Elimination Chamber 2023
Date: February 18, 2023
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last major stop on the Road To Wrestlemania and this is all going to be about Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns. In spite of the show’s title, the Elimination Chamber matches are far, far down the ladder in importance from the main event, which should have one of the most electric atmospheres WWE has seen in years. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the Chamber matches, before shifting to the Zayn vs. Reigns main event and treating it like the bigger deal that it is.

Women’s Elimination Chamber

The winner moves on to face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Title at Wrestlemania and there is no word on the length of intervals. Natalya is in first and Liv Morgan is in second to get things going. A shoulder runs Morgan over to start and they trade rollups for a standoff. They go outside with Natalya being sent into the Chamber wall a few times and Morgan kissing her on the cheek.

Back up and Natalya sends her face first into the pod wall over and over with the fans approving of the violence. Morgan’s head goes through one of the squares in the wall so Natalya can crank on her arms. After three minutes, Raquel Rodriguez is in third and gets to slam people around. The all away slam sends Morgan flying and there’s a big boot to Natalya. With Rodriguez holding both of them up, Natalya eventually manages a sunset bomb into the wall.

Back in and all three get knocked down until Cross is in fourth. Cross sends everyone out and pushes Rodriguez’s face up against the wall this time. With Carmella mocking her, Rodriguez gets sent face first into the pod, leaving Cross to climb on top for the very high crossbody onto all of them. Carmella is in fifth and gets two on Rodriguez before going to yell at Asuka. That earns her a chase back into the pod but Rodriguez drives Cross through said pod, with Carmella just escaping. Carmella then runs into another pod, with Rodriguez wisely getting rid of Cross at 11:43 for the first elimination.

One heck of a sunset bomb off the pod plants Rodriguez for two and it’s Asuka in sixth to complete the field. Asuka goes right after Carmella to wreck her for a bit before squaring off with Rodriguez. An Octopus has Rodriguez in trouble but she powers Asuka up to her shoulders. Asuka slips out and superkicks her down, only to walk into Morgan’s missile dropkick for two. Natalya can’t powerbomb Morgan, who hits her with a Code Red. The Oblivion is broken up by Carmella and the Sharpshooter, plus an arm crank from Asuka, knock Morgan out for the elimination at 16:34.

The Sharpshooter has Asuka in trouble but Carmella breaks it up and pins Natalya at 17:33. A quick double teaming gets rid of Rodriguez at 18:18 and we’re down to Carmella vs. Asuka. Carmella hits a superkick for a fast two but Asuka strikes her down. The armbar makes Carmella give up to send Asuka to Wrestlemania at 19:43.

Rating: C. You had two favorites to win and one of them did, after running through most of the field like a buzzsaw. Asuka winning isn’t exactly bringing in someone new, but it’s nice to see her get reheated. She absolutely has the talent, but Belair vs. Asuka feels more like a solid Money in the Bank title match rather than Wrestlemania.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley in a rubber match. Lashley beat Lesnar (with interference from Roman Reigns) at last year’s Royal Rumble and Lesnar escaped with a win at last year’s Crown Jewel. Now the roles are a bit reversed as Lashley is a bit more evil this time around. Also, the winner has to deal with Bray Wyatt, who has said he is waiting on whoever comes out on top.

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

Lesnar wastes no time in taking him into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Lashley gets knocked outside but comes back in with a pair of spears. The Hurt Lock is countered into the F5 for two as we’re not even two minutes into this yet. Another F5 gets another two but Lashley is back up with the spear. The Hurt Lock goes on and Lesnar is in trouble….so he kicks Lashley low for the DQ at 4:33.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but these fast paced, finisher spamming matches are only so interesting. Lesnar came off like a total villain in the end but that isn’t how things are likely to be presented. You can pencil in the big, violent, no holds barred brawl of some sort for WrestleMania, though I wonder where that leaves Wyatt. Entertaining sprint, but it’s nothing new from Lesnar.

Post match Lesnar takes out the referee and F5’s Lashley through the announcers’ table, much to the fans’ delight. The referee gets F5’d onto the remains of the table.

The Wrestlemania movie parody trailers are back! We start with Seth Rollins as the Joker (makes sense), doing the dance down the stairs. Then Becky Lynch, as an unmasked Batman, grabs him to ask what that was. Rollins asks what’s up with her voice, then she puts on her glasses, declares herself the Man, and leaves. Rollins: “She is the Man.”

We recap Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Rhea Ripley/Finn Balor. Edge vs. Judgment Day has been going on since last summer and Phoenix is stepping in to help deal with Ripley so Edge can go for his revenge again.

Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Rhea Ripley/Finn Balor

Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley and Balor. Edge runs Balor over to start and hits a big boot before handing it off to Beth (with her Bull Nakano inspired face paint. Ripley comes in as well for the yelling staredown They trade clotheslines until Beth hits a slightly weird looking running elbow to the face. We hit the test of strength as the fans are all over Dominik.

They fight outside with Ripley being sent into the steps but a Balor distraction lets Dominik crotch Beth on top. Dominik gets chased off but comes back, much to the fans’ annoyance. Beth knocks Balor down and DDTs Ripley but Balor slides under the ring and pulls Edge off the apron. Riptide and the Glam Slam are blocked, as is Rhea’s attempt at a super Glam Slam.

Instead Beth reverses into a top rope superplex for a heck of a double crash and they’re both down. Beth kicks Ripley into Balor and the hot tag brings in Edge to clean house. The Edgecator has Balor in trouble and Beth puts Rhea in the same. Dominik interferes and throws something in, with Beth letting go to chase him off. Ripley headbutts Beth down and hits Edge with what looks to be brass knuckles.

Beth makes the save and heads outside with Ripley. After Balor gets crotched on top, the women powerbomb the men down but Ripley misses a Conchairto on the steps. The Glam Slam plants Ripley on the floor and there’s an Edgecution to Balor. Edge dives onto Dominik but the spear is countered into the Coup de Grace. The shotgun dropkick is cut off with a spear though and a Shatter Machine finishes Balor at 13:48.

Rating: B. I’m a bit surprised by the result here but this did a good job of making Beth feel like a huge star. She was showing off with the power and all of her stuff looked good. At the same time, Edge pins Balor in what should be the big finale for the feud. Then again they seem destined for one more match at Wrestlemania so the result here is a little odd.

US Title: Men’s Elimination Chamber

Austin Theory is defending and Johnny Gargano is in first with Seth Rollins in second. They go with the grappling to start with neither being able to get very far. Gargano misses the rolling kick to the face and the slingshot spear is cut off. The Pedigree attempt is countered with a backdrop onto the outside and Gargano takes him down again for a double knockdown. Theory is in third (before we even reach three minutes this time) and goes right after Gargano.

It’s off to Theory vs. Rollins, with the former getting pingponged back and forth between the other two. Theory thinks that means it’s time to bring back The Way from NXT, but Gargano decks him instead. With that not working for the champ, he tries to hide in the pod but gets double teamed in there as well. Damian Priest is in fourth and gets to beat up both good guys.

A bulldog driver plants Rollins and a lifting Downward Spiral gets two on Gargano. Priest busts out a Killswitch of all things on Rollins before kicking Theory in the head. A running flip dive over the ropes crushes Theory again and Priest knocks down everyone else to stand tall. Priest goes up top but Rollins catches him with the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two.

Bronson Reed is in fifth and the fans seem to approve. Reed Rock Bottoms Gargano onto Rollins (who was standing as well) and hits a running splash in the corner for the bonus. The double Samoan drop hits Rollins and Gargano at the same time, leaving Montez Ford looking a bit worried in the pod. Reed sends Priest into the Chamber and then splashes him against the pod as the dominance continues.

The top rope shoulder drops Theory as well until Ford is in, giving us an ultra rare all six entrance in the match at once. Ford gets to beat up Theory and loads up a People’s Elbow of all things, only to have Reed make the save. Reed puts Gargano in an electric chair and a springboard clothesline turns it into a poisonrana, with Gargano coming DANGEROUSLY close to landing on his head.

Ford climbs up the wall….and then winds up hanging upside down from the roof. A flip dive onto everyone else leaves everybody down and the fans are VERY happy. Reed is back up so a bunch of people hit him with superkicks, followed by One Final Beat, a Stomp before a frog splash gives Ford the pin to eliminate Reed at 17:55.

Everyone starts climbing the wall, with Gargano and Rollins sitting on top of a pod. The other three get knocked down so Rollins chops the heck of Gargano, triggering a fight. Rollins loads up the super powerbomb but Gargano reverses it into a hurricanrana onto the pile for the HUGE crash, leaving Gargano holding his face. Gargano is fine enough to superkick Priest and Ford, setting up One Final Beat to Theory on the outside. Priest breaks up one back inside though and the Razor’s Edge gets rid of Gargano at 22:54.

Priest chases Ford to the top but Rollins pulls Priest into a powerbomb, with Ford adding a top rope Blockbuster for the pin at 24:44. So we’re down to Rollins vs. Theory vs. Ford and everyone needs a breather. Ford wins a slugout with Rollins and starts busting out the flip dives on the outside. A Rock Bottom hits Theory inside but the frog splash hits knees. Rollins adds a Stomp onto the steel and Ford is out at 27:39.

Rollins wastes no time in superkicking him into a sitout powerbomb for tow, as Ford is still down in the ring. The referee needs some help for Ford (his limbs are moving) and medics have to help get him to his feet. Ford is helped outside but actually falls on the steps (he is on another planet right now). Rollins hits a Pedigree on Theory….and here is Logan Paul to hit Rollins with a Buckshot Lariat. Paul Stomps Rollins as well and A Town Down retains Theory’s title at 31:24.

Rating: A-. Some of those spots were insane and they had the place rocking more than once. Paul coming in to cost Rollins is a great way to set up their Wrestlemania match and Theory winds up getting a big win to keep his title reign going. Also, quite the star making performances here for Reed, Priest and Ford, who was knocked completely loopy there near the end. In theory (no pun intended) that could have been a way for Paul to get inside, but I would hope they wouldn’t tease what looked like a rather horrible injury when Paul could have snuck in when anyone was leaving.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. Zayn tried to get into the Bloodline and eventually proved to be a valuable member of the team. Then Reigns slowly changed his mind on Zayn, accusing him of trying to steal the spotlight. Reigns gave him a chance to prove himself but Zayn cracked Reigns with a chair to one of the loudest reactions ever. Now Zayn wants to take the title from Reigns while Reigns just wants to destroy Zayn in Zayn’s hometown. This is one of the best built matches in years around here and the heat is going to be off the charts.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn

Reigns, with only Paul Heyman, is defending and WOW the reactions are off the chart, with Reigns being booed out of the building and Zayn getting an all time ovation (Worlds Apart always helps with that). The bell rings and we get a nearly four minute staredown with Reigns not leaving his corner. Reigns starts walking around the ring and the OLE chants seem to be getting on his nerves.

They finally lock up and Reigns runs him down with a shoulder. Sami’s headlock gets a huge reaction and they go back to circling as we’re nearly seven minutes into this. A low bridge sends Reigns outside and Sami nails the big flip dive. Back in and Zayn rains down some right hands in the corner as Reigns seems to be favoring his ear. A big right hand gets Reigns out of trouble and the apron dropkick has Zayn rocked.

Reigns laughs off some LET’S GO SAMI chants (Reigns: “That’s all you got? A couple of SAMI chants???”) before Reigns goes outside to yell at Zayn’s wife. Zayn gets put on the barricade in front of his wife as Reigns keeps yelling, followed by more shots to keep Zayn in trouble. Back in and a heck of a clothesline drops Reigns and the fans are back into it. A running clothesline sends Reigns outside and Zayn beats him up in front of his wife, who gets a quick kiss for a bonus.

A sunset bomb gives Zayn two but the Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into a release Rock Bottom for two more. The Superman Punch is loaded up but Zayn counters into the exploder into the corner. The Helluva Kick is cut off by the Superman Punch for two and they’re both down again. Reigns’ spear only hits corner though and Zayn exploders him into the corner again.

Zayn hits his own Superman Punch into the Helluva Kick for a VERY close two and Montreal has a city wide heart attack. The threat of another Helluva Kick sends Reigns bailing to the floor, where Zayn’s diving DDT is cut off by an uppercut. Zayn manages to send him through the barricade though and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets another white hot near fall back inside.

