pay per view. The Tag Team Titles are on the line as well here so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at the Crown Jewel titles being flown from Saudi Arabia to Australia for the show. So they can do this but not have them show up on Raw or Smackdown one time?

The men’s Crown Jewel title is in the ring and here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes says we can talk about Seth Rollins, who has a doom and gloom thought about their upcoming Crown Jewel match. Then Rhodes heard Paul Heyman talking about the match and maybe Rollins is right. Maybe Rhodes is Rollins’ Achilles heel and maybe getting rid of the Vision is his responsibility. He thinks the people here love WWE (and the fans sing his name) and knows that there are people here who are ready to take this title from him or become the new star of the company.

He’s talking about people like Randy Orton, Rhea Ripley, Roman Reigns, Jey Uso or CM Punk, but he could be talking about Rollins as well. The fans boo and chant something about Rollins. Rhodes says he’s going to need Michael Cole to translate it. Cole has no clue but hands the microphone to Wade Barrett, who confirms the chant is “SETH IS A WA****.” Rhodes (who catches the mic with one hand) says that if the world revolves around Rollins, who is Rhodes in that world? He’s the one wrestler that Rollins cannot beat. This is a weird story, as it’s pretty much all about Rollins and Rhodes is just kind of there.

Chelsea Green comes up to Stephanie Vaquer in the back and offers her a spot in the Secret Hervice. Tiffany Stratton would never get such an offer, and here is Stratton to scare her off. Vaquer and Stratton still seem cool enough with each other before their match.

Cody Rhodes runs into Jacob Fatu, who says they’re cool but he’s coming for the title after Crown Jewel. Rhodes: “Good.” Rhodes leaves and Nick Aldis comes in to say he needs to talk to Fatu tonight. That’s fine with Fatu and Aldis leaves, with Drew McIntyre running in to jump Fatu (there is no way Aldis didn’t see him). Aldis cuts McIntyre off from crushing Fatu with a cart and McIntyre says he needs to talk to him tonight.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. ???

Zayn is defending against…Shinsuke Nakamura, who is back with his original music and seems to be the good guy version again. Somehow this is the first time the title has ever been defended in Australia. Not even on a house show? They fight over wrist control to start but neither gets anywhere so Nakamura kicks him down. The sliding German suplex in the corner drops Zayn again and we take a break.

We come back with Zayn winning a slugout but Nakamura gets in a suplex. A running kick to the face gives Nakamura two but Zayn springboards over him for a hard clothesline. The Michinoku Driver gives Zayn two and he exploders Nakamura into the corner. It’s too early for the Helluva Kick and Nakamura hits a middle rope knee to the back of the head for two of his own.

We take another break and come back with Nakamura kneeing him in the back of the head to send Zayn outside. An exploder sends Nakamura into the barricade and the Helluva Kick connects outside. Back in and Kinshasa connects but Zayn gets his foot on the rope. Scorpio Rising hits Zayn and Kinshasa is loaded up again…but someone in a hoodie pulls Nakamura to the floor for the DQ at 15:30.

Rating: B. These two have some excellent chemistry together but there is only so much that you can do when about half of the match is cut off by commercials. I do like that we got to see this again before Nakamura leaves WWE though, as he can still do well with just about anyone. Good stuff here, even with the issues holding it back.

And it’s…the returning Tama Tonga, complete with face paint. Cue all three of the MFT’s (all with face paint) to lay Zayn out. Nakamura’s save is cut off and Solo Sikoa strolls around ringside as the beatdown is on.

Drew McIntyre comes up to Nick Aldis, who makes McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu next week. Fatu comes in and the brawl is on.

Stephanie Vaquer/Tiffany Stratton vs. Giulia/Kiana James

James offers Vaquer a handshake but then knees her in the ribs instead. Not the best business offer there. Vaquer pulls her straight into the Devil’s Kiss and we take a break. We come back with James hitting a running shoulder in the corner and Giulia’s missile dropkick gets two. Vaquer enziguris her way out of trouble though and brings Stratton in to clean house.

