Summerslam 2016
Date: August 21, 2016
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,974
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, John Bradshaw Layfield

A year has passed since I saw this show and I can barely remember much about it. That’s very telling when you look at how stacked this show really is. There are multiple top level matches here and it really wasn’t clear what was going to close the show until the night of the event. Hopefully that means that this SIX HOUR show holds up. Let’s get to it.

So here’s a quick plug. I’m going through the pre-show and there’s a three expert panel of Booker T., Jerry Lawler and Lita. Earlier this year, I met all three of them at WrestleCon. If you’re ever at a Wrestlemania weekend, treat yourself to an amazing time and GO TO WRESTLECON. I met over 120 wrestlers in about four hours. Where else are you going to get to do something like that? Anyway, on with the show.

Pre-Show: American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Who would have thought that Breezango would be the most entertaining out of all these teams? This is pretty much the still titleless Smackdown tag division at this point as they had to bring in the Headbangers and throw together Heath Slater and Rhyno to be able to have a tournament. This is also a rematch from Smackdown, which shows how little effort they were putting into the tag division at this point.

Gable and Breeze start things and the fans are WAY into Gable. Chad twists around as only he can to escape a wristlock and it’s off to Jey, who is quickly driven into the corner. English comes in and says that he’s what a man is. That earns him a right hand to the jaw and it’s off to Mojo to work on a wristlock. Ryder comes in to quite the reaction as Mauro says the Hype Bros have more chemistry than the Periodic Table.

Everything breaks down (What took them so long?) and Ascension clears the ring, only to have American Alpha come off the top (the same corner) with double clotheslines (that’s pure Steiner Brothers). English posts Ryder though and we take a break. Back with Gotch putting Ryder in a chinlock, followed by Viktor doing the same. The other heels take turns stomping on Ryder until Breeze grabs his own chinlock. Fandango adds a slingshot legdrop as this is going WAY longer than it needs to.

JBL thinks cold beer uniting the APA is more effective than furry selfie sticks uniting Breezango but maybe he’s wrong. Ascension knocks the good guys off the apron but Viktor misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ryder to get in a neckbreaker on Konnor. The hot tag (with a limited reaction) brings in Jimmy to clean house.

Jordan gets the real hot tag and does his fired up sequence (which he really is awesome at) with a belly to belly getting two on Breeze. We hit the parade of secondary finishers as the referee is imploring them to tag. Mojo powerbombs Breeze and Viktor out of the corner and the Usos add stereo superkicks to set up stereo dives. Back in and Grand Amplitude plants Gotch, only to have Jey tag himself in for a Superfly Splash and the pin at 14:31. Gable is really not cool with that. Eh just wait until your team is split up for a pretty lame story where Jordan is Kurt Angle’s son.

Rating: B-. If you cut out a few minutes from this, it’s a heck of an opener. There are too many people in the match of course but they kept it moving fast enough (for the most part) to really get something fun out of it. Jordan’s house cleaning spot is a heck of a way to fire the crowd up and it made the match more fun than it should have been. Tweak this a bit (eight/ten man tag or shorten the match a bit) and it’s even better.

Pre-Show: Dudley Boyz vs. Sami Zayn/Neville

Sami works on D-Von’s arm to start and it’s off to Neville for more of the same. Both of them get in more shots as we hear about the rivalry over the NXT Title. I do appreciate the history, especially when Graves should know about that match very well. Bubba is sent outside but D-Von breaks up a springboard dive, allowing Bubba to nail Neville from behind to take over. The fans want tables but a back elbow to Neville’s jaw cuts them off in a hurry.

Back from a break with Bubba hitting his neckbreaker out of the corner. Things slow down even more as Bubba is talking even more than he usually does in a match. Bubba: “COME ON ENGLISH BOY! O-LAY! O-LAY!” The middle rope backsplash misses though and the hot tag brings in Sami. D-Von takes the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the reverse 3D gets the same. Neville escapes the regular version though and we get some heel miscommunication. The Helluva Kick sets up the Red Arrow to put Bubba away at 7:55.

Rating: C-. That would be it for the Dudleys in WWE as they would have one more segment tomorrow night where Anderson and Gallows sent them packing. It’s also pretty much it for Sami and Neville as a team, which is quite odd as you would think they would be a fine choice for a team. The match was nothing you wouldn’t expect on Raw.

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

You know, because two matches just weren’t enough for the pre-show. This is the first match of the Best of Seven Series, which really wasn’t too well received. After Cole says Cesaro is facing Cesaro and both Cole and Saxton say this is about establishing physical dominance, we’re ready to go. Sheamus misses a very early Brogue Kick but the spinning springboard uppercut is blocked as well.

Cesaro charges into an uppercut but comes back with a dropkick for one. The ten forearms to the chest are broken up so Sheamus clotheslines him onto the apron instead. It’s off to an armbar on Cesaro’s chronically taped up shoulder but Cesaro lifts him up into that kind of reverse Angle Slam of his. They’re certainly hitting each other hard here, which is pretty much the draw of the whole feud.

Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and it’s off to a break. Back with Cesaro fighting out of a chinlock because that rule even applies on pre-shows that will never end. The Irish Curse gives Sheamus two as Cole runs down the pay per view card, which only makes me think that there are FAR too many titles in WWE. They fight over a suplex and fall out to the floor in a heap. Back in and Cesaro starts firing off the running uppercuts in the corner, capped off by a dropkick to knock him off the ropes.

The apron superplex (which wasn’t from the apron) gets two but Sheamus counters the Neutralizer into White Noise for two. There’s the super Regal Roll for two more and frustration is really setting in. Another Brogue Kick attempt is countered by one heck of a clothesline though and Cesaro adds a high crossbody for two of his own. Cesaro tries the Sharpshooter but Sheamus gets to the ropes. Back up and a poke to the eye sets up the Brogue Kick to give Sheamus the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B. They beat the heck out of each other and it was a fun match but it also brings up the problem: I’m not going to want to watch them fight six more times. No matter how good things are, having them happen so many times in a row over several weeks is going to get tiresome. It happens in all these series and it’s happening here too.

And now, after more wrestling than you get on an average Smackdown, here’s the actual pay per view.

The opening video looks at New York City, with the narrator telling you how AMAZING the city is. I’m not sure if New York City or Texas is worse about bragging about their home’s greatness. As usual, this switches over to a series of quick looks at the biggest matches on the card.

Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens

Well duh. That’s about as easy of a choice for an opener as you could ever find for this show. As you might expect, the crowd eats up the opening promo with a spoon and of course we hear a ton of New York City music references. Included are Frank Sinatra, Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z, plus more that probably go over my head. Cass adds in a few songs of his own as this is the only way this show could have opened. Since Graves is the best heel commentator in wrestling today though, he points out that Enzo is from New Jersey.

Jericho and Owens jump Enzo at the bell and the STUPID IDIOT chants start rolling. Enzo comes back with a crossbody and a running right hand to the jaw for two. It’s off to Cass, who drags Owens inside for a beal. That’s some scary power. Enzo gets launched into the corner to crush Jericho but the Canadians bail to the floor. That’s fine with Cass who tosses Enzo over the top onto them in a huge crash. I’ve always loved that spot as it just looks cool.

Back in and Enzo ax handles Owens but turns into a middle rope dropkick from Jericho. The Canadian violence begins with Owens kneeing Enzo from the apron and doing his dance on the apron in a rather funny visual. Owens’ comedic skills aren’t given enough credit more often than not. It’s back to Jericho for the Arrogant Cover and a chinlock with Owens telling Jericho to do it like he taught him.