Another Blue Thunder Bomb is blocked and the referee gets bumped in the corner. Zayn hits another Helluva Kick but there’s no referee for the visual seven or so count. Cue Jimmy Uso (the waiver must have gone through) for three superkicks to Zayn and a Superfly Splash to give Reigns two from a second referee. They slug it out from their knees with Zayn getting the better of things and stomping Reigns out to the floor (after seemingly missing a ref bump).

Zayn takes Jimmy off the apron and the spear hits….for two. Now THAT brings the fans back into it and Reigns yells about how he was trying to help Zayn. A loud slap hits Reigns and a Superman Punch hits the referee (that seems to be what they were trying to do a few moments ago) so Heyman throws in a chair.

Cue Jey Uso to stand between Reigns and Zayn so Reigns holds the chair out to Jey (like he did to Zayn at the Royal Rumble). There’s no swing though as Jey drops the chair, earning a yelling from Reigns. Zayn spears Jey by mistake, so Reigns unloads on Zayn with the chair. The spear connects for Reigns and a referee comes back to life to count the pin at 32:19.

Rating: A-. This is a match where the emotions are going to play such a big role because that’s what the match was based on. What we got was great and felt epic, but man alive that was a punch to the gut to see Zayn come so close and gets speared down at the end. No matter how you look at it, Zayn was never likely to win as the featured spot at Wrestlemania is going to Cody Rhodes. For now though, this is the next step in the Bloodline Saga, as Reigns gets to move past Zayn, but the Usos might not be so lucky. Heck of a main event with some hot near falls, but the energy and reactions are what mattered.

Post match Jimmy goes after Zayn again but Kevin Owens comes out for the save (….uh…..) and beats Jimmy and Reigns down. Jimmy gets put through the announcers’ table and Owens grabs a chair, so Heyman gets in and pounds on Owens’ back. Zayn gets back up and hits the Helluva Kick on Reigns. Zayn looks at Owens as he leaves and then soaks in one last round of cheers to wrap it up. Owens and Zayn never touched or did anything but look at each other.

Overall Rating: A-. This show looked great coming in and then it delivered even more than that, as they had a pretty outstanding night. The opener is the closest thing to not good and even that was perfectly acceptable. The men’s Chamber and main event carried the show though and it was a pretty incredible show overall. Zayn vs. Reigns was a very good match boosted up to great by the crowd reactions, which can be a very powerful thing. Awesome show and if they can make it feel like this for Wrestlemania, we’re in for something very, very special.

Results
Asuka won the Women’s Elimination Chamber match last eliminating Carmella
Bobby Lashley b. Brock Lesnar via DQ when Lesnar kicked Lashley low
Edge/Beth Phoenix b. Finn Balor/Rhea Ripley – Shatter Machine to Balor
Austin Theory won the Men’s Elimination Chamber last eliminating Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns b. Sami Zayn – Spear

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It’s the last big stop on the Road To Wrestlemania and for a five match card, four of them are big and the fifth includes some Hall of Famers. This show is pretty much stacked with either big matches or the awesome sounding main event. While the show is called Elimination Chamber, the whole thing is about Roman Reigns defending the World Title against hometown boy Sami Zayn. Let’s get to it.

Edge/Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Balor/Rhea Ripley

Somehow this is the least important match on the show as Edge’s war against the Judgment Day continues. In this case, he is bringing in the wife to go after Ripley, who is on her way to WrestleMania. This should be a good, long tag match as all four can do well in a spot like this one. That being said, it doesn’t help that this feels like it is only there to set up something at Wrestlemania.

I’ll take Judgment Day here, as Ripley pinning Phoenix would make her look like a bigger deal on what could be her path to the main event of the first night of Wrestlemania. That leaves Edge and Balor to have one more showdown, likely in a big match in Los Angels. The match should be a good way to give us a breather between the bigger matches. The fact that this is probably the smallest on the car is quite a positive sign.

US Title: Men’s Elimination Chamber

So here we have the first Chamber match with Austin Theory defending the US Title. This match hasn’t exactly had the best build but there is quite the varied set of challengers to come after Theory. While I’m not sure if Theory is going to lose the title, they are doing enough to make me think that the title could change hands so something is going right so far.

As for the winner….I’ll go with Theory retaining, but there is more than one option. First off, Gargano and Ford just aren’t going to win. As fun as it would be for Reed to win, he isn’t going to either. That leaves Rollins (always an option), Priest (who needs a win) and Theory, who is likely going to be in a pretty upscale match at Wrestlemania. Theory wins here, and gets the solid boost that it was designed to give him.

Women’s Elimination Chamber

Now this one is a bit more interesting as we have two viable winners and the bigger of the two isn’t anything close to a lock. With six total contenders for the Wrestlemania title shot though, we’ll knock out Liv Morgan, Natalya and Carmella without much thought. Nikki Cross is a dark horse candidate as well but I just don’t think they are going to go in that direction.

That leaves us with Asuka and Raquel Rodriguez and I think I’ll go with the latter. Asuka has been hyped up as the next challenger and while that would be a good match, it doesn’t feel all that interesting. WWE has seemed like they want to get invested in Rodriguez and I think they’ll actually pull the trigger here and give her the chance. Asuka is a very strong possibility and I won’t be surprised if she wins, but I’ll go with Rodriguez.

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

It’s the trilogy match and somehow the winner gets Bray Wyatt after a pretty surprising challenge on Smackdown. This is the first time that Lesnar is the clear face vs. heel Lashley and it offers a unique twist on the match this time around. Lashley is in his suits again and that works well for him, though happy go lucky Lesnar is one of the most weirdly intriguing things I’ve seen in years.

I’ll go with Lashley winning here, if nothing else as the idea of Lesnar vs. Wyatt is something I can’t get my mind around. We should be in for a good power brawl here though and that’s the way a fight like this should be. The two of them can do pretty much everything to each other and that should make for a fun one. I’m still not sure what happens with Lesnar at Wrestlemania, but I don’t think he’ll be dealing with Wyatt.

Undisputed WWE World Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Sami Zayn

We had to get here and dang it I don’t want to. Not that the match won’t be great and the reaction to Zayn alone even better, but I don’t want Zayn’s incredible run with Reigns to come to an end. I don’t think there is much of a secret as to who walks out with the title, but the (somewhat) more interesting question is how WWE goes about having the match end.

Yeah of course Reigns retains here, though I could go with the idea of Zayn winning by DQ, just for the sake of him saving some face. Zayn getting speared down would be a hard thing to see but Reigns losing via DQ or countout wouldn’t do him any damage. Granted it would hurt Cody Rhodes though, and that’s not worth it. Word on the street is that the Usos might be able to be around and them costing Zayn the title could set up what seems to be a likely Wrestlemania Tag Team Title shot for Zayn and Kevin Owens. So Reigns retains and probably wins, but hopefully there are enough shenanigans for a screwy finish.

Overall Thoughts

This show has me rather interested as there isn’t a bad or uninteresting match on the entire card. WWE is cooking at the moment and if they can hold onto that for another six weeks, we could be in for a great Wrestlemania. For now, we could be in for a great Elimination Chamber on the Road To Wrestlemania though and I’ll certainly take that. Just make this stuff work and don’t do anything nutty and it should be an awesome night.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: February 13, 2023
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It is the go home show for the Elimination Chamber and that means we need to finalize everything for the red half of the event. We should be in for some hard pushes, including the contract signing between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. There is also the Lita return last week to deal with so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Becky Lynch, with Adam Pearce, for a chat. Becky is happy to be here and says she even dressed spiffy for us. She thanks Lita for her help last week but realizes that she needs a path to Wrestlemania. That sounds like something to do with a title to her, so she wants in the Elimination Chamber.

Cue Bayley, who says she should be in the Chamber, because Lita CHEATED last week. That match should be stricken from the record book, which sends Bayley and Becky into an argument over Wrestlemania credentials. Bayley says Becky lost in her Wrestlemania main event (Huh?) and brags about defending both Women’s Titles there instead.

With that bizarre bit out of the way, cue Bianca Belair to say all this talk about the title should involve the champ. She wants both of them in the Chamber, so Pearce has an idea: a triple threat between the three of them tonight. If Bayley or Becky win, both of them are in and the Chamber, with seven women, starts in a triple threat. If Belair wins, the two of them are both out of the Chamber. I’m thinking that was either worded badly or I misheard it, because that’s some insane booking otherwise. I’m assuming if Becky or Bayley wins, the winner and only the winner goes in?

Judgment Day is ready for their upcoming week, including tonight and at Elimination Chamber.

Judgment Day vs. Street Profits

Priest hits Ford in the face to start and it’s Balor slingshotting in with a stomp for two. A kick to the head rocks Balor though and it’s Dawkins coming in for a double flapjack to Priest. The house is cleaned and we take a break, maybe three minutes after coming back from the previous one.

Back with Dawkins coming in to clean house but missing the spinning splash in the corner. Not that it matters as Ford tags himself in and catches Balor with a German suplex for two. The Doomsday Blockbuster gets two more and Ford hits the big flip dive onto Priest. Dominik gets brought in and Pounced by Dawkins, allowing Balor to hit the Sling Blade. The shotgun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace to give Balor the pin at 7:35.

Rating: C+. The energy was high but my goodness I could go with them not having the breaks in the middle of the match. What does it even help? You have a somewhat hot match here but instead of letting the fans see it, we get about two half of it due to a pair of breaks. There has to be a better way to format this show and it would be nice if they could make the change.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Edge and Beth Phoenix run in for the save. Beth loads up the Glam Slam on Dominik but Rhea Ripley (not supposed to be here) runs in and lays Beth out with the Riptide.

Here are Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley for a contract signing. Since Lesnar signed last week, Adam Pearce needs Lashley out here, so here is….a bunch of security. Lashley sets up his own table at the stage and says he isn’t sure about this. He has had everyone from his agent to his kids sign and he doesn’t know if he’s going to do it. Lashley calls him Basic B**** Brock so Lesnar goes up the aisle. Security is dispatched and Lashley backdrops (yes backdrops) him on the floor. There’s the spear to cut Lesnar down and Lashley signs. That was a bit uneventful.

Mia Yim vs. Piper Niven

This is fallout from Niven threatening Yim’s friend Candice LeRae last week. Niven runs her over to start and falls on top of Yim in a slam attempt. Yim grabs a fairly scary looking DDT but charges into something like a Rock Bottom out of the corner. The backsplash gives Niven two but Yim slips out of the over the shoulder piledriver. Instead, Niven grabs a swinging Boss Man Slam (the Loch Ness Slam) for the pin at 2:41.

Long recap of the Jey Uso Saga from Smackdown.

Baron Corbin is asked about his fallout with JBL last week….but we need to cut back to the arena because Sami Zayn is in the ring. He isn’t here to hold up the show but he has something to say to someone and he might not get the chance after this week. Zayn wants Cody Rhodes out here right now and his request is quickly granted. Rhodes asks what Zayn wants to talk about, so Zayn brings up Cody saying he thinks it’s going to be himself vs. Zayn at Wrestlemania.

Zayn wants to hear it from his face and yes, Cody did mean what he said. Fans: “THIS IS AWESOME!” Cody says that with all due respect, that’s not what this is all about. Does Zayn believe that he can beat Reigns? Fans: “OLE!” Zayn says that the truth is he doesn’t know. Reigns is telling the truth when he talks about being on another level. Now after 900 days, does he know if he can take out Reigns?

Yes he believes he can do it but he doesn’t know if he can. Fans: “YOU CAN DO IT!” Cody doesn’t know how to take that but says there is distention in the Bloodline for the first time ever and that is because of Zayn. Everything going on right now is because of him and Reigns is just a man. Go crack him open and take him out, because Rhodes is going to be waiting on him at Wrestlemania.

Michael Cole said Cody can finish hist story, but now it is time for Zayn to finish his. Rhodes goes to leave, but says one more thing: he doesn’t want to see Zayn on Raw next week, because he wants to see him at Wrestlemania. This was more greatness and while I don’t buy Zayn having a real chance to win, they’re pushing the heck out of this and it’s starting to feel bigger and bigger every week.