Giulia offers a distraction but Stratton kicks James in the face. Back in and a quick northern lights bomb plants Stratton, with Vaquer having to make a save. An Alabama Slam lets Vaquer come back in as everything breaks down. Stratton makes a blind tag as Vaquer dives onto Giulia. That leaves Stratton to Regal Roll James into the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 9:29.

Rating: C+. They’re trying with Vaquer vs. Stratton but there is little that can be done to make their Crown Jewel match feel important. It feels like something that is only kind of happening and this didn’t really make it any bigger. I’ll take it over another Nia Jax match, but only by so much.

Post match we get the big staredown.

Charlotte and Alexa Bliss come up to Zaria and Sol Ruca to grant them a Women’s Tag Team Title shot. Ruca and Zaria bump into each other, with the champs saying they have no communication. Charlotte and Bliss turn to leave and go different ways. Bliss: “Charlotte, this way.” Charlotte: “I knew that.” See, that’s how you make people like Charlotte. Instead of talking down to everyone and winning the Women’s Title over and over, she had a funny little moment with her partner that made her look human. Notice how much easier it’s been to watch her with Bliss?

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Wyatt Sicks

The Wyatts are defending and B-Fab is here with the Profits. The fight starts fast with Gacy being put down and a double flapjack dropping Lumis on top of him. Dawkins Pounces Lumis into the barricade and we take a break. We come back with Dawkins putting both champs on his shoulders (GEEZ) for a double Doomsday Blockbuster. Nikki Cross and B-Fab get into it on the floor, with Ford diving onto Erick Rowan. Back in and Ford misses his frog splash, allowing the Wyatts to hit the Plague and retain at 6:33. Not enough shown to rate but it was action packed while it lasted.

Post match the MFT’s come out for a staredown with the Wyatts and the fans REALLY like this. Nikki Cross gets up close to Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s leave.

We look at Carmelo Hayes and Miz splitting up last week.

Miz blames the split on Hayes, who didn’t want Miz to be the kind of mentor Miz never had. Melo missed.

Video on Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black.

Earlier today at the Kickoff Event, Seth Rollins walked off the stage with nothing to say. Even Paul Heyman seemed stunned.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest

Last Man Standing. Priest shrugs off some kicks to start and hammers away in the corner to knock Black outside. It’s already kendo stick time but Black kicks it out of Priest’s hands. That earns him a steps shot to the head and they fight up the aisle as we take a break. We come back with Priest kicking a kendo stick away from Black and whipping him into the barricade.

The steps are brought in and Black trips Priest face first into them, followed by a Meteora onto the steps (that looked good). Priest is up at seven and gives Black Snake Eyes onto the steps. They head outside with Priest being sent into the steps over and over. That’s good for another seven before Priest Pounces him over the announcers’ table. We take another break and come back again with Black having to beat the count for a change. Priest hits him with a kendo stick but Old School is kicked out of the air.

Black finds a chair on the floor but also finds a chokeslam onto the apron. A Razor’s Edge sends Black onto the announcers’ table (which doesn’t give) for nine so Priest does it again. Black kind of stumbles onto the floor, which counts as standing up so we keep going. They fight into the crowd and go to the tech area, where Zelina Vega pops up from the crowd. Priest will have none of Vega’s pleas for mercy but the distraction lets Black throw a fireball in Priest’s face. Black Mass off a crate and through a table gives Black the win at 18:15.

Rating: B. This was two hard hitting people beating the daylights out of each other and that worked well for a main event. I like Black and Vega being paired together as Vega going after the United States Title was beyond played out. This could be the trick that Black needs (it certainly worked for Andrade back in the day) so hopefully everyone can move on.

Black and Vega mock the injured Priest to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Rather strong show this week, even with the less than thrilling Crown Jewel being the focus. I liked the refocus on the MFT’s, who are fine as a midcard monster group, as they’ve been away long enough now. Just get us through the pay per view and build on what you did here, as the non-Crown Jewel stuff was quite good.