Owens comes in and adds a gutbuster for two, followed by the running start for a chinlock. It takes real talent to turn a chinlock into an art form but Owens has somehow pulled it off. Enzo finally rolls away but Jericho is there to break up the diving tag attempt. Owens drops the frog splash for two and his stunned looked on the kickout is the usual awesome visual. Enzo gets pulled off the corner to make things even worse but, after blowing a kiss to Jericho, misses the Cannonball.

That means the hot tag to Cass and everything breaks down. Jericho dives into a big boot but Owens breaks up the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka. Cass gets posted on the floor and now the Cannonball against the barricade connects. Back in and Enzo scores with his top rope DDT on Jericho with Owens making the save. A pop up Codebreaker (didn’t look great as Jericho was too far away) ends Enzo at 12:09.

Rating: C+. Odd choice for an ending aside (not surprising of course but odd), this was a good way to get the crowd going. I could have gone for another hope spot from Enzo and more of Cass cleaning house but that pop up Codebreaker could have been a heck of a finisher if done right. Nice opener, though would it have killed them to put Enzo and Cass over in Brooklyn?

Smackdown bosses Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon run into Raw General Manager Mick Foley to brag about how awesome their shows are. Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart and his son come in to ask what Foley is thinking to work with Stephanie. He rants about abuse of power but realizes she’s right behind him. Stephanie yells at him about how great it is to abuse power but thankfully New Day comes up. As the Smackdown bosses and Foley much on cereal, New Day asks Jon if he’d like to do something. He gets out as fast as he can and Stephanie isn’t amused.

We recap Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. Sasha won the Women’s Title on the first exclusive show after the Brand Split and tonight is the rematch. The other big idea here is Charlotte never loses singles matches on pay per view and Banks has to recreate the magic one more time.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Banks is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Some early WOOing sets up a slightly less early Bank Statement but Charlotte bails to the floor. Back in and Banks climbs the corner for a wristdrag before sending Charlotte face first into the middle buckle. Banks gets caught on top though and Charlotte basically drops her onto the ropes for a backbreaker which almost had to hurt horribly. The fact that Banks had a bad back coming in and Charlotte still did some rather sloppy moves like that got her in some hot water.

We hit a Gory Stretch on the champ for a bit but she comes back with a pair of running clotheslines. That just earns her another backbreaker and Charlotte stomps away at the back. The Figure Eight is broken up but Sasha misses a charge into the corner and gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Charlotte picks her up for a super Razor’s Edge but since that would, you know, kill Sasha, she reverses into a hurricanrana to put them both down.

Back up and a WOO earns Charlotte a string of slaps before Sasha avoids a charge in the corner and hits the double knees to the back for two. Charlotte kicks her in the leg to break up a charge but gets knocked outside again, setting up the double knees from the apron. Back in and the Backstabber doesn’t work but Natural Selection is countered into the Bank Statement (thankfully too as the Natural Selection clearly didn’t send Sasha’s head anywhere near the mat).

Charlotte makes the rope for the break and takes out the knee again. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two so she yells about being better than Sasha. Another Bank Statement goes on but Charlotte reverses into a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:52. Saxton: “Just like that?”

Rating: B. This was just a straight match and that’s the key to the whole thing. The women are getting to show that they can have a good match without the smoke and mirrors, which never would have been the case otherwise. If nothing else it got the kind of time that a title match deserves to develop the story of Banks having a bad back (which would keep her on the shelf for about a month). Strong match here and another of many to come for these two.

Doctors Anderson and Gallows (oh man I had forgotten how stupid this was) run into AJ Styles for a Club reunion. Finn Balor comes up and doesn’t think much of it. Somehow, this has still never gone anywhere.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is defending after winning a triple threat match. Miz comes out wearing a glittery Phantom of the Opera mask while Maryse is basically in a one piece swimsuit. In a sign of the changing times, Mauro talks about Miz’s look instead of Maryse. Miz stomps away in the corner and gets two off a running kick to the chest. Crews gets the same off a rollup, only to walk into the short DDT as it’s almost all Miz to start. We’re already in the reverse chinlock before Miz sends him into the apron to cut off a comeback. Miz takes too long coming off the top though and dives into a dropkick to put both guys down.

A crossbody into a nipup has Miz in trouble as JBL rants about Otunga calling Crews a Jackrobat (jacked acrobat). The Toss Powerbomb is countered so Crews gets two off a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. An overhead belly to belly sets up a standing moonsault, which Otunga sums up perfectly: “A man with that kind of size and that kind of muscle should not be able to do that.” Miz teases taking a walk but Maryse cuts him off, allowing Miz to post Crews. The Skull Crushing Finale retains the title at 5:36.

Rating: D+. Standard Smackdown match and something that could have been cut, or at least put in the Kickoff Show in the place of the Dudleys match. Crews felt like an easy obstacle to overcome because there was nowhere near enough build to set the match up. Put some more effort into the title already people, as it’s just not working.

We recap John Cena vs. AJ Styles. They set up the first match when Styles and Cena were in the ring together, only to have Anderson and Gallows interfere to turn Styles heel. Styles went on a great rant about how Cena was a fraud who couldn’t hang in the ring with someone like him. Cena went into a great speech about how he’s here out of love because it never gets old. AJ beat him at Money in the Bank with assistance from Anderson and Gallows, setting up a rematch between the two here.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

This just feels big. AJ grabs a waistlock to start but is easily knocked away. The announcers go out of the way to put over how AJ has been on big shows before but nothing this big. Oh I don’t know. I remember him being at that Wrestlemania thing earlier in the year. The dueling chants begin and the AJ STYLES side is pretty clearly stronger.

Cena’s headlock is countered and AJ scores with the dropkick but the bragging earns AJ a right to the jaw. A hard whip into the corner sends AJ down for a bit with Cena doing some rare trash talking. They head to the floor and the fans start belting out JOHN CENA SUCKS, only to have AJ turn it into some gasping with a suplex onto the apron. Cena is right back with a dropkick for two and it’s time for some more right hands to the head.

AJ comes back with a forearm to the face, earning himself Cena’s finishing sequence. It’s way too early for the AA though as AJ hits a Pele, followed by the Styles Clash for a close two. The fans were actually more into the near fall than I was expecting as you would think they’d know better this early. The AA gives Cena two of his own and both guys are down again.

Styles slips out of the super AA and grabs the torture rack for the spinout powerbomb. They’re trading bombs at this point and it’s the only way they should be going here. Something like a Big Ending gives Cena two but he can’t get the STF. Instead it’s the AA neckbreaker for two on Cena (not the same as the AA JBL) but the springboard 450 only hits mat.

A faceplant puts Cena down again though and AJ can’t follow up. He manages the springboard forearm but Cena reverses into the worst STF I’ve ever seen. Thankfully AJ slips out and grabs a Crossface, which Cena powers out of as well. That’s reversed into the Calf Crusher which AJ is smart enough to twist away from the ropes. Cena reverses that into another horrible STF (AJ’s face is on the mat) so AJ is quickly up with the enziguri. A tornado DDT plants AJ and there’s the top rope Fameasser for two.