Nikki Cross and Carmella are ready for a six woman tag, with Asuka coming in, complete with clown look, to scare Carmella off. Candice LeRae comes in to see Cross, asking why she has been following her. Cross laughs.

Baron Corbin is sick of being disrespected and at Elimination Chamber, Roman Reigns beats Sami Zayn. Corbin was the last person to beat Reigns, and then Reigns is going to run through Rhodes at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t get Rhodes, who happens to be behind him. Corbin mocks Rhodes’ brother and dad, which is enough to start the brawl. They fight into the arena with Cody, in a suit, saying get a referee.

Cody Rhodes vs. Baron Corbin

They start on the floor with Corbin being sent into the barricade and then the post. They fight onto the announcers’ table before Corbin is sent into the steps. Cody sends him inside for the first time and hits the Cody Cutter, setting up Cross Rhodes for the pin at 2:03. This made Cody look like a killer and it went very well.

Natalya, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez don’t like the Raw women in the Elimination Chamber. They’re not sure about each other either.

Asuka/Carmella/Nikki Cross vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Natalya/Liv Morgan

Rodriguez fall away slams Cross to start so Carmella comes in, earning a Sharpshooter from Natalya. Everything breaks down and the Smackdown women clear the ring as we take a break. Back with Natalya fighting out of a bodyscissors and bringing Morgan in to kick away at Cross. Everything breaks down and it’s an exchange of kicks to the head. Asuka ties up Morgan’s arms for the tap at 7:13.

Rating: C-. They blazed through this (again, with a mid-match commercial) and it was little more than a way to remind you that the match was taking place on Saturday. There are not many potential winners for the Chamber match so boosting Asuka, one of the potential winners, is a good idea. Nothing to see here for the most part, but at least they didn’t do anything ridiculous.

Otis is having a hot dog but Chad Gable doesn’t approve. Gable throws it away and hits the Maximum Male Models, with Maxxine Durpri thinking Otis could be the face of their brand. She gives him a card, with Gable critiquing the design. Bronson Reed comes up and scares them.

Bronson Reed vs. Mustafa Ali

Reed starts fast and knocks Ali outside. A shot off the apron takes Ali down again but he gets back inside for a running kick to the face. They go outside again and Ali is LAUNCHED over the barricade and into a pile of chairs. Ali’s hurricanrana doesn’t get him very far as Reed runs him over. The Tsunami finishes Ali at 3:09.

Rating: C. There is something so fun about watching someone the size of Reed crush someone, as that Tsunami looks absolutely effortless every time. That is what we got to see again here and it absolutely still works. At the same time, it is becoming more and more clear that Ali is never going to be anything more than this around here, but he does seem to still be putting in the effort. That’s more than some will do so good for him.

Here is Miz for MizTV. Miz isn’t happy about not being in the Elimination Chamber but he’d rather talk about his guest. That would be Seth Rollins, who may be a mastermind, but is his mind in the Chamber or on Logan Paul? First though, Miz looks at Rollins’ huge red boots and asks WHAT ARE THOSE!

Rollins says it’s style so Miz moves on to Logan Paul. That’s not what the people want to talk about so we pause for the fans to sing Rollins’ music. If Miz wanted to hear singing, he would listen to Taylor Swift (Miz: “You’re all jealous because I got tickets and you didn’t!”). Rollins talks about having a dream but Paul doesn’t buy into it. All Paul wants is to be a star and that makes Rollins want to kick his teeth in. Miz: “It sounds like you’re jealous.” Rollins: “Come on Mike. We all know you’re stupid but you’re not THAT stupid.” Miz: “I AM NOT STUPID!”

Miz goes on about their accomplishments and gets hit in the face. Rollins hits him in the face with a chair as well but here is Austin Theory to pull Rollins to the floor. The distraction lets Miz kick Rollins in the face but Rollins takes him down. Theory is back up with A Town Down to drop Rollins.

Elias comes up to see Rick Boogs and compares their backgrounds. If Boogs can impress him tonight, maybe there is a collaboration in the future. Boogs: “RIGHTEOUS!” He’s ready to beat up Miz tonight and Elias approves. Sidenote: MVP was seen talking to Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin in the background.

Miz vs. Rick Boogs

Miz is barely able to get to his feet and says the match isn’t happening. Boogs disagrees and jumps him, setting up a pumphandle slam with fifteen curls. The gorilla press World’s Strongest Slam finishes Miz at 1:01.

Chelsea Green comes in to see Adam Pearce and brings up the emails she has sent management. Pearce says he got them and responded to them, but Green wants to be treated like a star. She wants to be in the triple threat match tonight and won’t leave until she’s in. Green feels VERY threatened so Pearce leaves.

Judgment Day promises to win both of their matches at Elimination Chamber. Then Rhea Ripley can go on to win the Smackdown Women’s Title at Wrestlemania. Ripley knows she is going to win and that rise to the top starts at Elimination Chamber.

Elimination Chamber rundown.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Bianca Belair vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Non-title and if Bayley (with Damage Ctrl) or Lynch win, they are in the Elimination Chamber. If Belair wins though, neither goes in. Joined in progress with Belair cleaning house but Bayley fights up to take over. Becky dives back in with a save with Belair having to make her own as well. A double DDT plants Belair and Bayley as we take a break.

Back with Belair dropping Bayley onto the turnbuckle for two but Becky sends Belair into the corner as well. Bayley comes back in and takes Becky down for two each, followed by a top rope elbow for two more on Becky (ignore Belair laying on Becky as Bayley went up, which should have been a pin).

The Manhandle Slam hits Bayley but Damage Ctrl makes the save to pull Becky outside. Another distraction lets Bayley can roll Belair up for two. Cue the people in the Elimination Chamber to brawl with Damage Ctrl, leaving Belair to throw Sky onto the pile. Back up and Belair KOD’s Becky onto Bayley (with Becky rolling off for no logical reason), allowing Belair to get the pin at 15:00.

Rating: D+. I don’t even know where to start with this mess. First and foremost, absolutely nothing has changed as a result. Becky and Bayley weren’t in the Chamber coming in and they’re not in it with Raw over. They were both playing with the house’s money and it changed nothing. Then you had all of the (expected) interference, plus the multiple occasions where there should have been pinfall attempts but the referee either didn’t count or one of them rolled away from a legal cover. Bad wrestling, weird stipulations and pieces that were just a mess make what could have been big into a pretty awful main event.

We run down the Elimination Chamber card again to fill out the rest of the show’s time.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show and a lot of that is due to the Elimination Chamber matches. Neither feels remotely important, as you have Asuka, Rodriguez and….are any of the other four realistic winners? Carmella and Natalya aren’t winning and Cross/Morgan are long shots at best. On the other hand you have the US Title match, which has little heat and feels all over the place. Ford and Priest were in a tag match (granted against each other), Rollins is fighting with Miz and talking about Logan Paul and Gargano wasn’t even on the show.

Now on the other hand, there was some good stuff on here. The Cody/Zayn segment was outstanding and Cody looked awesome against Corbin. You also had Reed feeling like a monster, Niven and Boogs being boosted up and Lashley managing to get one over on Lesnar. There was good stuff on the show, but the bad stuff was bringing it right back down. The good news is that Elimination Chamber is over in six days and we can move on to the stuff that really matters. For now, this was another show that would have been great at two hours but was only pretty good at three.

Results
Judgment Day b. Street Profits – Coup de Grace to Dawkins
Piper Niven b. Mia Yim – Loch Ness Slam
Cody Rhodes b. Baron Corbin – Cross Rhodes
Asuka/Carmella/Nikki Cross b. Raquel Rodriguez/Natalya/Liv Morgan – Armbar to Morgan
Bronson Reed b. Mustafa Ali – Tsunami
Rick Boogs b. The Miz – Gorilla press World’s Strongest Slam
Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch and Bayley – Belair KOD’s Lynch onto Bayley

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 6, 2023
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are less than two weeks away from Elimination Chamber and that means it is time to start getting more qualifying matches out of the way. In addition to that though, we have a cage match between Bayley and Becky Lynch which should be a heck of a showdown. That should be enough but Cody Rhodes will be somewhere as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Edge and Beth Phoenix for a chat, but first we see a clip of Edge quitting at Extreme Rules to save Beth from a Conchairto, which happened anyway. Then they returned at Elimination Chamber, where they took out Judgment Day again. In the arena, Edge talks about how he wanted Judgment Day to be about finding new talent. We hear about the members of the team but then everything fell apart. The team attacked Edge so here is their golf clap. Fans: “YOU STILL GOT IT!” Edge: “I never lost it!”

Beth wants to get the fight on but here is Judgment Day, minus Rhea Ripley, to interrupt. Dominik threatens prison violence, just like he used on Rey Mysterio, and Damian Priest talks about qualifying for the Money….er, Elimination Chamber, to get his US Title back. Edge doesn’t want to hear this and suggests that Dominik isn’t that tough. Beth wants to get her hands on Rhea, so the mixed tag challenge is thrown out for Elimination Chamber. Game on, and so is the fight, with the Street Profits running in. The Glam Slam drops Dominik.

Elimination Chamber: Angelo Dawkins vs. Damian Priest

Everyone is gone from ringside and we’re joined in progress. They head outside with Priest being thrown over the announcers’ table. Back in and Priest hits the toss suplex for two but Dawkins fires off the right hands. Priest slams him on the floor again and we take a break. Back with Dawkins hitting an exploder suplex for two and going up top.

Priest pulls him down into a Downward Spiral for two but the Silencer drops Priest again. A top rope Swanton gives Dawkins two but Priest is back up to kick Dawkins in the head. South Of Heaven is plants Dawkins down rather hard and sends Priest on to the Chamber title shot at 11:00.

Rating: C+. This was a match where there wasn’t much doubt but Dawkins was putting in the efforts to make the most of it. The Profits are already starting to get their singles pushes and they are slowly getting better in both areas. Dawkins getting a singles run of his own would have been a bit much over a former champion, but he certainly did better than I would have expected.

Adam Pearce welcomes the Maximum Male Models to Raw but gets interrupted by Chelsea Green. She isn’t happy with the BELGIAN chocolates she got last week when she wanted Swiss. Therefore, Pearce either needs to get it right or she’ll get him fired with one phone call. Green: “K thanks bye.”

We look at Sami Zayn jumping Roman Reigns on Smackdown but getting beaten down again. Their match at Elimination Chamber is set.

Baron Corbin vs. Dexter Lumis

Johnny Gargano is here with Lumis and JBL is here with Corbin, who takes Lumis down with a chinlock to start. Some elbows to the back of the head set up another chinlock. Lumis fights up with a belly to back suplex but he can’t Silence Corbin. A missed charge lets Lumis hit the Silence for the pin at 3:16.

Rating: C-. Yeah this still didn’t work and I’m not particularly surprised. Corbin has lost all kinds of steam and Lumis is much better before and after the bell than in between them. The match was rather dull and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Corbin taking a bigger backseat in the future, as this stuff with JBL just isn’t working.

We look back at Becky Lynch being attacked in the cage two weeks ago, then attacking Damage Ctrl to even things up a bit.

Lynch is ready to face Bayley inside the cage here in Orlando, where it all began. Bayley made this personal when she brought in Becky’s family so tonight, it is time to play her last card.

We look at the Braveheart trailer from Wrestlemania XXI.

Here is Brock Lesnar (high fiving fans, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do before) for a chat. Lesnar is glad to be here and asks if anyone saw the Royal Rumble. He didn’t like it because Bobby Lashley tossed him out. Lesnar wasn’t here last week because he had to get his mind right. Last week he couldn’t go hunting or ice fishing but all he could think about was Bobby Lashley. To make it even worse, Lashley ruined his steak dinner and his, ahem, time with his wife. Well, maybe after four or five hours after his time with his wife started that is.

Lesnar pulls out a contract for a match with Lashley at Elimination Chamber so he wants Lashley out here for a signing. Cue Lashley to recap their feud and he thinks they need to do a third match on his terms. His team is going to look at the contract and thinks Lesnar should understand. F5ing ensues. You knew the match was happening either at Elimination Chamber or at Wrestlemania so this opens some doors for Wrestlemania.