Results
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn via DQ when Tama Tonga interfered
Tiffany Stratton/Stephanie Vaquer b. Giulia/Kiana James – Prettiest Moonsault Ever to James
Wyatt Sicks b. Street Profits – Plague to Ford
Aleister Black b. Damian Priest when Priest couldn’t answer the ten count

 

 

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

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Smackdown
Date: September 26, 2025
Location: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T.

We’re done with Wrestlepalooza and things have kind of reset, with Cody Rhodes retaining the Smackdown World Title over Drew McIntyre. Normally that would mean a new challenger emerging but instead we have Crown Jewel and champion vs. champion coming up for the next few weeks. Other than that, the Women’s Title is on the line in a three way so let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlepalooza if you need a recap.

Long Wrestlepalooza recap, including a shot from the post show of Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins having a staredown.

Here is Paul Heyman for a chat. He has a lot to talk about and paraphrases a “secondary champion” by asking what we want to talk about. The fans cut him off with an OTC chant but Heyman points out that Reigns was stretchered out of Paris by Bronson Reed. Maybe we should talk about Bron Breakker, who will be the star of the next ten years? Or maybe the conspiracy theories about Brock Lesnar? Either way, here is Cody Rhodes to interrupt.

Rhodes apologizes for calling Heyman a goon last week, so he wants to hear about Brock Lesnar. We look at a still of Heyman introducing Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza and Rhodes suggests that it wasn’t a one night thing. Is he talking to the Oracle, a wiseman, or an advocate? Heyman: “You’re talking to the GOAT.” The reality is that Lesnar is going to put everyone in danger but here is the Vision.

Rhodes says it’s about time they met, because he knows what it’s like to be the son of a legend. He grew up the son of a booker and was around all kinds of people in wrestling but he always knew where their loyalties lied. Where do Heyman’s loyalties lie though? No one knows, but they aren’t with Breakker. The fight is teased and Rhodes takes his watch off but the numbers get the better of him in a hurry. The beatdown is on until Randy Orton runs in for the save. That’s a heck of a tag match whenever they get around to it, along with the eventual Rhodes vs. Orton title match.

The Street Profits talk about how they have issues at times but the goal is always the same.

Street Profits vs. Carmelo Hayes/The Miz

For a future Tag Team Title shot. Miz rolls Ford up a few times to start and it’s off to Hayes, who gets his own rollup for two. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Profits clear the ring but Hayes dropkicks Dawkins on the floor. We take a break and come back with Miz DDTing Ford for two and Hayes knocks Dawkins off the apron in a smart move.

Ford slips out of a belly to back suplex but Miz is right there to pull Dawkins down. The First 48 connects and Hayes loads up Nothing But Net, only for Miz to tag himself in. The argument is on, allowing the tag off to Dawkins. A Sky High into the frog splash gives Ford the pin at 9:28 (with Hayes glaring at Miz rather than making the save).

Rating: C+. Good enough match, with the Profits seemingly getting back on the same page. The question now is whether or not that is maintained at the title match, as the Wyatts are the reason for their strife in the first place. At the same time, Miz and Hayes are still having issues, which has been the case since they got together in the first place.

The Wyatt Sicks come out for the staredown.

Jade Cargill is tired of Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax so she’s ready to become champion. Stephanie Vaquer comes in and Cargill says she’s coming for her at Crown Jewel.

Giulia/Kiana James vs. Michin/B-Fab

B-Fab forearms at James to start and gets two off a basement clothesline. Giulia comes in for a running dropkick and sends B-Fab down hard, only for B-Fab to hit a running dropkick. Michin comes in and everything breaks down with the fight heading outside. Michin’s dropkick off the announcers’ table hits Giulia and we take a break.

We come back with James kicking B-Fan in the face so Giulia can hit a missile dropkick for two. B-Fab fights out of trouble though and it’s off to Michin to take over. Everything breaks down and Michin hits Eat Defeat on James. Giulia comes back in with the running knee though, followed by the northern lights bomb for the pin at 10:14.