Cena heads up again and gets taken down with a super hurricanrana (Mauro: “MAMA MIA!”), followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for a VERY near fall (drawing Mauro to his feet). It’s Cena’s turn now as he takes AJ up for the super AA and….it’s two. NOW the fans know it’s on as I don’t think anyone has ever kicked out of that before. Cena is stunned and the AA is countered into another Clash. The Phenomenal Forearm puts Cena away clean at 23:10.

Rating: A. I know it’s not going to sound good but a lot of this goes to Cena. At the end of the day, the crowd completely lost it when AJ kicked out of that super AA. AJ wins here not because he got a pin but because he beat Cena clean. That’s a very, VERY short list and that’s what makes it feel so important. Think back to how big of a deal it was when Warrior pinned Hogan clean. That felt like an era changing win, and while this isn’t quite that big, it’s the same idea.

Oh yeah and it’s an outstanding match and possibly the Match of the Year. This was the heavyweight slugfest formula as they beat the heck out of each other with both guys hitting everything they could until one of them couldn’t get up. That’s a really hard match to pull off and these two did it in an incredible match. It belonged on the grand stage and gives Cena one heck of a mountain to overcome, which he somehow did in a better match at the Royal Rumble.

Post match Cena takes off his wristband and leaves it in the ring. He would do dark matches for a few weeks and then be back wrestling on TV in less than a month so this didn’t mean anything.

Some fans won a contest and got some stuff. In other words, let the fans have a breather.

Here’s Jon Stewart for your celebrity appearance. He makes fun of himself for interfering in Cena’s match last year and says the big lesson he learned was to tuck your shirt in when you’re taking an AA. As for tonight though, he’s here to be in New Day’s corner to help deal with Anderson and Gallows. In honor of the moment, he throws on a unicorn horn and does Big E.’s (out injured due to getting crotched against the post) entrance.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

New Day is defending of course and unfortunately Anderson and Gallows are still doing their stupid doctor nonsense, complete with jars for Kofi, Xavier and Jon’s testicles. I hear Paige can help you with one of those. Anderson headlocks Kofi down to start but he’s right back up with the jumping back elbow to the jaw. Kofi flips onto his feet and gets two off the standing double stomp. You can tell the fans are still recovering from the previous match and it’s off to Woods.

That goes badly as the he gets taken into the corner for a beating from Gallows. At least it does bring the fans back a bit with the rhythmic clapping. Gallows gets taken into the corner for the Unicorn Stampede (which they’ve kind of stopped doing in recent months) and the fans are really not responding. Woods sends him outside so Kofi can hit a running dive (while posing in the air) to take him down again. Back in and Gallows kicks Kofi in the head to take over for real this time with Anderson working on the arm.

That goes nowhere as the hot tag brings in Woods to clean house. Anderson sends him to the apron for an enziguri, setting up the rope walk elbow drop. Everything breaks down and Anderson kicks Kofi in the chest, setting up the Magic Killer. Stewart gets in though and it’s time to crotch him as well. Hang on though as he has to tuck in his shirt first. Cue the returning Big E. for the save though and that’s a DQ at 9:09.

Rating: D. I don’t know if it was the previous match or what but sweet goodness the fans did NOT care for this one. It’s not a good match in the first place as Anderson and Gallows aren’t funny in the doctor roles, but the bigger problem here was the focus being on Stewart at the end. Oh and the ending sets up a rematch, which really isn’t what they need to be going with here. Bad match but Big E.’s return did wake up the crowd.

Big E. drinks the fluid in the jar holding his “testicles”. Stewart dances with New Day and the fans…well they care when Big E. dances at least.

We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph won a six way match to earn the shot and then it all went nuts. Ziggler started talking about how he was tired of being told that he always either too good or not good enough. It was time to turn up the jets and become champion for the third time. Serious Ziggler was nice but I don’t think anyone was buying him as having a real chance here. You know, because he’s Dolph Ziggler.

Smackdown World Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is defending and Shane and Daniel are here for no apparent reason. The fans are behind Ziggler and they trade some grappling on the mat with Ziggler getting the better of it (not exactly a surprise). The threat of a neckbreaker sends Ambrose bailing to the floor so Dolph splashes him against the barricade.

Back in and Ziggler’s jumping DDT is countered with Dean throwing him outside again. Ziggler escapes a super Dirty Deeds so Dean slaps on a half crab of all things. You can tell Dean is playing the subtle heel here as the smark crowd is always going to cheer for Ziggler. Dean heads up top and gets dropkicked out of the air but he’s right back with a double chickenwing facebuster.

Ambrose tunes up the band (which is now mocking Ziggler instead of anything involving Shawn Michaels) but shakes his head and tries Dirty Deeds instead. That’s reversed into the jumping DDT and both guys are down again. A double collision gives us another lay down period until Dean is up first and hammering away.

The top rope elbow gets two so Ziggler grabs the sleeper, earning them both a tumble out to the floor. Ziggler gets in the superkick on the floor but it’s barely two back inside. The Zig Zag gets the same but Dean pops back up with the rebound lariat. Ziggler catches Dean on top and pulls him back down, right into Dirty Deeds to retain the title at 15:22.

Rating: D+. And that people, is Ziggler choking again. This would lead to him saying he’s never won the big one, which would turn into him never holding the World Title that long because holding the title is more important than winning it. The match was nothing all that good as we were just waiting on Dirty Deeds, which only happened so Dean could keep it warm for AJ next month. That was completely obvious the second AJ pinned Cena again and that’s all this title needed to do.

Package on Summerslam weekend.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Eva Marie vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Dang I didn’t know the Glow was a year old. Actually hang on a minute as Eva Marie is suffering from exhaustion, anxiety and stress (likely brought on by reading too many Wellness Violation messages, which meant she would never wrestle again) so we have a replacement. At least we got that amazing entrance one more time.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

So yeah, you know full well that Nikki is going to be all that matters in this match because IT’S HER BIG COMEBACK THAT EVERYONE TOTALLY CARES ABOUT BECAUSE WE LOVE HER SO MUCH! She does get one heck of a pop though, which is rather scary. During her entrance, Mauro declares her return “miraculous”. Oh man this is going to be a long one.

Bliss rolls Becky up to start and gets in a hard slap for good measure. Naomi comes in to scare Alexa off so it’s Natalya instead. A forearm puts Natalya down and the splits legdrop gets two. Carmella comes in for the Staten Island Shuffle before a missed charge sends Natalya outside. Back in and a powerslam out of the corner plants Carmella before it’s off to Nikki, the heel, for a strong face pop.

We hit the chinlock but hang on as we need some Nikki pushups. Alexa chokeshoves Carmella down for the moonsault knees to the ribs as the crowd is dead all over again. The abdominal stretch keeps things slow until Carmella finally rolls over and makes the hot tag to Becky. All three heels are send into the corner for the springboard kicks from Lynch, followed by a Bexploder on Natalya.

Becky’s top rope legdrop gets two with Nikki making the save. A blind tag brings in Naomi for the dancing kicks with the fans just not reacting at all. Bliss’ springboard splash hits knees so it’s off to Nikki vs. Carmella. A bad looking Bronco Buster gets two on Nikki and everything breaks down. Nikki’s big forearm sets up the Rack Attack 2.0 (Nikki: “I’m back.”) for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: D. This was all about Nikki’s return and that’s not enough to carry a dull match. Naomi’s Glow stuff wasn’t over yet, Becky was stuck around people who weren’t up to her level and Carmella was showing that she didn’t need to be on the main roster yet. The same was true for Alexa and Natalya was her usual self. Just not a good match and it showed the lack of depth to the division.