Dexter Lumis has drawn a picture of the Gargano Family, including Nikki Cross looking on. Cross is behind them and runs off.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Carmella vs. Candice LeRae vs. Mia Yim vs. Piper Niven

One fall to a finish and Carmella bails to the floor to start. Back in and Niven uses the power to take over, including crushing all three at once for some near falls. Niven throws Carmella outside and poses as we take a break. We come back with Yim and LeRae double teaming Niven down.

Niven is back up with a headbutt to Yim but LeRae hits a missile dropkick into a middle rope moonsault for two. Carmella comes back in and stomps away on LeRae in the corner, setting up a Cannonball From Niven. Carmella kicks Niven to the floor and rolls LeRae up for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C. So LeRae needs the win, whatever Yim is being called this week needs a win, Niven is back as the force who needs a win, but the right answer is Carmella, who is the same thing she was before she left for months. Carmella is going to be cannon fodder in the Chamber, which is the case for more than one person in there. Maybe they should get someone a little more interesting, but why do that when you can have Carmella?

JBL quits on Baron Corbin for being such a screwup. Corbin promises he can do better but JBL walks away anyway. Well points for pulling the plug on a bad idea, but odds are we are going to be seeing more Corbin because of course we are. Sidenote: MVP can be seen talking to Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander in the back.

Piper Niven goes after Candice LeRae in the back but Mia Yim makes the save.

Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin vs. Alpha Academy

MVP is here with Cedric and Shelton. Cedric and Gable go to a wrestle off to start with Gable taking him down without much trouble. Otis and Shelton come in with Otis sending him hard into the corner. Shelton gets away and brings in Cedric to clean house in a hurry. The Neuralizer sends Gable outside, where he catches a charging Cedric in an exploder suplex. Back in and Gable hits a top rope headbutt for two as everything breaks down. Gable misses a moonsault though and it’s a Lumbar Check for the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C+. Sure why not. The Hurt Business worked well in its day and it’s not like Benjamin and Alexander have anything else going on. Put them back together and let them see if the magic is still there. I’ll take it over some lame comedy team and MVP can make almost anything work.

We look back at the returning Rick Boogs beating Miz in an impromptu match last week.

Miz swears revenge on Boogs, who comes out of Adam Pearce’s office. Pearce pokes his head out to hear Miz run his mouth, setting up a rematch for next week. With that gone, Chelsea Green pops in and demands an opponent right now or she’ll call Pearce’s manager.

Chelsea Green vs. Asuka

The rest of the women in the Elimination Chamber are here as Green jumps Asuka to start. The lifting Downward Spiral plants Asuka but Green stops to yell at everyone else on the floor. The distraction lets Asuka come back with a bunch of strikes, setting up a double arm crank for the tap at 2:23.

Post match we get the big staredown but here is Bianca Belair to ask who is going to win the Chamber. She knows what it means and wishes them all luck, because she’ll be waiting at Wrestlemania.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes talks about how we are on the Road To Wrestlemania, but first of all, we have a special night for Sami Zayn in his hometown. Cody wishes him luck, but here is Paul Heyman to interrupt. Heyman is here on behalf of Roman Reigns to congratulate Cody on winning the men’s Royal Rumble. We get a polite handshake and Cody calls him Mr. Heyman before wanting to pull the curtain back.

Cody wants to talk about a moment in 2000, when Dusty Rhodes got a call to work for ECW. Heyman wanted Dusty in ECW to face Steve Corino with promised of great pay, which he received. That run gave Dusty his confidence back and Cody thanks him. Then when Cody was here before, Heyman showed Cody the way so thank you again. Heyman is a bit emotional and talks about how far of a road this has been for Cody. Now though, Cody is trying to take away from Roman Reigns, which makes Heyman wonder how Cody will handle the pressure.

Right down the road from here is the WWE Performance Center, where Dusty Rhodes trained and prepared the top stars of this generation, including Reigns himself. What Cody didn’t do is prep Cody. As a father, Heyman might have wanted Cody to make it on his own (Cody seems to be fine with that) and make it as Cody Rhodes, not Dusty’s son.

Heyman talks about how much he loved Dusty, and in their last conversation, Dusty said Cody was his favorite son…..but Roman Reigns was the son he always wanted. Cody gets in Heyman’s face and says he was just trying to win a title. Now Reigns is going to pay for Heyman making it personal when Cody takes the titles….personally.

Oh yeah this was awesome and they managed to make me more interested in seeing Cody vs. Reigns than they were before. As Cody said, he was just in this to win a title, and now he has something personal to fight about. That has been lacking in the feud, while Sami vs. Reigns has been entirely personal. I don’t know if this makes it more interesting than Sami vs. Reigns, but it cut the gap down fast.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Elias vs. Montez Ford

Austin Theory is on commentary. Elias shoulders him down to start and grabs a chinlock but Ford is right back up with a dropkick. Theory doesn’t like us talking about anything but him as Elias sends Ford outside. We take a break and come back with Elias pulling him off the top and countering a hurricanrana into a sitout powerbomb. Ford fights up and hits a high crossbody, setting up the clotheslines to keep Elias in trouble. Elias gets sent outside for a heck of a flip dive, followed by the frog splash for the pin and the spot at 10:14.

Rating: C. The Ford singles push has seemed to be on the horizon for months now and maybe this is the first step on the way there. Ford can absolutely hang in a singles match and now he has a US Title shot on pay per view. He does need to (and won’t) win but just being in the match is something noteworthy. That athleticism can’t be ignored and this should be a great boost for his career.

Post match Seth Rollins pops up to take out Theory, including the Stomp on the floor.

Becky Lynch vs. Bayley

In a cage with the rest of Damage Ctrl at ringside. Lynch goes after her to start but gets sent into the cage to cut her off. Bayley starts going up but a dropkick to the cage brings her back down. They go up top with Bayley knocking her down, setting up the top rope elbow for two.

We take a break and come back with both of them going up again and kicking away. Lynch knocks her down for a crash and a near fall but Bayley gets in a whip to the cage. Bayley grabs a kneebar so Becky crawls for the door before sending Bayley face first into the corner. They go up top at the same time again and slug it out until a super Bayley to Belly plants Becky for two.

Instead of going for the door, Bayley tries to climb out, allowing Becky to get up there and catch her. Becky throws Bayley down but Iyo Sky is right up there to cut her off too. Dakota Kai throws in a crutch…..and Lita of all people is here. She takes out Sky with a Twist of Fate on the floor, slams the door on Bayley’s head and sets up Becky’s Manhandle Slam for the win at 15:07.

Rating: B. The Lita stuff was a surprise, but what mattered here was having two top stars having what felt like a main event match. It was the kind of a match that was the main event of the show rather than the last match on the card and they made it work well. I was into this and now I’m wondering where the Lita connection is going. One more match on the big stage, say against Bayley, would be great to see and that might be where we’re going.

Overall Rating: B-. This is another show that was good on its own but would have been great at two hours. If you could cut out a little bit here and there and get it trimmed down, there is almost nothing bad to be found. They advanced the Elimination Chamber card, they had a surprise at the end and they had an instant classic exchange between Cody and Heyman. WWE is in a very good place right now and if they can keep it up through Wrestlemania, we could be in for a classic.

Results
Damian Priest b. Angelo Dawkins – South Of Heaven
Dexter Lumis b. Baron Corbin – Silence
Carmella b. Piper Niven, Mia Yim and Candice LeRae – Cannonball to LeRae
Shelton Benjamin/Cedric Alexander b. Alpha Academy – Lumbar Check to Gable
Asuka b. Chelsea Green – Double armbar
Montez Ford b. Elias – Frog splash
Becky Lynch b. Bayley – Manhandle Slam

WWE, 2023, Monday Night Raw, Edge, Beth Phoenix, Judgment Day, Maximum Male Models, Chelsea Green, Angelo Dawkins, Damian Priest, JBL, Baron Corbin, Johnny Gargano, Becky Lynch, Dexter Lumis, Candice LeRae, Carmella, Michin, Piper Niven, Nikki Cross, Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, Alpha Academy, Miz, Rick Boogs, Asuka, Bianca Belair, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Montez Ford, Elias, Seth Rollins, Austin Theory, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Damage Ctrl

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 30, 2023
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It’s the first show after the Royal Rumble and that means we are going to be seeing a lot of build towards Wrestlemania. Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley are the Royal Rumble winners and are on their way to Los Angeles, but the Sami Zayn situation is going to have to be resolved at some point. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

We open with a look at Cody Rhodes returning and winning the Royal Rumble on Saturday.

Here is Cody Rhodes to a pretty awesome reaction. Cody soaks in the cheers and asks what we want to talk about. Rhodes has been doing this for over fifteen years and he started in Ohio Valley Wrestling. There is a sign on their building that says “tomorrow’s superstars today”. He remembers getting ready to go in on his first day and thinking he would be WWE Champion in two years and he would be the next John Cena. If he could talk to his 19 year old self, he would tell him that it would be a little harder than that.

Would he tell him about Dashing Cody Rhodes or about painting his face or marrying the woman who keeps saying the wrestlers’ names every night? Or that he lost a 295lb friend but gaining a six pound one with the same eyes? Or about taking a hiatus to try to build up the industry but then coming back to punch a ticket to go to Wrestlemania? Cody wouldn’t tell himself a single thing because every step on this broken road has been 100% worth it.

He heard some people singing Kingdom with him on the way to the ring tonight and the first words are true: wrestling has more than one royal family. That is true in WWE as well, and to prove it, he has to stand across from the Tribal Chief. He has to stand across from the LeBron James of this era and the man who has been the champion for 800-something says: Roman Reigns.

Wrestlemania is in 62 days and that is 62 days for the rest of his life. That is the night for Cody to prove everything but here is Judgment Day to interrupt. Dominik Mysterio talks about how Cody ruined his Royal Rumble, which wouldn’t have worked in prison. Now if Cody had run the whole way through like Rhea Ripley, it might have meant something. They insult each others’ family and Cody is ready to fight any of them tonight. The match seems to come on.

We look at tonight’s card.

Back in the arena, Cody is high fiving fans but here is Edge to go after the Judgment Day. The big brawl takes us to a break.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Seth Rollins vs. Chad Gable

Gable wrestles him down to start and Rollins has to think about this a bit. Another takedown has Rollins in trouble and we take an early break. Back with Rollins hitting a clothesline and some kicks to the face. The Chaos theory doesn’t work for Gable and the Falcon Arrow gives Rollins two. They go to the pinfall reversal sequence until Gable muscles him down for two more. The ankle lock goes on but Rollins kicks him away and rolls into the Pedigree to plant Gable for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C. This is the kind of match that probably would have been better off being dropped with Rollins just getting the spot, but WWE has to fill in the next few weeks somehow. Rollins is someone you can put into any title match at any time and he’ll be fine here. On the other hand you have Gable, who is still better than most in the ring, and as long as you can keep him away from repeating his one line over and over, he has a job for a long time.

Iyo Sky vs. Candice LeRae

Damage Ctrl and Michin (her name this week) are here too. Sky takes her down without much effort to start and we take a break…for a few seconds as it’s just a quick ad for a movie. LeRae gets sent outside for the big suicide dive but she’s right back up with a springboard spinning dive.

We take a real break and come back with LeRae grabbing a German superplex (from the bottom rope) for two. A poisonrana plants Sky again but Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride is blocked. Over The Moonsault only hits knees but the distraction at ringside means it’s only good for two. LeRae goes after Bayley, allowing Sky to grab a sunset flip for the pin at 9:15.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one as they had a big chunk cut out and the distraction wasn’t exactly inspired stuff. LeRae needs to win something at some point because these constant losses are taking away a lot of her interest. Also, it’s not like Sky is a singles star at the moment so having her lose here wouldn’t have been some devastating moment.

We look at Rhea Ripley winning the Women’s Royal Rumble.

Here is Rhea Ripley for her Wrestlemania announcement. She ran the gauntlet on Saturday and now she gets to pick who she wants to face at Wrestlemania. Three years ago, her career was just about to start but then Charlotte took her down at Wrestlemania. Somehow, Charlotte is always in the title picture and somehow always at the top of her game. Ripley doesn’t like things to be overplayed though, so Charlotte should enjoy everyone bowing down to the queen, because they are about to rise to someone new. The challenge is officially on and for once, I actually have the hope that WWE will go the right way.