Rating: C. Michin and B-Fab haven’t felt like viable challengers to Giulia so there wasn’t much of a reason to believe that they were going to win here. James was fine as backup for Giulia, who needs to string together a few wins. There are only so many challengers for the title, but Michin and B-Fab need to move on already as it doesn’t feel like they’re any kind of a threat to Giulia.

Sol Ruca and Zaria (from NXT) come in to ask Charlotte and Alexa Bliss for a Women’s Tag Team Title shot. Charlotte says you can’t just wave your hand and get a title shot, which Zaria finds funny. Bliss tells them to go prove themselves, with Charlotte liking the assertiveness.

Video on the Crown Jewel Title matches.

Here is Drew McIntyre, in a walking boot, for a chat. McIntyre talks about his history in Orlando, including returning to WWE in 2017 and winning his second WWE Title. He should be here with the title but Cody Rhodes was one step ahead. The referee cost him the title because it should have been a disqualification. Do the referees work for WWE or for Rhodes? Cue Nick Aldis to interrupt who says McIntyre shouldn’t make excuses because he’s better than that. That boot didn’t come from the WWE medical team but McIntyre calls himself a champion without a championship.

Cue Jacob Fatu and this should be interesting. Fatu takes the mic from McIntyre and tells him to shut up and stop b*******. McIntyre asks who Fatu thinks he is so Fatu hits his catchphrase. A Glasgow Kiss staggers Fatu, who is right back with a superkick and a shot with McIntyre’s medical boot. Yeah Fatu getting elevated like this is a good sign and he seems ready for the spot.

Stephanie Vaquer comes in to see Tiffany Stratton, saying they might face off at Crown Jewel. Stratton respects Vaquer, but will put her in the ground if they meet.

Rey Fenix and Sami Zayn are good after last week and Fenix is looking forward to finding out who is next for the US Open Challenge.

Solo Sikoa praises JC Mateo, who says he loves Sikoa.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. ???

Zayn is defending against…NXT’s Je’Von Evans (a young and talented high flier). As luck would have it, Evans’ opponent at tomorrow’s NXT No Mercy, Josh Briggs, is here too. They trade armdrags to start and Evans takes him into the corner for a chop. A top rope hurricanrana takes Zayn down but he cuts a dive off with a running clothesline.

We take a break and come back with Evans hitting a heck of a dive to take Zayn out on the floor. A spinning kick to the face gives Evans two so Zayn fights back and goes up. That’s fine with Evans, who runs up the corner for a super hurricanrana and another near fall. The springboard spinning splash misses for Evans but he misses a Helluva Kick. Evans’ top rope cutter connects for two but he misses a charge, allowing Zayn to hit the Helluva Kick. The Blue Thunder Bomb retains the title at 10:17.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a showcase for Evans, who went out there and gave it everything he had, even in defeat. Evans started off rough in his career but he has turned into a rather entertaining star as he’s figured a lot of what he needs to do. It was a fast paced match and Zayn had to wait for the opening to catch him, which made for a good story. Heck of a match here.

Chelsea Green offers Nia Jax in the Secret Hervice but Jax rips up the offer. Jax runs into Stephanie Vaquer and threatens her.

Kit Wilson complains to Damian Priest about his toxic, patriarchal attitude last week. Priest lunges at him and Wilson falls down. Priest: “B****** be tripping huh?” Aleister Black comes up from behind and kicks Priest in the head, followed by some mockery.

Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax vs. Jade Cargill

Stratton is defending and gets knocked down to start, leaving Jax to shrug off Cargill’s running shoulder. Stratton dropkicks them both down and we take a break. We come back with Stratton’s suicide dive getting caught in the ropes so Cargill sends her back inside. Jax runs both of them over but gets caught on to. Cargill chokes Stratton but gets legdropped by Jax, leaving Stratton to hit a Swanton for two.