We recap Rusev vs. Roman Reigns. Rusev and Lana were married and so Reigns interrupted for no apparent reason to insult them and shove them into a cake.

Maria Menunos interviews Rusev and Lana, who don’t like her questions about Reigns. They won’t stand for this and Lana is sure that her husband will destroy Reigns.

We recap the Universal Title match. Basically we need a new title due to the Brand Split and Universal Title was the best they could come up with. Seth Rollins was put into the match as Raw’s #1 draft pick and Finn Balor earned his way in by winning a series of matches. Not much else to it as there’s no major animosity between them but it’s better than pulling the title out of a suitcase.

Seth did get in a great promo talking about how he’s done everything Balor has done but he’s done it a little bit better. He’s not wrong, though that’s not the best thing to do when you have someone so new to the main roster. Then Balor showed up as the Demon and scared Rollins to death.

Universal Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Anything goes and the title (which isn’t that well received due to a bad case of being hideous) is vacant coming in. Unless I’m forgetting something, to date this is the only time Balor has wrestled as the Demon on the main roster. We get the Big Match Intros and the title itself receives some hearty boos. Balor dropkicks him into the corner at the bell but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace.

Instead Balor hits a suicide dive to the floor, followed by some kicks to the knee back inside. They head outside again with Seth getting in his first offense via a suplex on the floor. Balor is right back with something like a Phenomenal Forearm off the barricade. Back in again and Balor hits a basement dropkick for two as this is almost one sided so far. Finn stays on the leg as the fans are singing something.

Balor jumps over the ropes but Rollins slides between his legs and powerbombs him into the barricade, completely destroying Balor’s shoulder and putting him on the shelf for the better part of eight months. We’re less than four minutes in though and you can see the shoulder looking all messed up. Back in and Seth gets two off a backbreaker, setting up a chinlock. The chants are still going and it sounds like THAT TITLE SUCKS to the tune of John Cena Sucks.

Seth starts the trash talk and cuts off a comeback attempt. A snapmare into a kick to the back has Finn in even more trouble but Seth would rather walk around than follow up. It’s back to the chinlock for a good while until the springboard knee to the head sets up Seth’s frog splash for two. What looks like a Rainmaker is countered into a DDT to give Balor his first major offense in a long time and he follows up with some forearms.

A basement dropkick sets up the Sling Blade but Seth kicks him down without much effort. An enziguri stuns Balor but he’s right back with the Pele, earning a very nice round of applause. If nothing else the chants about the title have stopped. 1916 (reverse implant DDT) gives Finn two but the Coup de Grace is countered into a triangle choke of all things. Finn falls outside because rope breaks don’t count (anything goes remember) and things slow down a bit.

Back in and the buckle bomb sets up the low superkick for two on Balor with Seth looking stunned on the kickout. A small package driver gets the same count and reaction so Seth goes up, allowing Balor to hit a very loud enziguri to put him on the floor. Balor adds a shotgun dropkick to send him into the barricade, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head for two. The Coup de Grace misses and it’s a Pedigree for two. Finn counters a second Pedigree into a double stomp, followed by the Coup de Grace for the pin and the title at 19:23.

Rating: B+. When you factor in that shoulder injury, this is quite the impressive performance. Above all else though, how good is it that Balor won the title here? If he loses his first major pay per view match and then goes away until April, he’s lucky to come back to the cruiserweight division.

This was a heck of a match with both guys beating the heck out of each other. It took some time to get built up but once they finally got there, the fans really started to accept things, which is a very positive sign. Balor is someone who is going to get a very positive reaction no matter what and giving him the title here was entirely the right call.

Balor can barely move his right arm after the match but finally holds the title up. On his WWE 24 special, he said you could feel and hear the shoulder crunching and crackling as he lifted the title and it probably did more damage to the arm.

The pre-show channel chats a bit and throws us to a KFC ad with Dolph Ziggler dressing up as Colonel Sanders to beat up Miz dressed as a chicken. It’s actually dumber than you remember it being.

Here’s Lana to introduce Rusev, albeit while wearing half of a wedding dress, the bottom of which looks like a diaper. She’s one of the most beautiful women on the roster but she looks ridiculous here.

US Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Roman is challenging and the booing is strong with this one. Rusev jumps him before the bell and they fight out to the floor with Roman being sent into the steps. The fans chant RUSEV MACHKA because they’ve given up on America over their hatred for Reigns. Roman gets in a Superman Punch as the bell hasn’t rung yet. They fight over a chair with Reigns getting the better of it and destroying Rusev. Reigns finally leaves but comes back with a spear, all while the fans chant WE WANT SLATER. No match of course, likely due to time issues.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar. This match was announced as Orton’s return match from surgery and the build focused on Orton being able to hit the RKO anytime, including a sweet moment where Orton interrupted a Lesnar promo with an RKO. The hype video even includes some OVW clips as they came up through developmental together and debuted within a few months of each other. This had a heck of a build and felt like something important but the question was whether Lesnar would have an actual match or just do his usual Lesnar stuff.

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

Heyman handles Lesnar’s introduction, saying he’s conquering out of the University of Suplex City. Brock seems to get into his MMA stance to start before driving Orton into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Orton escapes the first German suplex attempt but can’t hit the RKO.

Now the first suplex connects (with Mauro knowing that it’s the 33^rd Lesnar has hit at Summerslam because he’s awesome that way) and Brock follows with two more. Orton is almost out on his feet so Lesnar suplexes him again. It’s nothing but suplexes at this point and it’s already getting dull. They head outside for a much needed change of pace with Orton being thrown over the announcers’ table.

Orton gets thrown from the front row through the table as this is dominance. The other table is loaded up but whatever Lesnar is trying is countered into the RKO onto (not through) the table. The hanging DDT plants Lesnar back inside and another RKO gets two. Orton realizes he has no choice and tries the Punt, only to have it reversed into the F5 (bad one) for two more.

That’s enough for Lesnar so he takes off the gloves and pads and hammers on Orton. An elbow to the head actually busts Orton open VERY badly. Lesnar just keeps hammering on him while the fans chant GOLDBERG until the referee FINALLY stops it at 11:47. I’ve heard a bunch of answers about what happened but I believe this was the planned ending and a hard way opening.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work when it happened and it didn’t work again this time around. Lesnar suplexing Orton for five minutes then selling a few big moves doesn’t make me think it’s an awesome main event. This was everything wrong with Lesnar’s current WWE run in one match and that made for a really dull match, save for the odd finish that seemed designed to protect Orton. You know, after he was basically squashed.

Lesnar keeps hammering on him until the always intimidating Shane McMahon comes out, earning himself an F5 (which thankfully didn’t lead anywhere). Heyman panics as they leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. If you cut an hour (or more) out of this, it’s bordering on the classic level. As it is, this is just a good show that runs WAY too long. At some point you have to cut something out and WWE just refuses to do that. Cut out the Dudleys match or the women’s tag and give us some breathing room here because sweet goodness this show could use it.

Now that being said, there’s some outstanding stuff on here with the Styles vs. Cena match as an instant classic, the Women’s Title being very good, a great Universal Title match and really only the Tag Team Title match being without much value. The show is certainly good and the positives outweigh the negatives but unless the show is a masterpiece, fans are going to start losing interest near the end. It’s a solid show but cut out a good forty minutes to really make it great.