Seth Rollins is ready for Elimination Chamber so he can win the US Title and then go on to Wrestlemania. Rollins is asked about Logan Paul eliminating him from the Royal Rumble but he just smiles and walks away.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Baron Corbin

Dexter Lumis and JBL are here too. Corbin starts fast and hits an early chokebreaker for two. That’s broken up and Gargano sends him to the floor for the dropkick through the ropes. Corbin breaks up the One Final Beat though and punches Gargano to the floor. There’s the chokeslam onto the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Gargano hitting the slingshot spear, followed by a superkick for two. Deep Six gives Corbin two more but Gargano knocks him outside. Lumis is up with his hatches and hacks up JBL’s hat, which is enough of a distraction for Gargano to….get kneed out of the air. End of Days is countered into a rollup though and Gargano is going to the Chamber at 9:08.

Rating: C. What in the world happened to Corbin? He was looking primed for his latest push a few months ago but now it seems to have all fallen away. Granted that’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s more than a bit surprising to see him dropping so much. Gargano isn’t going to win the title, though I can go with him finally winning a match or two.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP with special guest Austin Theory. After some nice welcomes, Theory talks about watching the VIP Lounge a long time ago. Theory wants to come here and revitalize the show, but instead they should just change the show to Austin Theory Live. MVP doesn’t think that has the same ring but shifts over to the Elimination Chamber.

Theory says he has been in the Chamber before and got beaten up by Brock Lesnar. MVP talks about being in the Chamber before and getting beaten up by the Undertaker, which is what would happen if Theory faced Bobby Lashley. That’s brushed off, as Theory has already beaten Lashley twice. Theory isn’t scared of Lashley because Brock Lesnar is coming for him, but MVP thinks he should be. Cue Lashley to go after Theory but MVP is accidentally run over by Lashley. Theory bails and yells at Lashley as he goes.

Finn Balor wants Edge to know that he works Mondays. As for Cody Rhodes, tonight Balor is proving that it should have been his.

Batista has a new movie.

It’s time for MizTV and he isn’t happy that he was the first man out. Miz has been humiliated about everything that has gone wrong and he wants what he deserves. Cue Adam Pearce to say there is a new member of the Raw roster who wants to fight so it’s match time.

Miz vs. Rick Boogs

Hold on though as Miz wants to know if Pearce is serious. Does Pearce know that he is in at $10,000 suit that his wife bought him? Cue a referee so we’re ready to go. Boogs powers Miz into the corner to start so Miz can unbutton his jacket. A left hand just annoys Boogs so he does the spinning gutwrench suplex. The gorilla press World’s Strongest Slam finishes Miz at 1:12.

The Alpha Academy walk past the Maximum Male Models. Maxine Dupree thinks someone, presumably Otis, is perfect.

We look back at Roman Reigns retaining the World Title over Kevin Owens, leading to the big Bloodline beatdown. Sami Zayn tried to call him off but eventually turned on Reigns, earning himself a huge beatdown. That pop/eruption is going to be in my head for a bit.

Here is Bayley for a chat. She dominated the Royal Rumble, with a highlight of eliminating Becky Lynch. That means it’s over with Lynch because she has beaten her again and again. Cue Becky to say they’re not done until she says they’re done. Her goal at the Royal Rumble was to prevent Bayley or Damage Ctrl from winning. Becky thinks Bayley is making excuses for getting out of the cage match last week but Bayley isn’t having that.

Bayley says that Becky isn’t good enough for any of this, including her husband Seth Rollins. Bayley: “The only reason he married you is because he knocked you up.” Becky thought they were only fighting about wrestling so how about they have that cage match next week in Orlando where all of this started. Bayley says no so Becky drags out Dakota Kai with a chair wrapped around her leg. That’s enough for the match to be mad, but Becky implies she already took out Iyo Sky.

Adam Pearce has two announcements. First up: Bayley vs. Becky Lynch in a cage is set for next week. Second: there will be a women’s Elimination Chamber match for the right to challenge Bianca Belair at Wrestlemania. The first four participants are the four runners up in the Royal Rumble: Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, Asuka and Nikki Cross. We will also find out one more of the final two participants in a four way match between Candice LeRae, Michin, Carmella and Piper Niven, but here is Chelsea Green to interrupt. She is NOT happy with her accommodations and wants Pearce to do something about it. Swiss chocolate is promised.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Bronson Reed

Earlier today, Mustafa Ali annoyed Ziggler about getting ANOTHER opportunity handed to him. Ziggler tries to go fast to start but Reed runs him over without much trouble. We’re already in the chinlock but Ziggler fights up and grabs a front facelock. That’s broken up and Reed drops him, setting up the Tsunami for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but I wouldn’t have bet on Ziggler losing, at least not so dominantly. Reed is someone who might not have the longest shelf life, but he has one of the best looking splashes I’ve ever seen. That might be enough to take him pretty far and there are far worse ideas out there.

Carmella is back but runs into Asuka (minus clown gear). She isn’t scared of Asuka, who smiles to reveal blue teeth and mist dribbling down her chin.

Corey Graves is a bit freaked out.

Rick Boogs is glad to be back and lets out a yell. The Street Profits and Elias are glad to have him back too. Well maybe not so much Elias, who isn’t sure if Elias is a real artist. With Boogs gone, Ford and Elias talk some trash about their Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Angelo Dawkins is ready to qualify against Damian Priest too.

Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor

The rest of Judgment Day is here with Balor, who gets knocked outside to send us to an early break. Back with Cody not being able to hit the Alabama Slam, allowing Balor to start in on the recently repaired pectoral. Rhodes (not Rollins, Graves) grabs a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes though and there’s the suicide dive on the floor. Priest and Dominik are taken out and it’s a snap powerslam for two on Balor back inside. The Cody Cutter is blocked though and we take a break.

Back with Cody hitting a superplex and the Cody Cutter connects for two. Cross Rhodes is broken up though and Balor hits a Pele. The shotgun dropkick is countered with a superkick but Cody’s Figure Four is countered into a small package for two. The Judgment Day surrounds Cody and, like clockwork, here is Edge to go after them. Beth Phoenix runs out to spear Rhea Ripley and an Edge distraction breaks up the Coup de Grace. Three Cross Rhodes finish Balor at 14:58.

Rating: B-. Solid match here as Rhodes gets another win over another former World Champion. Rhodes is going to get the rocket strapped to his back until Wrestlemania and there is a very good chance that it works out. On the other hand you have Balor, who is somehow by far the most successful star on his team and is also the least important member at the moment. I’m not sure I get that but

Overall Rating: C+. Good enough show, though it was definitely taking a breather after the Rumble. Cody’s spot is set, but for now the more interesting thing is going to be the Sami Zayn story. WWE can work on that at Elimination Chamber, but Mondays are going to belong to Cody for the next few months. This week mainly set up Elimination Chamber, which is only going to be so interesting as qualifying matches have a pretty firm ceiling. What we got was good though, and the Road To Wrestlemania is already looking promising.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Chad Gable – Pedigree
Iyo Sky b. Candice LeRae – Sunset flip
Johnny Gargano b. Baron Corbin – Rollup
Rick Boogs b. Miz – Gorilla press World’s Strongest Slam
Bronson Reed b. Dolph Ziggler – Tsunami
Cody Rhodes b. Finn Balor – Cross Rhodes

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Smackdown
Date: March 21, 2008
Location: Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman

We’re almost to Wrestlemania and I’m not sure what else there is to build around here. Last week’s main event was a weird combination of a Raw and Smackdown match which felt like a weird off ramp match. Odd are the focus will still be on Edge vs. Undertaker, which really doesn’t need it at this point. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recreation of Batista vs. Umaga in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. Well that’s a change of pace.

Batista vs. Deuce N Domino

No Cherry this week as she is in the competition later tonight. Batista doesn’t look amused as he drives Deuce into the corner to start. A double team manages to take Batista down but he’s right back with an elbow to Domino’s face. Batista isn’t having that though and sends Deuce outside, setting up the Batista Bomb to finish Domino in a hurry.

Maryse comes up to see Cherry and can’t believe she’s still in the Divas competition. Look at the two of them: Maryse is a Diva but Cherry is a dog.

It’s time for the Divas Competition with Michelle McCool, Eve Torres, Cherry and Victoria left. This week’s competition is an arm wrestling contest so Victoria cheats to beat Eve, Michelle beats Cherry and Michelle beats Victoria. With that out of the way, Victoria is eliminated after last week’s fan vote. Instead of leaving, she gets in a fight with Michelle but gets sent outside.

Video on Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Michael Buffer and Evander Holyfield talk about Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show.

Big Show vs. Chase Stevens/Andy Douglas/Luke Hawx

Stevens and Douglas were the Naturals in TNA a few years earlier. Before the match, we see Chris Jericho talking about how Show’s right hand is going to make it Wrestlemania RIP for Mayweather. Destruction ensues and the big right hand finishes Stevens in less than a minute and a half.

Raven Symone will be bringing kids to Wrestlemania for Make-A-Wish. Cool.

Edge vs. Funaki

Non-title and the Edgeheads are here with Edge. Funaki seems to be taking this a bit more seriously than Edge, who knocks Funaki down fast. The stomping in the corner keeps Funaki in trouble until he manages an enziguri. Edge hits the spear but pulls Funaki up at two. Instead it’s a Tombstone and arm cross pin (with tongue) to finish for Edge.

Rating: D+. This was just a quick workout for Edge but the Tombstone was a nice touch. Edge knows how to get under people’s skin like no other and mocking Undertaker is the kind of mind game that he would play. Funaki is fine for something like this and they didn’t mess around by letting him get a near fall or anything unnecessary like that. Nothing match, fine use of time.

Post match Edge says he’ll win at Wrestlemania and promises to show us something by the end of the night.

It’s time for MVP’s VIP Lounge with MVP pointing to the Money in the Bank briefcase above the ring. Therefore, his guest this week is Chris Jericho, but first MVP wants to talk about the ladder underneath the briefcase. MVP brags about his career successes and how he has beaten so many World Champions. That means he is the next World Champion because he is better than everyone else in the match. Cue Jericho to interrupt and the fans certainly seem to approve.

Jericho is excited about being back on Smackdown for the first time in five and a half years, but he can’t stand a loudmouthed blowhard who can’t shut up with his own talk show. MVP mocks Jericho and Jericho is right back, pointing out that MVP could have had far worse initials (and yes, he has graphics spelling out some stupid names). That’s too far for MVP, who goes on a rant about how Jericho couldn’t save anyone from anything. He climbs the ladder and gets the briefcase….so Jericho turns said ladder over.

Kane vs. Chuck Palumbo

They fight over the power to start with Palumbo actually taking over off an armbar. Kane fights up and hits the big boot as they head outside. They head back in, where Kane clotheslines him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Kane charging into an elbow in the corner…and here is Great Khali to go after Kane for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Thankfully they didn’t bother trying to make Palumbo a thing here as he stopped showing much potential a good while ago. Kane winning the battle royal and the ECW Title as a result would make good sense and there is a real chance that is where they are heading. Not much of a match, but what were you expecting with Palumbo in there?

Post match Khali beats both of them down but here is Mark Henry to interrupt. Henry World’s Strongest Slams Khali and stands tall.

Eddie Graham Hall of Fame video.

Tag Team Titles: Jesse & Festus vs. Miz/John Morrison

Miz/Morrison are defending. The bell makes Festus snap and he hits Morrison in the face to start fast. An interfering Miz is knocked out of the air and some headbutts to Morrison’s back set up Jesse’s running neckbreaker. Miz gets in a cheap shot though and works on Jesse’s arm before choking on the rope.

Morrison’s chinlock is broken up as Jesse sends him into the corner, where Festus scares Morrison in a funny bit. Miz grabs another chinlock before Jesse neckbreakers his way out of Morrison’s….something. It’s back to Festus for the house cleaning before handing it off to Jesse again. That lets Morrison send Festus outside and the Reality Check retains the titles.

Rating: C-. We’re now to the point where Miz and Morrison have cleaned out the division, which granted doesn’t take that long when there are about four teams. Jesse & Festus need to either win the titles or find something else to do, as the novelty is kind of wearing off. This was mainly a chinlock match with Festus coming in to do his thing and then Jesse gets pinned. That’s only going to get you so far and we have reached that point.