We take another break and come back again with a double superplex dropping Jax to leave everyone down. Stratton gives Cargill a Regal Roll and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits Jax, with Cargill making a save. Jaded hits Stratton so Jax pulls the referee out at two. Jax busts Cargill open so Cargill gives her a Samoan drop on the steps (geez).

We pause for the referee to try to close the cut on Cargill’s head but Cargill comes back in for the Eye of the Storm on Jax, with Stratton making the (late) save. Stratton covers and the referee just stops counting at two, with Jax clearly yelling at her as a result. Stratton pops up and hits The Prettiest Moonsault Ever on Jax to retain the title at 13:55.

Rating: C+. That botched kickout sequence at the end was terrible and brought things down a good bit. I’m assuming Cargill was supposed to make the save, but at least Stratton was smart enough to get up and hit the finish to get out of there. Either way, Stratton gets the two out of the way for the time being and can move on to the…well really the far less important match but it’s what we’re getting anyway.

Post match Stephanie Vaquer comes out for the staredown with Stratton to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I cannot bring myself to get into this Crown Jewel stuff as it feels so unimportant. I know it’s treated as a big deal at the time, but the whole thing is then basically ignored for eleven months. Why should I care about it if WWE doesn’t? That was one of the big focal points of this show, though the Zayn vs. Evans match was a lot of fun. It’s definitely not a bad show, but I’m really looking forward to moving on past the champion vs. champion stuff as it feels like such an unimportant side trip.

Results
Street Profits b. Carmelo Hayes/The Miz – Frog splash to Miz
Giulia/Kiana James b. Michin/B-Fab – Northern lights bomb to Michin
Sami Zayn b. Je’Von Evans – Blue Thunder Bomb
Tiffany Stratton b. Nia Jax and Jade Cargill – Prettiest Moonsault Ever to Jax

 

 

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

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Wrestlepalooza 2025
Date: September 20, 2025
Location: Gainsbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, Pat McAfee

It’s officially the ESPN Era and the card is actually pretty stacked. Well as stacked as a five match card can be. In this case we have John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar opening the show and Cody Rhodes defending the Smackdown World Title against Drew McIntyre in the so called main event. The real feature match of the show is a mixed tag between Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch against CM Punk and the returning AJ Lee. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this match, sitting about five rows from the top of the building and with the Titantron on my right.

We have a new Then/Now/Forever video, only about a year and a half after the stars one was released.

The rather long opening video, narrated by HHH, looks at the history between WWE and ESPN, which has dabbled in wrestling over the years. This includes a history of mainstream athletes getting involved in wrestling, including a bunch of stuff from 30+ years ago.

HHH is in the ring for the customary welcome to a new era. They have a lot of those these days.

Pat McAfee returns, and nearly gets mugged in the back by HHH. This takes a long time.

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

Cena comes out with a bunch of Make-A-Wish kids. This continues to amaze me as Cena’s heyday was probably when those kids’ parents were 10 years old but they’re way into him anyway. Cena gets a heck of a response…and then it’s forgotten as PAUL HEYMAN pops up to handle Lesnar’s entrance. That’s rather well received and Lesnar starts fast with the pain as he fires the shoulders to the ribs.

Cena gets thrown down without much trouble, followed by a running powerslam so Lesnar can yell some more. There’s the first German suplex out to the floor as Cole reads off a history of their rivalry, which is as scripted as it could get. Lesnar powers him around again but Cena slips out of a powerslam and sends him into the corner. Four flying tackles finally drop Lesnar so Cena hits three straight AA’s for two. The Shuffle is loaded up but Lesnar pops to his feet, hits FIVE STRAIGHT F5’s and gets the pin at 8:48.

Rating: B-. I had this one rather wrong as I was expecting Cena to get his big win before moving on to his final match, but that might be a rematch with Lesnar. Either way, Cena was once again basically squashed here, which is not something I was expecting. At the same time, it pretty much guarantees that Lesnar is going to be sticking around, which might not be so well received. Still though, he can do his thing here and that’s what matters.