Ratings Comparison

American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Original: C

2017 Redo: B-

Dudley Boyz vs. Neville/Sami Zayn

Original: C

2017 Redo: C-

Sheamus vs. Cesaro

Original: B-

2017 Redo: B

Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens vs. Enzo Amore/Big Cass

Original: C+

2017 Redo: C+

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Original: B

2017 Redo: B

Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Original: C

2017 Redo: D+

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Original: A

2017 Redo: A

New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

Original: D+

2017 Redo: D

Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Original: B-

2017 Redo: D+

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Original: C

2017 Redo: D

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+

2017 Redo: D+

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

2017 Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: B

2017 Redo: B-

That’s quite the drop on Ambrose vs. Ziggler and Lesnar vs. Orton. Some of them are spot on though and that’s not the biggest surprise.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2016/08/21/summerslam-2016-they-didnt/

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

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

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

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

Summerslam 2016
Date: August 21, 2016
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, John Bradshaw Layfield

Pre-Show: Ascension/Vaudevillains/Breezango vs. American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos

Breeze gets his turn at a chinlock and Viktor keeps Zack in trouble. A neckbreaker puts Konnor down though and the hot tag brings in Jimmy to almost no reaction. Everything breaks down and Jordan starts throwing suplexes as only he cans. We get the parade of people hitting each other in the face until Rawley powerbombs Breeze and Viktor. The Usos superkick Ascension off the apron and hit double dives to take out most of the heels. Gotch takes the Grand Amplitude but Jey tags himself in for the Superfly Splash and the pin at 14:30.

Pre-Show: Dudley Boyz vs. Sami Zayn/Neville

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

The Brogue Kick and Cesaro Swing are both broken up but Sheamus sends him into the post to take over. Sheamus puts on an armbar and a tilt-a-whirl powerslam takes us to a break. Back with Cesaro in a chinlock and a look at what we saw before the break, a full minute ago. The Regal Roll means we should respect the hawk but Cesaro counters a suplex to send both guys falling out to the floor.

For some reason Cesaro stands on the post and jumps down onto the top rope for the high cross body. Not much of a change but it looked cool enough. The Swing sets up the Sharpshooter but Sheamus is right next to the rope. Sheamus is tired of getting beaten on though and thumbs him in the eye to set up the Brogue Kick for the pin at 14:38.

Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens

House is quickly cleaned with the big man beating up the villains and sending them outside, only to have Enzo get launched over the top (with his foot almost getting caught on the top rope). Back in and Jericho kicks Enzo in the face to take over, allowing Owens to talk trash as only he can. We hit the ASK HIM chinlock, followed by the running the ropes chinlock from Owens.

Anderson and Gallows are making doctor jokes when AJ Styles comes in for some too sweeting. Finn Balor comes in, looks at them, and leaves as the fans lose their minds.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Apollo Crews

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

This is earlier than I was expecting. The dueling chants being and you can tell Cena is fired up. Feeling out process to start until AJ hits the dropdown dropkick but spends too much time posing, allowing a big right hand to the face. The fans come up with various ways to say John Cena sucks as AJ suplexes him on the apron to take over.

Cena actually gets cheered post match. He takes off the Never Give Up armband and leaves it in the ring before walking away. I doubt it goes anywhere but that could mean something.

Some fans won a contest.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

New Day is defending and Big E. is out hurt. Anderson and Gallows come out in their doctor coats and even have a small jar for Stewart. Kofi starts with Anderson and flips out of a monkey flip as you would expect him to do. The Unicorn Stampede has Gallows in trouble and Kofi dives over the top, poses in the air, and takes him out again.

Big E. drinks the fluid in his his ball jar.

We recap Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose. Dean is carrying Smackdown as the champion but Ziggler won a six pack challenge to earn a title shot here. Ziggler has been getting much more serious lately and superkicked Dean in mid sentence on Smackdown earlier this week.

Smackdown World Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

Dean is defending and Shane and Bryan are at ringside to hold them apart before the bell. They slap each other in the face to start until Ziggler takes him down with a nice amateur move. Dean goes outside and sends Ziggler into the steps, followed by a butterfly superplex for two. Ambrose grabs a half crab as JBL goes into a rant about Dean robbing a homeless mannequin.

Back up and Dean gets two off a Glam Slam of all things before tuning up the band, which is now mocking Ziggler instead of Shawn. Instead of a superkick (what a concept), Dean tries Dirty Deeds but gets shoved to the floor. Ziggler gets two off the running DDT and hits back to back Fameassers for two. They hit crossbodies at the same time before Dean takes over with the top rope elbow.

We look at WWE taking over New York.

Naomi/Becky Lynch/Carmella vs. Natalya/Alexa Bliss/???

Naomi/Becky Lynch/Carmella vs. Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella

We recap Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for the US Title, which involved Lana going into a wedding cake.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins for the inaugural Universal Title. Rollins gets the spot due to being the #1 draft pick and Balor won a mini tournament by pinning Roman Reigns to get his place. Seth seems to be laughing off Balor as a challenger so Balor brought out the Demon to make it clear how serious this was.

Raw World Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Pre-show panel recap because screw people having to go to work tomorrow.

US Title: Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

Reigns is challenging to stand up for America. Rusev jumps him before the bell and sends Reigns into the steps a few times. The bad arm is crushed by some steps but Reigns Superman Punches him off the barricade. Referees come out to pull them apart and the guys fight over a chair. Reigns cracks him over the back with a chair and is finally made to leave. No match due to Rusev not being able to compete.

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

Now, on to the stuff before WWE lost its mind.

Results

Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens b. Enzo Amore/Big Cass – Codebreaker to Amore

Charlotte b. Sasha Banks – Rollup

Miz b. Apollo Crews – Skull Crushing Finale

AJ Styles b. John Cena – Phenomenal Forearm

Anderson and Gallows b. New Day via DQ when Big E. interfered

Dean Ambrose b. Dolph Ziggler – Dirty Deeds

Nikki Bella/Alexa Bliss/Natalya b. Carmella/Becky Lynch/Naomi – TKO to Carmella

Finn Balor b. Seth Rollins – Coup de Grace

Brock Lesnar b. Randy Orton via TKO when Orton was busted open

 

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: July 29, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

We have another Takeover coming up and that means we need to find out who is going to be involved in some of the big matches. You can see a lot of the card from here and when you add in series of triple threat matches to set up the ladder match, we should be in for some good stuff on the way there. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video, set to The End, looks at Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee.

Candice LeRae/Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox/Io Shirai

Kai jumps Shirai from behind before the bell until we settle down to LeRae vs. Nox to start. An elbow in the corner into a snapmare gives LeRae two and it’s off to Shirai to knee Kai in the face. Shirai picks up the pace and nips up, only to get monkey flipped into the ropes. Kai kicks her in the face for two but Shirai gets in a flapjack for a breather. A Lotus Lock goes on with LeRae coming in for the save. It’s off to Nox, who is taken outside and sent hard into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Nox and LeRae ramming heads, allowing the double tag back to Shirai and Kai. A palm strike sets up the springboard missile dropkick for two on Kai but she breaks up the moonsault. Kai catches her on top with an Alberto double stomp for two and Nox Shiniest Wizards LeRae. The moonsault finishes LeRae at 13:00.

Rating: C. Not too bad here but Kai vs. Shirai feels like little more than a filler feud until we get to someone bigger. LeRae vs. Nox isn’t much better, but it worked well enough for an opener. Kai vs. Shirai sounds like we should be in for a big match at Takeover and should be fine, though I’m not sure if there would be much drama.