Raw Rebound.

Undertaker vs. Chavo Guerrero

Non-title and Edge/the Edgeheads are here with Chavo. Undertaker starts fast and knocks Chavo down without much trouble. Old School connects and Chavo is rocked early on. A distraction from the floor lets Chavo hammer away in the corner, only to have Undertaker LAUNCH him into said corner as well.

The side slam gives Undertaker two but another distraction sends him outside. This time Chavo manages a baseball slide from behind and the likely not very effective beating begins. Chavo grabs a short armscissors but Undertaker powers out in short order. Snake Eyes into the big boot set up a chokeslam and the Hell’s Gate to finish Chavo.

Rating: C. Chavo has to lose the title at Wrestlemania now as his big win in recent weeks has been over Colin Delaney. Other than giving him a win to make him into something a little bigger, his title reign has been pretty much nothing and that was on display here. Undertaker beating Chavo isn’t a bad thing, but the champ just lost in about five minutes in little more than a squash.

Post match Edge and the Edgeheads come in, each with a chair, and the huge beatdown ensues. The Conchairto leaves Undertaker laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s not a good sign when the best match on the show is Undertaker squashing Chavo Guerrero. The problem is the same as it has been for weeks now: Wrestlemania is set and all that Smackdown can do is fill in time on the way to Orlando. This show was just a bunch of filler with some build towards Wrestlemania, plus the bigger moment at the end. That’s a rough two hours, but none of that is going to matter nine days from now. Not a good show, but it doesn’t mean a thing anyway.

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

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Smackdown
Date: March 14, 2008
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 15,121
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole

We are less than a month away from Wrestlemania and the focus continues to be on Edge vs. the Undertaker. This time though, Edge is veering off to team with the Edgeheads against Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair in a cage match. That’s certainly a unique enough one to go with so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is hometown girl Maria to get things going. She is excited for Bunnymania but tonight, she is hosting the Smackdown Divas Contest so here are the rest of the women. We waste no time in eliminating Maryse, meaning it’s time for this week’s contest. All four of the remaining women (Eve Torres, Michelle McCool, Cherry, Victoria) run the course….with time not counting, because the fan vote decides who is eliminated anyway. McCool wins as at least this was short.

Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels are ready for the main event.

Raw Rebound.

Big Show vs. Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore

Show shoves them down without much trouble and tosses Yang into Moore in the corner. The chops rock Moore again and Yang gets tossed so hard that he almost spins around. The big right hand pins Moore in a hurry.

Post match Show tosses Yang ala Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Raw.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: John Morrison vs. The Miz

Morrison doesn’t waste time by grabbing a rollup for a fast two. Back up and Miz hits a middle rope clothesline for one and it’s time for Morrison to bail to the floor. Miz cranks on a headlock before forearming away. That’s fine with Morrison, who sweeps the legs into a jackknife rollup for two more. The flipping neckbreaker is blocked though and Miz faceplants him for two of his own. Morrison isn’t pleased and pops back up with the flipping neckbreaker to finish Miz off.

Rating: C-. Very basic match here and that is about all you could expect from them. Miz isn’t that far along (though he’s coming) and Morrison is the bigger and more successful star. No one would buy Miz as a threat to win the briefcase and while Morrison isn’t that much better of an option, he’s the better option than Miz at the moment.

Video on JBL vs. Finlay, leading to their Belfast Brawl at Wrestlemania.

Finlay joins us via satellite, saying there are no words to describe what it’s like to look at Hornswoggle in his hospital bed. At Wrestlemania, there will be no words to describe the beating he is going to give JBL.

US Title: MVP vs. Batista

MVP is defending and this is no holds barred. They go nose to nose to start until MVP bails to the floor to avoid a charge. Back in and Batista sends him face first into the buckle before a big kick to the chest gets two. An elbow to the head gives Batista two more but MVP is right back up with an overhead belly to belly of all things. MVP gets smart by hitting him in the face with a chain and then chokes away with it back inside.

Batista breaks that up so MVP tears off a buckle pad, only to walk into a spinebuster. It’s too early for Batista to follow up though and MVP gets in a chair shot to the ribs. They go outside with MVP being sent into the barricade and Batista being sent into the post. A low blow gives MVP a needed breather and there’s a running boot to the face as we take a break.

Back with both of them still down on the floor until Batista has to spear a chair out of MVP’s hands. That doesn’t keep MVP down very long though as he chairs Batista in the leg to take over again. MVP takes too long (common theme in this one) peeling back the ring mats though and now it’s Batista getting in his own chair shot. Back in and MVP sends him face first into the exposed buckle to knock Batista silly. For some reason MVP goes up with the chair, allowing Batista to get up. Not that it matters though as cue Umaga to Samoan Spike Batista down, allowing MVP to retain the title.

Rating: C+. This should be it for the feud as Batista now has an even bigger reason to focus on Umaga and Wrestlemania. The ending was the logical way to go as you need to keep Batista strong and MVP…well he’s lost so many times already that it’s hard to believe that there is much left for his reign anyway. What matters here is they wrapped up one feud and moved on to another and at least MVP got a pin for once.

Video on Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show.

Kane/Jamie Noble vs. Great Khali/Chuck Palumbo

Palumbo slugs away at Kane to start, which goes about as well as you are probably imagining. Noble, with his bad ribs, comes in and is quickly dropped, allowing Khali to come in and go after the ribs. Some shots to Khali have no effect but Palumbo gets in a cheap shot from the apron anyway. The chokebomb finishes Noble fast.

The cage is lowered.

The Brisco Brothers are going into the Hall Of Fame.

Ric Flair/Shawn Michaels vs. Edge/Edgeheads

In a cage with escape only rules. Hold on though as here is Vickie Guerrero to say we’re adding in someone else. Cue Chavo Guerrero and this is going to be 4-2. We’re joined in progress with the big fight on and Edge spears Flair down to make the numbers game even worse. Shawn gets tied up in the ropes and there’s a spear against the cage or him too.

That leaves him to see an already bloody Flair get rammed into the cage but Shawn is untied and stomped in the corner. Flair manages a few right hands but Edge rakes him face first into the cage. Shawn fights up and Flair does the same, only to have Shawn get tied up in the Tree of Woe for a spear from Edge. Somehow Flair chops away at Edge and the Edgeheads and Shawn manages to knock a diving Chavo out of the air.

A low blow drops Edge and Shawn hits the forearm into the nip up. The villains are sent into the cage over and over and there’s the top rope elbow to Hawkins. Edge spears Chavo by mistake and the double Figure Fours go on. Chavo breaks them up with a double frog splash….and Undertaker is here. Undertaker goes after Edge but a distraction lets him escape the cage for the win.

Rating: C. This was weird as it didn’t really do anything other than put a bunch of people in the cage at once before Undertaker popped in to give them an ending. It felt like they just said “oh do whatever” and moved on, which doesn’t make for the most interesting of matches. That being said, it’s more interesting than a regular tag match and I guess Flair’s loss doesn’t count because he wasn’t directly beaten?

Overall Rating: C. We seem to be entering into the portion of the Wrestlemania build where they have everything set and just need to focus on that instead of anything new. That doesn’t make for the most interesting show, but it’s nice to have a plan and then go forward with it. With only two weeks to go before Wrestlemania, we could be in for some very different shows, but that doesn’t mean they’re all going to be thrilling.

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 10, 2008
Location: Bradley Center, Madison, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s a special three hour show as we have Wrestlemania Rewind. In this case that means every match will be a Wrestlemania rematch, which could make for some interesting combinations a few years after the original matches. Other than that, either Randy Orton or HHH will be in charge tonight, which isn’t fair to the other two when they get two hours each. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Ric Flair to get things going. Last week, Shawn Michaels came out here and said that he was going to stop Flair’s show at Wrestlemania. That means Flair needs Michaels out here right now in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cue Shaw, with Flair saying that is the best entrance in wrestling today. When Flair got started, the idea of sympathy did not exist and if he can’t compete in the ring with people like Shawn today, he doesn’t to do this anymore. Flair wants to be a franchise player and someone who can beat someone like Shawn on his best day.

Shawn brings up the “to be the man” line, because at Wrestlemania, he IS the man, and Flair’s career is ending. No matter what happens, the show is going to get stolen. Before Wrestlemania though, Flair has a 3-1 steel cage match against Edge and…uh, his Edge guys. Now Shawn’s Friday nights are usually reserved for Dora The Explorer, but he’ll make an exception this time. Cue Randy Orton to interrupt, calling this a touching, touching moment. Orton is in charge tonight, so we’ll have HHH vs. Kane and Shawn vs. the man he couldn’t beat last year at Wrestlemania: John Cena.

Undertaker vs. Mark Henry

Casket match. Undertaker slugs away in the corner to start and hits the jumping clothesline to continue the fast opening. Old School is loaded up but Henry pulls him into a bearhug. With that not working, Henry clotheslines him to the floor, where Undertaker lands on his feet and pulls Henry outside. A whip into the corner slows Undertaker down again so he rams Henry into the casket. Back in and something close to a World’s Strongest Slam gets Henry out of trouble, only to have Undertaker pull him into the choke. That’s enough to knock Henry out and put him in the casket for the win.

Rating: D+. That might be the shortest casket match I can remember and it felt like a way to have Undertaker on the show in some fashion. There was nothing to this one as Undertaker more or less squashed him in a hurry. Granted that’s how it should have been, but this wasn’t the most interesting option.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and company are here.

Boxing people talk about Big Show vs. Mayweather Jr.

Earlier today, HHH talked about being ready to get the title back because it is two years in the making. Cena, Orton, game on.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Finlay

They were in a Money in the Bank ladder match before so this counts as a rematch. Hold on though as JBL pops up on screen to say he’ll beat up Finlay so bad that he’ll be in a bed next to Hornswoggle. The bell rings and Finlay beats on him with the shillelagh for a DQ in about fifteen seconds.

Post match the beating continues and Finlay knocks him silly.

WWE is doing something with Make A Wish. Apparently John Cena does a lot with the charity. Like him or not, that is another level of work.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy

Hardy is defending. JR: “One has to wonder what Chris Jericho’s motive is in this match.” Lawler: “To win the Intercontinental Title and be the champion.” They get on with the brawl (based off of some issues on the Highlight Reel a few weeks back) early until Jericho clotheslines him over the top.

We take an early break and come back with Hardy hitting the dropkick through the ropes. Hardy’s barricade running clothesline only hits announcers’ table though and things slow down a good bit. Back in and Jericho bends the back over his knee before kicking Hardy in the head. Hardy finally fights up and hits something like a Sling Blade, plus a Whisper in the Wind for two.

They go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Hardy misses some kind of flip. Jericho’s high crossbody is rolled through to give Hardy two but the Twist of Fate is countered. The Lionsault gives Jericho two but he misses the running enziguri, allowing Hardy to hit the Twist of Fate. Hardy misses the Swanton though and it’s a Codebreaker to give Jericho the pin and the title.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but the last few minutes were what you would expect from these two. Hardy has been on a bit of a downward slide at the moment, as at some point he has to actually win the bigger matches. Winning the Intercontinental Title doesn’t mean much for him, but it does give Jericho a needed boost. Good match too, at least once things really got rolling.

Nikolai Volkoff/Iron Sheik vs. US Express

Hold on though as Jillian Hall is here for her own version of Born In The USA. That earns her the airplane spin from Mike Rotunda, as we have no match (thank goodness).

Next up for the Hall of Fame: the Briscos. Yeah that works, and as usual the old footage is great.

Video on Big Show.

Kane watches a clip of HHH beating him at Wrestlemania XV. We’re still allowed to talk about that one? Anyway, Randy Orton comes in and wants Kane to hurt HHH tonight but Kane doesn’t want a history lesson.

HHH vs. Kane

Kane slugs him into the corner to start but HHH punches his way to freedom. Back up and Kane takes it outside, where HHH reverses a whip into the post. Kane slugs away back inside and kicks HHH in the face, only to charge into a spinebuster. The facebuster staggers Kane again but the Pedigree is countered. As Randy Orton comes out to watch, HHH slips out of the chokeslam and hits the Pedigree for the pin.