Post match Lesnar gives the referee an F5, plus another one to Cena. With Lesnar gone, Cena gets the big sendoff and the fans still love him.

Commentary toasts Pat McAfee with Real American Beer.

Earlier today, Adam Pearce decided that the Usos vs. the Vision deserved a guest referee in the form of LA Knight. That’s fine with Knight, who says his only job is to call the fall with everybody saying his name.

Usos vs. Vision

LA Knight is guest referee. The Usos come through the crowd, with Jimmy asking people to turn on the lights on their phones. That means they get their big long entrance and of course they run it back, to quite the reaction. Jey and Reed start things off with Jey sending him into the corner for some kicks to the head. Jimmy comes in to drive Reed into the corner for a running shoulder from Jey. Reed powers Jimmy away as well though and it’s off to Breakker to take over.

They go outside, with Reed grabbing a chair, though Jimmy takes it away. Knight doesn’t seem to care and shrugs it off, allowing Jimmy to chair Reed down. Back in and Jimmy hammers down some right hands but Breakker low bridges him to the floor. Breakker gets a running start and hits a heck of a flying shoulder. Reed throws in some chairs, though the fans want tables. Back in and Breakker hits a big backdrop, followed by a suplex for one, as Breakker would rather do some pushups.

Reed’s charge into the corner only hits chair but Breakker is up to cut off a diving tag attempt. A Steiner Bulldog gets two on Jimmy but Reed misses a backsplash. The tag brings in Jey to clean house, including the running Umaga Attack and high crossbody for two on Breakker. A table is brought in and the Usos start firing off the superkicks. Reed is back in for a save, allowing Breakker to give Jey a super Frankensteiner. Reed’s moonsault misses though, which lets Jimmy hit a Swanton to send Reed outside.

Breakker spears Jimmy but gets speared by Jey, setting up the Superfly Splash for two. Jey is back up with a suicide dive to Reed, with Knight having to dive out of the way. Back in and Jey nearly chairs Knight by mistake before cracking Reed instead. Jey throws a chair at Reed but gets speared by Breakker. Another spear puts the Usos through a table in the corner and the Tsunami finishes Jey at 16:49.

Rating: B. The Vision winning is the right call here and that’s a nice thing to see. They are the new monster enforcers for the top heel stable so having them beat one of the best teams ever is a good sign. Knight was only so much of a factor here, and I’m sure he’ll be dealing with Jey down the line. Good, back and forth match here, with the monsters eventually taking it in the end, as they should have.

Various celebrities are here.

Raw Women’s Title: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Iyo Sky

For the vacant title after Naomi’s pregnancy caused her to have to vacate the championship. We get the Big Match Intros and they shake hands as they’re both on the good side. They go with the grappling to start with Sky spinning around onto her for a quick standoff. Vaquer kicks her away before grabbing a headlock takeover. A headscissors is broken up but Vaquer spins around and gets two off a sunset flip.

The Devil’s Kiss is blocked and Sky gets in a suplex to put Vaquer down. Sky starts in on the ankle but Vaquer reverses into a triangle choke over the ropes. With that broken up, Vaquer gets two off a snap suplex but still can’t get the Devil’s Kiss. Instead they trade chinlocks until Sky hits something pretty close to an SVB. Some palm strikes into a flapjack drop Vaquer again and a springboard missile dropkick sends her to the floor. The suicide dive connects but Vaquer blocks a sunset bomb.

That lets Vaquer hit a heck of a springboard dive, followed by a springboard high crossbody back inside. Some knees to the apron have Sky in more trouble and they trade shots to the head. A belly to back suplex looks to set up the Devil’s Kiss, which is broken up yet again. Sky pulls her into a crossface but Vaquer escapes and grabs a dragon screw legwhip. Back up and Sky gets two off a hurricanrana, followed by a big kick to the head.