We look at Adam Cole erupting on the Pat McAfee Show. HHH showed up earlier this week and said things are going to be smoothed over.

Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong

Fallout from last week’s triple threat. They go to the mat to start with a battle over the front facelocks. Strong can’t get much off an armbar and has to roll out of an early Gargano Escape attempt. That means an early standoff until Strong takes him to the mat again. Gargano reverses into a Rings of Saturn but has to switch into a headlock instead. Back up and Gargano snaps off a hurricanrana to send things outside. Gargano takes Strong down by the arm on the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Strong hitting a backbreaker and chopping away in the corner. A release front suplex drops Gargano again and One Final Beat is countered into a backbreaker for two more. Strong puts Gargano on top but gets caught in a jumping Downward Spiral to give Johnny his own near fall.

The Gargano Escape attempt is countered into a failed Stronghold attempt as Gargano kicks him in the head. Back up and they chop it out until Gargano knees him in the head. What looked to be a GTS is countered into a headscissors from Gargano to send Strong outside. Strong gets posted hard and the shoulder is banged up even more. There are some rams into the Plexiglas, followed by the One Final Beat to finish Strong at 12:55.

Rating: B. Good match here, even with the heel vs. heel setup. Strong was wrestling a little more like a face here, at least out of the two, and that could be a hint at the Era not being as strong as it was before. It was a good back and forth match though and that’s something that will always have a spot on any given show.

Dakota Kai says she is not a team player and is done with triple threats and tag matches and battle royals. She is the #1 contender and she wants her shot at Io Shirai. Rhea Ripley comes in and says not so fast because that’s her title shot.

Timothy Thatcher isn’t worried about Finn Balor or Dexter Lumis in the triple threat match.

The Undisputed Era isn’t happy with what has been going on. Kyle O’Reilly says they need to remember who they are and get back to changing the business.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Mercedes Martinez

Robert Stone and Aliyah are in Martinez’s corner. Shotzi goes right at her to start but gets shoved away. A Stone distraction lets Martinez send Shotzi into the steps, followed by a drop down onto the apron. Back in and Shotzi slips out of a fisherman’s buster, setting up a dropkick to send Martinez into the corner. A sunset bomb does the same and there’s the reverse Sling Blade to put Martinez down again. Shotzi kicks her down for two but Martinez grabs a spinebuster for the same. A release German superplex sends Shotzi flying and something between White Noise and a Death Valley Driver gives Mercedes the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C-. Quick match here and a good way to establish Martinez as the killer that she can be. If nothing else it helps by giving Stone a win over Blackheart, which is something that they needed to do at some point. I’m not sure what Martinez is going to do next, but I can’t imagine they have more than one match left for these two to go.

NXT UK star Ridge Holland is coming next week.

Here’s a serious Keith Lee for a chat. He wants to get something straight: Dominik Dijakovic is going to be just fine. On the other hand, this other man thinks the sound of sand is the sound of a clock. Kross has made it clear that he wants the NXT Title and has done so much extra bull****. All of that means nothing when Kross can’t come see him face to face so he is officially calling Kross out.

Cue Cameron Grimes instead and he isn’t happy that Lee gave up the North American Title before Grimes could win both belts. Lee just stares ahead until Grimes gets in the ring and then pulls him over the top by the throat. There’s a running splash in the corner but Scarlett appears on the stage. Grimes jumps Lee again and gets Spirit Bombed for his efforts.

Kross appears on the screen and asks what kind of a man Lee was to stand by and let his friend suffer. Lee can take the easy way and give Kross his NXT Title shot or take the hard way when everyone suffers. Tick tock. Lee says pick the time and place so he can whip that a**. This was serious Lee and while he doesn’t bring it out very often, he felt like a monster here and that’s something I could go for a lot more of later.

Video on the three entrants in tonight’s triple threat match.

Imperium vs. Ever Rise

Non-title. Barthel armbars Martel to start and yes commentary does chuckle at the similar sounding names. It’s off to Parker in a hurry for a few cheap shots but Barthel is right back to hit him in the face. Aichner comes in for a spinebuster and the European Bomb is good for the pin at 2:17. That’s how it should have gone.

Post match Imperium says they want a challenge and here’s the Undisputed Era to take them out without much effort. The Era leaves the champs laying, which hopefully doesn’t mean another Tag Team Title reign.

Video on Bronson Reed, who has done so many things to get here and made a big splash in his NXT debut. Some people make it happen and while he was the underdog last week, he came away with the win. At Takeover, the dream comes true.

William Regal says Kross needs to earn an NXT Title match. This isn’t going to end well.

Isaiah Scott vs. Jake Atlas

Scott snaps off an early headscissors into the corner and they circle each other a bit. Atlas flips away from him but Scott avoids a standing moonsault. That’s fine with Atlas who scores with a dropkick to get us back to a standoff. Scott kicks him out to the apron in a heap and we take a break. Back with Atlas hitting a springboard Blockbuster for two and firing off elbows to the face.

Scott grabs a rollup for two and muscles him over with a German suplex. The rolling Downward Spiral gets two more and it’s time to head up top. They slug it out on the corner until Atlas hits a super spinning Angle Slam for no cover. The cartwheel DDT is broken up though and a kick to the face leaves Atlas hanging upside down by his toes. Scott nails the House Call and the JML Driver gives Scott the pin at 9:53.

Rating: B-. I’m rather pleased by seeing Scott’s push actually continue for once as they have a bad tendency to pull the rug out from under him. Beating Atlas isn’t a game changer for his career but it is a great sign that he is actually going somewhere. I have no idea if that is going to be a good ending, but at least it’s better than nothing.

Damian Priest is ready to win next week’s qualifying match.

Next week: the Undisputed Era gets their Tag Team Title shot, Ripley vs. Kai in a #1 contenders match and another qualifying match between Oney Lorcan, Damian Priest and Ridge Holland.

North American Title Qualifying Match: Dexter Lumis vs. Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher

Balor kicks Thatcher in the face to start and then pulls him to the floor as Lumis watches on. Back in and Lumis uppercuts away before throwing them both outside. Lumis flips over the top and lands on his feet before throwing Thatcher inside. Balor comes back in and Lumis knocks both of them down as Lumis….still doesn’t do much other than slowly stare at people and punch.

Thatcher gets sent outside so Balor can kick away at Lumis. Balor and Thatcher switch places with Thatcher hitting a belly to belly suplex for two. An armbar is broken up by Balor but Lumis is back up with a hot shot to Thatcher. Balor kicks Lumis down but gets knocked off the top to put everyone down as we take a break.

Back with Thatcher uppercutting Balor and choking him on the rope. Lumis, with a bad ankle, gets knocked off the apron and Thatcher pounds Balor back down. There’s another shot to knock Lumis outside again and it’s Balor coming back on Thatcher. The third time works for Lumis as he gets back inside for a bulldog on Balor. Thatcher gets back up and it’s a Sling Blade to Lumis.

The shotgun dropkick is broken up as Thatcher crotches Balor against the post. Balor’s leg is wrapped around the post and Thatcher cranks away until Lumis makes a save, even though Thatcher was on the floor and there was no danger of a fall. Back in and Lumis hits a spinebuster on Thatcher but can’t hit the Silencer. Thatcher twists the leg down again but walks into the Silencer. Balor breaks it up with the Coup de Grace with Thatcher making the save this time. Thatcher grabs the ankle lock on Balor but Lumis does his crawl over and Silences Thatcher for the title shot at 12:16.