Rating: C. They kept this VERY simple and to the point, as HHH gets to beat up the monster clean. Then again it isn’t like Kane is worth much at the moment and has just been kind of going through the motions. What matters here is HHH though, as he gets the big win and builds momentum towards Wrestlemania, meaning they accomplished the goal.

John Cena talks about how important Wrestlemania is. It’s the reason why he worked so hard to come back from his injury so soon, because Wrestlemania is what matters more than anything else. He respects Randy Orton, but it is going to be a fight to be the best. Cena’s time will come again.

Melina vs. Ashley

Beth Phoenix is here with Melina but there’s no Ashley, as she is hurt. We have a replacement though.

Melina vs. Maria

Beth Phoenix and Candice Michelle are here too. Maria charges into a boot in the corner to start as the shrieking is on to start. Now it’s Santino Marella coming out to watch, complete with a copy of Maria’s Playboy. Santino rips it up for a distraction, allowing Melina to hit a reverse DDT for the pin.

Post match Beth helps Melina beat the other two down.

Video on Floyd Mayweather Jr. He has a lot of money.

Here is Shane McMahon for the official Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. weigh-in. Mayweather weighs 159lbs and Show weighs 441. Show isn’t interested in the photo, but he does bring up Mayweather’s posse. Instead he brings out his own posse in the form of the locker room. Show points out that no one here likes Mayweather and promises pain at Wrestlemania. Mayweather pulls out cash, smells it, and talks about how he respects Big Show.

As the WHAT treatment goes on, Mayweather says Show has to catch him to hurt him. Show takes the case and hands it to some of the wrestlers so Mayweather promises to break Show’s jaw at Wrestlemania. Everyone goes to leave, but Show grabs Mayweather and throws him over the top, onto a bunch of the wrestlers. Mayweather comes up favoring his shoulder and runs to the back with everyone else going behind him.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Randy Orton says he’s HHH and John Cena plus more rolled into one. Wouldn’t that get a little cramped?

Edge vs. CM Punk

Non-title and the Edgeheads are here with Edge. Punk kicks him in the face to start but walks into a hot shot for his efforts. Some strikes don’t work very well for Punk but he is fine enough to fight out of a suplex. A knee to the face and some kicks set up the springboard clothesline for two on Edge. That earns Punk a quick DDT from Edge but Punk is back up with the GTS attempt. Cue the Edgeheads for a distraction though and the spear gives Edge the pin.

Rating: C. Punk has taken a few hits as of late and doesn’t seem to have much going in the way of momentum. Granted some of that might just be due to feuding with Chavo Guerrero for weeks on end, but losing to Edge isn’t quite as bad. Punk certainly has the talent, and now all he has to do is put the pieces together to make it work

Here is William Regal to talk about the Raw vs. Smackdown match between Umaga vs. Batista. Regal isn’t worried about Batista, which sends us to a video on Umaga. As Regal talks about how he pities Batista at Wrestlemania, here is Batista to interrupt. The fight is on with Batista hitting the spinebuster to send Umaga running.

Vince McMahon is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena

They trade hammerlocks to start as we talk about their history against each other. Neither can get very far until it’s Cena trying to get the STF, sending Shawn to the floor and us to a break. Back with Cena cranking on the arm until Shawn swinging neckbreakers his way to freedom. Cena gets tossed over the top and it’s time to start in on the knee back inside.

A quick AA attempt doesn’t work as the knee gives out, with Shawn chop blocking Cena to damage the knee even worse. Cena is fine enough to kick Michaels into the corner though and the clothesline comeback is on. The Shuffle connects but the FU is countered into a pinfall reversal sequence.

They collide for a double knockdown and a breather, allowing Shawn to hit the flying forearm. The top rope elbow looks to set up Sweet Chin Music but Cena grabs the foot. That’s fine with Shawn, who pulls him into that reverse Figure Four. With that broken up, Cena is sent outside and Shawn hits a dive, only to have Randy Orton run in to deck Cena for the DQ.

Rating: B-. These two are always going to work well together so the quality was hardly a surprise. It also helps that they got some time, but Orton running in was the best way to go given how strong both of them need to be going into Wrestlemania. It’s no classic, but Shawn vs. Cena in any form is at least worth a look.

Post match the RKO onto a chair is countered into a shove onto the chair, setting up the FU to drop Orton.

We cut to HHH in the back, who is in charge next week. Therefore, next week it’s John Cena and Randy Orton teaming up to face….the entire Raw roster. Oh boy.

Overall Rating: C. The nostalgia was fun, but it was also pretty limited, with some random rematches and cameos, plus some rematches that only kind of took place originally. I can go for an old school show, but this wasn’t exactly their best effort. They’re making me want to see Wrestlemania though so they are getting the big picture right.

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

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AND

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

Smackdown
Date: March 7, 2008
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman

Wrestlemania is less than a month away and that means we should be seeing some of the lower level matches starting to come together. Most of the card is already set with Undertaker vs. Edge feeling like a huge match. Other than that we have Batista vs. Umaga in a Raw vs. Smackdown match and Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a match that could go on either show. We’ll need more than that so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with Vickie Guerrero and Edge, with Teddy Long in the corner, on the Cutting Edge. After praising Vickie, Edge talks about how he has never lost to Undertaker, making him the real Phenom. Vickie makes Edge/the Edgeheads vs. Undertaker for tonight, which Edge finds very hot. With that out of the way, there is someone else who is going to be losing his 35 year career at Wrestlemania.

That brings us to tonight’s guest, so here is Ric Flair. Edge welcomes him to the show but wants to know what it’s going to be like when Flair loses at Wrestlemania. Flair promises to beat Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania but Edge doesn’t exactly sound convinced. Fans: “YOU SUCK!” Flair: “Your fans are talking to her.” Edge asks Flair about losing to the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, which Flair says is something you never forget.

Losing to Undertaker didn’t hurt his career, but he came at it differently. Edge is the one with a sham of a relationship, which sends Vickie into a rant. After calming her down, Edge says Flair needs to watch the handicap match tonight, because he’ll have his own next week. Oh and let’s make that a cage match. Edge WOOs in his face but gets slapped, with Flair bailing from violence.

CM Punk/Jesse & Festus vs. Miz/John Morrison/Chavo Guerrero

That’s quite the good guy team. Festus clears the ring at the bell until we settle down with Miz vs. Punk to start. Miz manages a quick hot shot and brings in Chavo, who gets backdropped just as fast. Jesse comes in for a backdrop and basement dropkick but Morrison shoves him off the top. This has Festus ready to smash but we take a break instead (probably a good idea).

We take a break and come back with Morrison working on Jesse’s arm. That doesn’t last long either as Jesse slips away and hands it off to Festus to clean house. Everything breaks down with Jesse and Punk hitting dives onto Morrison and Chavo. Back in and the fireman’s carry flapjack gives Festus the pin on Miz.

Rating: C. What else were you expecting here? The good thing is that we didn’t have to sit through too much more of Chavo vs. Punk, as that is a match that has been driven into the ground in recent weeks. Other than that, Miz and Morrison get beaten again, even if it is from a team that is little more than a one off idea. Just find some more interesting challengers for both titles. It shouldn’t be that hard.

Jamie Noble is in the back with Michelle McCool and says he knows she has a thing for him. Noble gets it, but he’s a one woman man. She’s ok with it, and seem to have thought the same thing as Noble.

US Title: MVP vs. Batista

MVP is defending. They fight over a lockup to start with Batista powering him outside without much trouble. Back in and Batista knocks him outside again, though this time he follows him out to keep up the beating. They get back in with Batista starting in on the leg for a change, including a half crab. That’s enough for MVP to bail to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Batista hitting a running corner clothesline but MVP kicks the leg out. A running boot to the head, with the bad leg, gives MVP a bit of a desperation two and we hit the chinlock. Another kick to the leg takes Batista back down and a facebuster, on the bad knee, gives MVP a delayed two. It might not sound logical, but commentary is selling the idea that MVP is desperate to fight Batista so it does make some sense.

MVP kicks him out to the floor for another two and we’re off to a leglock to keep Batista down. Back up and MVP misses the running boot in the corner, allowing Batista to come back with the swinging Boss Man Slam for two. The spinebuster crushes MVP, whose low blow is blocked without much effort. They fight outside with Batista keeping up the beating, but MVP kicks him into the announcers’ table and beats the count to win.

Rating: C+. Well, at least MVP didn’t lose again. This screams setup for another match, hopefully where MVP can retain the title by pinning Batista, likely through some kind of shenanigans. These two got some time here and it was a decent match, though Batista in the US Title scene feels so out of place and it’s hard to fathom in a lot of ways.

We look at Hornswoggle being beaten down again.

Jamie Noble interrupts Edge and Vickie Guerrero, saying he wants a match with Chuck Palumbo. Vickie is annoyed so she gives him Big Show instead.

Mae Young Hall Of Fame video.

Kim Kardashian will be the guest hostess at Wrestlemania.

And now, a Divas swimsuit contest, featuring Eve Torres, Cherry, Maryse, Michelle McCool and Victoria. Apparently this is the first week of a four week competition to determine the Top Diva on Smackdown with one woman being eliminated each week. Not only will the winner get bragging rights but they will also win a….custom motorcycle? They all disrobe (Cherry looks nervous and Victoria dances badly) and we get the results next week because this is another Diva Search style contest. Oh and a fight breaks out because of course it does.

Video on Rey Mysterio being injured and having to undergo bicep surgery.

Kane vs. Chuck Palumbo

Kane powers him into the corner to start but Palumbo is back with some right hands of his own. A clothesline gives Palumbo two but Kane grabs the side slam. Palumbo tries to headbutt his way out of the chokeslam, only to get chokeslammed for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. Palumbo was trying here but we are way beyond the point of him meaning anything. The feud with Jamie Noble worked for a little while and then just went on for so much longer than it needed to that it killed any momentum. Kane is getting back on a roll and there is no reason to have him be in any major threat from Palumbo here.

Big Show vs. Jamie Noble

Show throws him into the corner and gets kicked low for the DQ in short order.

Show shrugs it off and chops Noble down before promising to end Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s career at Wrestlemania.

Raw Rebound.

Undertaker vs. Edge/Edgeheads

Undertaker beats up Hawkins to start and throws him into the corner, allowing Ryder to come in and get beaten down as well. Edge certainly seems nervous as Undertaker kicks Ryder in the head. A cheap shot cuts Undertaker off though and Edge gets to hammer away for a bit. The Edgeheads take turns splashing Undertaker but Edge’s swinging neckbreaker is countered into a DDT. Old School is loaded up but a distraction means that it has to be switched into a top rope armdrag (ok then). The Edgeheads distract Undertaker again though and Edge hits the spear for the pin.

Rating: C-. It was quick and to the point here but at least Edge finally got something over on Undertaker. You can only have Undertaker beat him up every week for so long before it stops having any real impact. There is almost no way that Undertaker is leaving Wrestlemania without the title, but at least they are putting on a good story on the way there.

Edge and Undertaker glare at each other to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. They were going up and down this week and that wasn’t the most thrilling show. Undertaker vs. Edge is good and Batista vs. MVP, while not a long term story, is doing well enough, but stuff like the women fighting over a motorcycle isn’t exactly thrilling. Get rid of some of the lame parts and the better portions can take over.

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

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

AND

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

Note that this was written live in 2010 and the quality is far, far below what I would have today.  I apologize in advance.

Over the Limit 2010
Date: May 23, 2010
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Matt Striker, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole

It seems like we’re STILL on the same angles as we were on at Mania. I’m not sure if that’s good or not. Allegedly tonight is Batista’s last or one of his last appearances with WWE. I’m not so sure if that’s the case or not but with the gimmick match tonight, it’s certainly possible. Also on the card tonight we have Swagger vs. Big Show in a match I truly can’t predict but on instinct it’s Swagger. That all being said, let’s get to it.

We have a Spanish announce team. That’s rather odd for this day and age.

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre

Could Drew’s music be sweeter? So remember the idea here is that Drew got stripped of the belt and Kofi won a tournament for it. Drew got it put back on him because Vince likes him. This is the big showdown for it I guess. Drew jumps him early as Striker thinks we need to know that it’s been eleven years since the title has changed hands in Detroit. Ok then. The fans are all over Drew who is dominating early.