Sky’s Bullet Train connects in the corner but Over The Moonsault hits raised boots. Another dragon screw legwhip finally allows Vaquer to get the Devil’s Kiss and the SVB gets two. They both go up top and Sky manages a super Spanish Fly, only to bang up her own knee in the process. Vaquer is sent into the corner and Sky takes down the kneepads for another Bullet Train. Another Over The Moonsault misses though and Vaquer hits a corkscrew moonsault for the pin and the title at 19:42.

Rating: B+. This turned into a question of which one would survive and it made for an awesome match. What matters the most here is that Vaquer got the big win clean and moves into the title picture. It’s the kind of thing that she’s been needing to really establish herself and that’s what we’re getting here. Rather impressive match here and Vaquer gets the elevation she’s been needing.

Post match Vaquer gets to celebrate and hugs her dad.

Pat McAfee leaves for some reason. Ok then.

We recap the mixed tag. Seth Rollins and CM Punk have been feuding for approximately 62 years, including Rollins’ wife Becky Lynch costing Punk the World Title. Punk wouldn’t put his hands on a woman, but his returning wife AJ Lee would. Violence has ensued and it’s time for a mixed tag, which is probably this show’s main event.

AJ Lee/CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch

Rollins and Lynch have matching outfits, even down to the sunglasses. They also lower off a platform down onto a pedestal on the stage to really show off. Both of them use a mashup of their theme songs, though the crowd reactions to Punk and Lee was so loud that I couldn’t tell Let’s Light It Up had started. Punk is also wearing a jacket saying HUSBAND, which is a smart move.

Lynch won’t face Lee so Punk and Rollins start things off instead. It’s back to Lynch, who mockingly punches at Punk so it’s off to Lee, sending Lynch to the floor. Punk follows Rollins outside and sends him over the barricade but Rollins gets in a shot of his own. Back in and Lynch chokes Punk from the apron, only for Punk to send Rollins into the other corner.

Lee chokes away just like Lynch did in a nice moment, allowing Punk to hit some top rope ax handles. Rollins knocks him out of the air though and sends Punk outside and onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Rollins hits some ax handles of his own but stops for a kiss from Lynch. Choking in the corner (this time from Rollins) keeps Punk down but Punk wins an extended fight over a suplex. Punk gets caught in a front facelock and drives himself over for the tag to Lee…which the referee doesn’t see, sending Lee into a frenzy.

Rollins gorilla presses Lynch and tries to drop her onto Punk, who moves and causes Rollins to drop Lynch onto her face. She’s fine enough to cut Lee off from another tag but Punk gets in a quick GTS. Lynch tries to cut him off but Punk easily brings her to the corner for the tag off to Lee. The beating and stomping is on in a hurry and a big spinwheel kick into a high crossbody gets two on Lynch. Rollins tries to make a save so Lee beats on him as well, followed by a tornado DDT.

Punk helps Lee with a Sliced Bread to Rollins into a moonsault onto Lynch for two. Lee and Punk hit stereo corner clotheslines into the bulldog, followed by a Shining Wizard each for two more. Back up and Lee gets the Black Widow as Punk puts Rollins in the Sharpshooter. Those are broken up and Rollins and Lynch grab a pair of Pedigrees for two of their own. With that not working, they try a GTS each but Punk clotheslines Rollins outside. Lee suplexes Lynch but Rollins trips her down. That earns Rollins a Stomp from Punk so Lynch slaps Punk in the face.

Rollins is up for a distraction, allowing Lynch to Sharpshooter Punk. That’s reversed rather easily and Punk gets Lynch in the Sharpshooter, which is broken up by a Rollins Pedigree. Lee makes the save with her own Stomp but gets Manhandle Slammed for two. Back up and the women put their respective husbands into the corner and slug it out. That’s enough for them to go outside and they go onto the announcers’ tables, where Lynch throws Lee into Punk (and Rollins) for a crash through one of the tables. Lee is right back up and grabs the Black Widow for the tap at 29:15.