Rating: C. I….I just don’t get it. There are wrestlers that I don’t like but I can get their appeal. That isn’t the case with Lumis, who is supposed to be this creepy guy or some tortured artist but he comes off as a guy who just stands there and stares a lot. There is a world of difference between getting a title shot and winning the title and they do seem to be setting up new people in the match, but dang I don’t get it with Lumis.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling wasn’t as strong this week but there was enough to balance that out and bring it up a little higher. The Lee promo in particular was great stuff and I want to see more of that side of him. They have a target in sight for Takeover and I’m curious to see what they are going to do with everything at the card. Good show here, but far from a must see week.

Results

Io Shirai/Tegan Nox b. Candice LeRae/Dakota Kai – Moonsault to LeRae

Johnny Gargano b. Roderick Strong – One Final Beat

Mercedes Martinez b. Shotzi Blackheart – Death Valley Driver

Imperium b. Ever Rise – European Bomb to Parker

Isaiah Scott b. Jake Atlas – JML Driver

Dexter Lumis b. Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher – Silencer to Thatcher

 

 

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

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

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

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

Summerslam 2016
Date: August 21, 2016
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,974
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, John Bradshaw Layfield

A year has passed since I saw this show and I can barely remember much about it. That’s very telling when you look at how stacked this show really is. There are multiple top level matches here and it really wasn’t clear what was going to close the show until the night of the event. Hopefully that means that this SIX HOUR show holds up. Let’s get to it.

So here’s a quick plug. I’m going through the pre-show and there’s a three expert panel of Booker T., Jerry Lawler and Lita. Earlier this year, I met all three of them at WrestleCon. If you’re ever at a Wrestlemania weekend, treat yourself to an amazing time and GO TO WRESTLECON. I met over 120 wrestlers in about four hours. Where else are you going to get to do something like that? Anyway, on with the show.

Pre-Show: American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Who would have thought that Breezango would be the most entertaining out of all these teams? This is pretty much the still titleless Smackdown tag division at this point as they had to bring in the Headbangers and throw together Heath Slater and Rhyno to be able to have a tournament. This is also a rematch from Smackdown, which shows how little effort they were putting into the tag division at this point.

Gable and Breeze start things and the fans are WAY into Gable. Chad twists around as only he can to escape a wristlock and it’s off to Jey, who is quickly driven into the corner. English comes in and says that he’s what a man is. That earns him a right hand to the jaw and it’s off to Mojo to work on a wristlock. Ryder comes in to quite the reaction as Mauro says the Hype Bros have more chemistry than the Periodic Table.

Everything breaks down (What took them so long?) and Ascension clears the ring, only to have American Alpha come off the top (the same corner) with double clotheslines (that’s pure Steiner Brothers). English posts Ryder though and we take a break. Back with Gotch putting Ryder in a chinlock, followed by Viktor doing the same. The other heels take turns stomping on Ryder until Breeze grabs his own chinlock. Fandango adds a slingshot legdrop as this is going WAY longer than it needs to.

JBL thinks cold beer uniting the APA is more effective than furry selfie sticks uniting Breezango but maybe he’s wrong. Ascension knocks the good guys off the apron but Viktor misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ryder to get in a neckbreaker on Konnor. The hot tag (with a limited reaction) brings in Jimmy to clean house.

Jordan gets the real hot tag and does his fired up sequence (which he really is awesome at) with a belly to belly getting two on Breeze. We hit the parade of secondary finishers as the referee is imploring them to tag. Mojo powerbombs Breeze and Viktor out of the corner and the Usos add stereo superkicks to set up stereo dives. Back in and Grand Amplitude plants Gotch, only to have Jey tag himself in for a Superfly Splash and the pin at 14:31. Gable is really not cool with that. Eh just wait until your team is split up for a pretty lame story where Jordan is Kurt Angle’s son.

Rating: B-. If you cut out a few minutes from this, it’s a heck of an opener. There are too many people in the match of course but they kept it moving fast enough (for the most part) to really get something fun out of it. Jordan’s house cleaning spot is a heck of a way to fire the crowd up and it made the match more fun than it should have been. Tweak this a bit (eight/ten man tag or shorten the match a bit) and it’s even better.

Pre-Show: Dudley Boyz vs. Sami Zayn/Neville

Sami works on D-Von’s arm to start and it’s off to Neville for more of the same. Both of them get in more shots as we hear about the rivalry over the NXT Title. I do appreciate the history, especially when Graves should know about that match very well. Bubba is sent outside but D-Von breaks up a springboard dive, allowing Bubba to nail Neville from behind to take over. The fans want tables but a back elbow to Neville’s jaw cuts them off in a hurry.

Back from a break with Bubba hitting his neckbreaker out of the corner. Things slow down even more as Bubba is talking even more than he usually does in a match. Bubba: “COME ON ENGLISH BOY! O-LAY! O-LAY!” The middle rope backsplash misses though and the hot tag brings in Sami. D-Von takes the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the reverse 3D gets the same. Neville escapes the regular version though and we get some heel miscommunication. The Helluva Kick sets up the Red Arrow to put Bubba away at 7:55.

Rating: C-. That would be it for the Dudleys in WWE as they would have one more segment tomorrow night where Anderson and Gallows sent them packing. It’s also pretty much it for Sami and Neville as a team, which is quite odd as you would think they would be a fine choice for a team. The match was nothing you wouldn’t expect on Raw.

Pre-Show: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

You know, because two matches just weren’t enough for the pre-show. This is the first match of the Best of Seven Series, which really wasn’t too well received. After Cole says Cesaro is facing Cesaro and both Cole and Saxton say this is about establishing physical dominance, we’re ready to go. Sheamus misses a very early Brogue Kick but the spinning springboard uppercut is blocked as well.

Cesaro charges into an uppercut but comes back with a dropkick for one. The ten forearms to the chest are broken up so Sheamus clotheslines him onto the apron instead. It’s off to an armbar on Cesaro’s chronically taped up shoulder but Cesaro lifts him up into that kind of reverse Angle Slam of his. They’re certainly hitting each other hard here, which is pretty much the draw of the whole feud.

Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and it’s off to a break. Back with Cesaro fighting out of a chinlock because that rule even applies on pre-shows that will never end. The Irish Curse gives Sheamus two as Cole runs down the pay per view card, which only makes me think that there are FAR too many titles in WWE. They fight over a suplex and fall out to the floor in a heap. Back in and Cesaro starts firing off the running uppercuts in the corner, capped off by a dropkick to knock him off the ropes.

The apron superplex (which wasn’t from the apron) gets two but Sheamus counters the Neutralizer into White Noise for two. There’s the super Regal Roll for two more and frustration is really setting in. Another Brogue Kick attempt is countered by one heck of a clothesline though and Cesaro adds a high crossbody for two of his own. Cesaro tries the Sharpshooter but Sheamus gets to the ropes. Back up and a poke to the eye sets up the Brogue Kick to give Sheamus the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B. They beat the heck out of each other and it was a fun match but it also brings up the problem: I’m not going to want to watch them fight six more times. No matter how good things are, having them happen so many times in a row over several weeks is going to get tiresome. It happens in all these series and it’s happening here too.