Apparently most people don’t like working with him which is odd. I guess you can tell more when you’re in the ring though. That makes more sense at least. Smackdown has definitely been having the better in ring stuff lately and this shouldn’t be an exception. Drew does one of those idiotic spots where he jumps into Kofi’s feet when he puts them up. What the heck was that supposed to be? The set might look cool but I can’t tell.

There’s this weird kind of spotlight thing going on from the end of the arena behind the announcers. It’s rather odd and looks like 6 lights coming off of it. Boom Drop in the corner of all places hits. Ok then. Trouble in Paradise misses and the SOS gets a clean pin. Wow did not see that one coming.

Post match Drew gets on the mic and says the show doesn’t keep going until he’s declared champion by Teddy Long. Instead we get Matt Hardy to an ERUPTION. Seriously it’s been like two weeks not 4 months. Twist of Fate puts Drew down.

Rating: B-. Not bad for an opener I guess. Kofi winning is kind of a surprise but I’d bet on Drew being pushed higher up on the card or into something against Christian or someone like that. Anyway, Kofi doesn’t need the title really, but then again neither does McIntyre. This worked well enough I guess and wasn’t bad at all. Not up to their TV stuff but not bad at all.

Punk is looking in a mirror and says he’s awesome. Tonight Mysterio goes straightedge. Luke hugs him which is kind of awkward.

We recap Ted DiBiase vs. R-Truth. This is a simple but effective feud. What more can you ask for? In short, Ted wanted Truth to be his Virgil.

Ted DiBiase vs. R-Truth

Truth’s entrance is awesome. I’m not a fan of him but I have to give him that one. The real Virgil is here with him instead. You can’t beat that for old school guys. Striker says rich people are better. Amen to that brother man. We even get a Virgil chant. WOW. Cole says that DiBiase paid a couple of guys a few weeks ago to take out R-Truth. One was Carlito. That’s rather amusing.

We get a Harley Race impression from about 1983 and the bounty to take out Flair. I love obscure references like that. Truth busts out a Downward Spiral. I hate that move. Virgil looks more or less exactly the same as he used to. That’s either really impressive or bad. This is really sloppy. Truth…kind of hits the Lie Detector (spinning forearm) for the clean pin. That was bad. Virgil gets the Million Dollar Belt and tries to wake up DiBiase, despite the forearm grazing him at best.

Rating: D. Not very good and just SLOPPY. The stuff came off as weak looking and just all over the place. I didn’t like what I was seeing and the Truth pin just came off as from out of nowhere, which isn’t bad I guess.

Drew goes into Teddy’s office and says change the decision. Drew destroys the office and a picture of Martin Luther King. Never mind as he doesn’t wreck the picture.

We recap the Punk/Rey feud. More or less, Punk wants Rey in the SES. Rey says they’re hypocrites. This is one of the matches I have no clue on, which is the point I guess.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

All outside parties are banned here, which makes me think Masked Man messing things up somehow. Rey is in yellow tonight which makes him look stupider than usual somehow. Punk jumps him to start. That’s my boy. We get into a semi-Master/Slave dialectic from Lawler. That was bizarre but an essay on that got me through a college class. In a SICK spot, Rey gets thrown into the barber’s chair at ringside. That seriously HURT.

Punk is cut open too so they have to stop the blood flow. Can we get Linda in the Senate already? Rey looks at something under his wrist tape for some reason. The match stops for like three minutes because of this. We get an EPIC boring chant and Punk goes off. Seriously, a trickle of blood is ok. Stopping a PPV for that long because of a cut like that is idiotic. I’ve never seen Punk snap like that and I loved it.

Rey hits a sunset flip powerbomb for two. They crank it up and they both get a bunch of near falls. We get some weird dueling chants that I can’t quite make out. GTS of course doesn’t work. Punk gets a corner powerbomb though. Nice one. Punk kicks Rey’s head off. GTS is reversed again and Rey hits the 619. Springboard Splash misses though and this is a good match.

And then we get the same pin that HHH beat Jeff Hardy with at some PPV where Rey rolls him up off a sloppy pin. I hate Vince. Punk is busted open again. Here comes Gallows and Serena and I hope I don’t know what’s coming. They have handcuffs. And here’s….KANE? What the HECK? Punk is handcuffed and gets his hair cut. I hate WWE sometimes. I truly do.

Rating: B+. I really liked this match. I hate the booking, but the in ring stuff was great. There were all kinds of great back and forth things going on here with the great near falls. I can’t blame them for the cut thing as that’s a company decision. Also Punk just going OFF after that was great.

Ad for Fatal Fourway with all championships being in the title of the show style of matches.

Jericho makes fun of Show and Miz sneaks up on him which doesn’t work. Show threatens to know Jericho out, wake him up and knock him out again. This was funny.

And now let’s have a trailer for Prince of Persia.

Unified Tag Titles: Hart Dynasty vs. Chris Jericho/The Miz

There’s not much to say here at all. It’s not bad but it’s ok I guess. Natalya is solid as a manager. They say that on Monday when Hart won the US Title he was in his homeland. They make it sound like he came from an island nation with like four people on it. It’s a very standard tag match which is both good and bad I suppose. Kidd takes the Walls and the Codebreaker off a springboard. It just wasn’t a very good one. Somehow that only gets two. Wow.

Jericho goes off and yells at Kidd to stay down. That was kind of amusing. We’re getting a lot of near falls here. Miz and Jericho yell at the referee A LOT. Natalya trips Jericho and Smith hits the powerslam for the LONG two. This started slow but has gotten a lot better.

Skull Crushing Finale is blocked but Miz gets a rollup and the tights for two. VERY good match here. I’m very surprised. Miz does his running clothesline into the corner but Smith catches him to set up the Hart Attack. NICE match with a SWEET ending.

Rating: B. I liked this a lot more than I expected to. Like I said it started slow but it picked WAY up soon after that. The clean retaining surprised me very much actually but it’s certainly a good thing. They needed that for some credibility and I’ve very glad they didn’t do the switch to another random tag team. Nice match and a very pleasant surprise.

We recap Edge vs. Orton which is just that Edge turned heel again and had a great segment on Raw to set this up. This is the most hyped show on the card. Not sure if it’s going to live up to it. I doubt it will actually.

Edge vs. Randy Orton

They try to talk down the pop that Orton gets for no apparent reason. Orton goes for no tape again which is his new look I guess. Nothing wrong with that. Orton dominates early as would be expected I guess. Edge takes ove and the match is decent enough I guess. Edge hooks a body scissors and the fans think it’s boring. Orton reacts and counters with elbows to get a HUGE RKO chant going. Orton hits the elevated DDT to a huge pop.

The lack of tape thing is working for me. Spear is blocked by a kick. This crowd is NUTS for Orton but his arm is hurt from earlier. Hey we got some psychology in there! Orton might be legit hurt. Yeah he must be. We go to the floor and Edge misses a spear. This has to be legit. At least I think it is. Oh dear.

Rating: C-. What we got is what I’m grading it on as it’s pretty clear that wasn’t the planned ending. Orton was doing his mat slap thing and just stopped dead. Also no way that was going to end in a double count out. Until then it wasn’t that good but it did ok.

We recap Swagger vs. Show which you can read the Smackdown review if you want the story on.

Smackdown World Title: Jack Swagger vs. Big Show

This is another one where I don’t know how it’s going to end. Show uses some wrestling here and Swagger’s look is great. SHOW DOES PUSHUPS! Somebody get that boy a Twinkie before he passes out! Swagger goes for the leg and that doesn’t work. Show keeps coming back. After some boring stuff, Show sets for the chokeslam…..and Swagger blasts him in the head with the belt for the intentional DQ. WOW.

Well they went old school with that so I can’t complain. Two belt shots and Show gets up. A chair shot doesn’t work either and Swagger takes a chokeslam. So the world champion can’t put a guy down with two belt shots and a chair. Right. Show drops him with a punch again. Pay no attention to Swagger opening his eyes to make sure things are going right.

Rating: D. It was short and the ending completely sucked. Swagger looks weak after losing to Kofi on Monday. He’s also lost to Morrison and Orton. Is there a point to him being champion? Yes he’s champion, but he’s another weak champion. It’s a good bit annoying but that’s WWE for you. They’ve been awesome lately so I can’t complain much I guess.

We recap Batista vs. Cena and Batista says he’ll make Cena say he quits.

Raw Women’s Title: Maryse vs. Eve Torres

This is better than I’d expect it to be actually. This has gotten some great build over the past few weeks and due to a lack of matches they have to give it a lot of time. Maryse randomly starts crying for no adequately explained reason. We actually get some near falls. Eve hits some messed up face plant into a rollup for the pin. Cole, Striker and Lawler make jokes about Eve and just lose it on commentary.

Rating: C-. For what you had to work with here and given what Divas matches tend to be, this was actually decent. I tend to start most Divas matches at a D or so, meaning this was pretty good. There was some actual drama and Eve won with a nice finisher. Solid little match.

We recap Batista vs. Cena which is about 3 months old now. Mainly it’s about Batista being mad about getting Duct-Taped to the post to lose last time.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Batista

Batista has a mic and asks Cena if he wants to quit right now. Batista says the words I Quit but for some reason that’s not the end of the match. Cena of course blasts him with the mic. He has a chair within seconds. Some hero eh? Cena gets the split chants again. You can’t argue the guy gets people talking. The problem here is you don’t have to watch the first 20 minutes or so here as nothing is going to happen.

Batista hits the spear if you want to call it that. The fans are awesome tonight. Batista hooks his Rings of Saturn kind of thing but puts far less pressure on it. Cena stands up to get out of it and there’s the STFU. Ropes don’t count for breaks here. Batista passes out in the hold. Some animal indeed. In Austin vs. hart that would be enough. Not here I guess though. Cena gets some water and wakes him up. Ok, now HOOK THE HOLD AGAIN.

Cena won’t quit off a spinebuster. So Batista takes about 9 hours to set up the two tables on the floor and Cena just lets him. I can’t say I blame him though as it’s a breather for him. Batista gets a powerslam through one of the tables and Cena is cut BAD. Let’s get an EMT out there as we can’t have blood in an anything goes match! This is idiotic. We head into the crowd for a bit now and walk forever.

I guess they wanted to get away from the doctors. Cena is told to quit or he’ll be thrown over. Cena has to answer apparently. Or what? He’ll get water thrown on him? Idiotic line if there ever was one. Cena fights out of it and they fight on the barrier up there. Dangerous looking spot and Batista falls all of 6 feet onto some people. Shockingly, that doesn’t end it. I’m glad as if they didn’t it would have sucked to say the least.

They fight up to the entrance near some cars. I wonder if that’s how it ends. Cena won’t quit and the crowd POPS. Batista gets in a car which of course has the keys in the ignition and he runs into Cena and the set which shoots off some sparks. Apparently he didn’t hit Cena as he’s up and fighting. Striker says Cena had to have moved since there’s no other way to explain that. FU onto a 78 Camaro and he won’t quit.

Cena grabs the mic and says he was really hoping Batista would say that. They go on top of the car and Batista quits to avoid the massive FU. Of course he gets it anyway and goes through the stage. Post match Cena celebrates and the graphic in the corner pops up and they say good night but Sheamus kicks his head off as he turns around to really end it. I like that.

Rating: B. This was good. I don’t think anyone believed Cena was going to lose here which is fine. He went over as strong as possible and Batista looks like a defeated man if that’s the end of his run with the company. Either way this was a solid match and a solid way to end the show. It was over the top but that’s fine. Now, KEEP THEM APART.

Overall Rating: D. This just didn’t do it for me. And before anyone jumps on me and says I overreacted to Punk/Rey, heck yes I did. I don’t like Rey and Punk is my favorite wrestler. It’s part of being a fan so shut up with the whole biased arguments. Heck yes I’m biased. Anyway, this show just wasn’t very good.

The best way I can put it is unnecessary. This show was unnecessary. Nothing of major note happened other than Punk and Rey. There was some solid wrestling on the show, but there was just too much that didn’t work for me. Having literally no heels win is just a weird thing to do. This show isn’t as bad as people are saying, but it wasn’t good.

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

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

AND

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