Rating: B+. I really liked this and it didn’t feel long either watching live or later on. This was about Lee going in there and getting her hands on Lynch, which went about as well as it could have gone. The men were doing their usual thing and it turned into a struggle near the end, as they were trading big moves. I had a great time with this and it lived up to the hype.

Post match Punk is rather happy as Lee celebrates.

And here’s the Undertaker, who rides his motorcycle up to Stephanie McMahon. He accuses her of following him because she was at the fight last week and now she’s here. They’ve known each other for a long time…and now he gets to announce that she is the first inductee into the 2026 Hall Of Fame class. Stephanie looks like she’s about to cry and kill Undertaker, as she pretty clearly didn’t know this was coming.

Stephanie getting into the Hall Of Fame is a bit of a stretch, but you knew it was coming one day. That being said, it might have made more sense to have HHH do this. He and Undertaker have a lot in common with Stephanie. They both kidnapped her. In a car. And married her. Again her will. On Raw. In 1999. Wrestling is weird.

We recap Drew McIntyre challenging Cody Rhodes for the Smackdown World Title. McIntyre attacked Rhodes by Claymoring him through the announcers’ table so now it’s time to fight. As a bonus, McIntyre thinks Rhodes is a bit too obsessed with being champion and is going to do something to make life easier for him.

Smackdown World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes

Rhodes is defending. Rhodes slaps a laughing McIntyre in the face to start and gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. A headlock takeover puts Rhodes down and McIntyre grinds away a bit. Back up and Rhodes snaps off the jabs into an elbow to the head. The Cody Cutter gets two but Barrett thinks Rhodes is off by a few steps, possibly due to McIntyre attacking him.

Rhodes is fine enough to kick him to the floor for a suicide dive but McIntyre gets in a posting. McIntyre throws him over the table and snaps off the overhead belly to belly back inside. Rhodes knocks him to the floor but gets dropped onto the apron, setting up a reverse Alabama Slam onto the steps. McIntyre goes up back inside, only for Rhodes to get up top for a superplex and the big crash. They go with the big slugout until Rhodes snaps off a powerslam.

The Disaster Kick connects and another Cody Cutter drops McIntyre again. Rhodes gets caught going up for a change and a super White Noise gives McIntyre two. The Claymore misses though and Rhodes slaps on the Figure Four. McIntyre gets smart by just punching him in the face for the break and then rips off a turnbuckle pad (this won’t go well). The referee is almost crushed in the corner so he bails to the floor, meaning McIntyre’s rollup gets a VERY delayed two.

Back up and McIntyre is sent into the exposed buckle, with Cross Rhodes connecting for two more. Rhodes is sent outside and taken down with the big flip dive, followed by the Claymore to give McIntyre another near fall. They go outside and McIntyre tries another Claymore into the table, only to miss and wreck his own knee. Back in and the Glasgow Kiss gives McIntyre a breather but the leg gives out. Cross Rhodes retains the title at 16:51.

Rating: B. There was very little reason to believe that McIntyre was going to win here and while Rhodes has star power, it was only going to carry this so far. The good thing is that they had a solid match with Rhodes using his brain to beat the overly aggressive McIntyre, whose emotions have cost him a lot over the years. It’s a good match and felt important, but they weren’t following the mixed tag and there wasn’t much of a way around that.

Rhodes celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Pretty great show here, with nothing bad and a feeling like you were watching something special. If you could take the ESPN obsession out and make WWE stop talking about it so much, you would have had an even better show. Unfortunately this leads us up to Crown Jewel and the champion vs. champion stuff, but for now, we had a good mixture of emotions and a bunch of stuff taking place, making for a rather awesome show. Hopefully they lighten up on the self praise, but it could just be due to being the big ESPN debut. Either way, very nice job here.

Results
Brock Lesnar b. John Cena – F5
Vision b. Usos – Tsunami to Jey
Stephanie Vaquer b. Iyo Sky – Corkscrew moonsault
CM Punk/AJ Lee b. Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch – Black Widow to Lynch
Cody Rhodes b. Drew McIntyre – Cross Rhodes

 

 

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

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