And now, after more wrestling than you get on an average Smackdown, here’s the actual pay per view.

The opening video looks at New York City, with the narrator telling you how AMAZING the city is. I’m not sure if New York City or Texas is worse about bragging about their home’s greatness. As usual, this switches over to a series of quick looks at the biggest matches on the card.

Enzo Amore/Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens

Well duh. That’s about as easy of a choice for an opener as you could ever find for this show. As you might expect, the crowd eats up the opening promo with a spoon and of course we hear a ton of New York City music references. Included are Frank Sinatra, Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z, plus more that probably go over my head. Cass adds in a few songs of his own as this is the only way this show could have opened. Since Graves is the best heel commentator in wrestling today though, he points out that Enzo is from New Jersey.

Jericho and Owens jump Enzo at the bell and the STUPID IDIOT chants start rolling. Enzo comes back with a crossbody and a running right hand to the jaw for two. It’s off to Cass, who drags Owens inside for a beal. That’s some scary power. Enzo gets launched into the corner to crush Jericho but the Canadians bail to the floor. That’s fine with Cass who tosses Enzo over the top onto them in a huge crash. I’ve always loved that spot as it just looks cool.

Back in and Enzo ax handles Owens but turns into a middle rope dropkick from Jericho. The Canadian violence begins with Owens kneeing Enzo from the apron and doing his dance on the apron in a rather funny visual. Owens’ comedic skills aren’t given enough credit more often than not. It’s back to Jericho for the Arrogant Cover and a chinlock with Owens telling Jericho to do it like he taught him.

Owens comes in and adds a gutbuster for two, followed by the running start for a chinlock. It takes real talent to turn a chinlock into an art form but Owens has somehow pulled it off. Enzo finally rolls away but Jericho is there to break up the diving tag attempt. Owens drops the frog splash for two and his stunned looked on the kickout is the usual awesome visual. Enzo gets pulled off the corner to make things even worse but, after blowing a kiss to Jericho, misses the Cannonball.

That means the hot tag to Cass and everything breaks down. Jericho dives into a big boot but Owens breaks up the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka. Cass gets posted on the floor and now the Cannonball against the barricade connects. Back in and Enzo scores with his top rope DDT on Jericho with Owens making the save. A pop up Codebreaker (didn’t look great as Jericho was too far away) ends Enzo at 12:09.

Rating: C+. Odd choice for an ending aside (not surprising of course but odd), this was a good way to get the crowd going. I could have gone for another hope spot from Enzo and more of Cass cleaning house but that pop up Codebreaker could have been a heck of a finisher if done right. Nice opener, though would it have killed them to put Enzo and Cass over in Brooklyn?

Smackdown bosses Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon run into Raw General Manager Mick Foley to brag about how awesome their shows are. Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart and his son come in to ask what Foley is thinking to work with Stephanie. He rants about abuse of power but realizes she’s right behind him. Stephanie yells at him about how great it is to abuse power but thankfully New Day comes up. As the Smackdown bosses and Foley much on cereal, New Day asks Jon if he’d like to do something. He gets out as fast as he can and Stephanie isn’t amused.

We recap Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. Sasha won the Women’s Title on the first exclusive show after the Brand Split and tonight is the rematch. The other big idea here is Charlotte never loses singles matches on pay per view and Banks has to recreate the magic one more time.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Banks is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Some early WOOing sets up a slightly less early Bank Statement but Charlotte bails to the floor. Back in and Banks climbs the corner for a wristdrag before sending Charlotte face first into the middle buckle. Banks gets caught on top though and Charlotte basically drops her onto the ropes for a backbreaker which almost had to hurt horribly. The fact that Banks had a bad back coming in and Charlotte still did some rather sloppy moves like that got her in some hot water.

We hit a Gory Stretch on the champ for a bit but she comes back with a pair of running clotheslines. That just earns her another backbreaker and Charlotte stomps away at the back. The Figure Eight is broken up but Sasha misses a charge into the corner and gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Charlotte picks her up for a super Razor’s Edge but since that would, you know, kill Sasha, she reverses into a hurricanrana to put them both down.

Back up and a WOO earns Charlotte a string of slaps before Sasha avoids a charge in the corner and hits the double knees to the back for two. Charlotte kicks her in the leg to break up a charge but gets knocked outside again, setting up the double knees from the apron. Back in and the Backstabber doesn’t work but Natural Selection is countered into the Bank Statement (thankfully too as the Natural Selection clearly didn’t send Sasha’s head anywhere near the mat).

Charlotte makes the rope for the break and takes out the knee again. Natural Selection gives Charlotte two so she yells about being better than Sasha. Another Bank Statement goes on but Charlotte reverses into a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:52. Saxton: “Just like that?”

Rating: B. This was just a straight match and that’s the key to the whole thing. The women are getting to show that they can have a good match without the smoke and mirrors, which never would have been the case otherwise. If nothing else it got the kind of time that a title match deserves to develop the story of Banks having a bad back (which would keep her on the shelf for about a month). Strong match here and another of many to come for these two.

Doctors Anderson and Gallows (oh man I had forgotten how stupid this was) run into AJ Styles for a Club reunion. Finn Balor comes up and doesn’t think much of it. Somehow, this has still never gone anywhere.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is defending after winning a triple threat match. Miz comes out wearing a glittery Phantom of the Opera mask while Maryse is basically in a one piece swimsuit. In a sign of the changing times, Mauro talks about Miz’s look instead of Maryse. Miz stomps away in the corner and gets two off a running kick to the chest. Crews gets the same off a rollup, only to walk into the short DDT as it’s almost all Miz to start. We’re already in the reverse chinlock before Miz sends him into the apron to cut off a comeback. Miz takes too long coming off the top though and dives into a dropkick to put both guys down.

A crossbody into a nipup has Miz in trouble as JBL rants about Otunga calling Crews a Jackrobat (jacked acrobat). The Toss Powerbomb is countered so Crews gets two off a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. An overhead belly to belly sets up a standing moonsault, which Otunga sums up perfectly: “A man with that kind of size and that kind of muscle should not be able to do that.” Miz teases taking a walk but Maryse cuts him off, allowing Miz to post Crews. The Skull Crushing Finale retains the title at 5:36.

Rating: D+. Standard Smackdown match and something that could have been cut, or at least put in the Kickoff Show in the place of the Dudleys match. Crews felt like an easy obstacle to overcome because there was nowhere near enough build to set the match up. Put some more effort into the title already people, as it’s just not working.

We recap John Cena vs. AJ Styles. They set up the first match when Styles and Cena were in the ring together, only to have Anderson and Gallows interfere to turn Styles heel. Styles went on a great rant about how Cena was a fraud who couldn’t hang in the ring with someone like him. Cena went into a great speech about how he’s here out of love because it never gets old. AJ beat him at Money in the Bank with assistance from Anderson and Gallows, setting up a rematch between the two here.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

This just feels big. AJ grabs a waistlock to start but is easily knocked away. The announcers go out of the way to put over how AJ has been on big shows before but nothing this big. Oh I don’t know. I remember him being at that Wrestlemania thing earlier in the year. The dueling chants begin and the AJ STYLES side is pretty clearly stronger.

Cena’s headlock is countered and AJ scores with the dropkick but the bragging earns AJ a right to the jaw. A hard whip into the corner sends AJ down for a bit with Cena doing some rare trash talking. They head to the floor and the fans start belting out JOHN CENA SUCKS, only to have AJ turn it into some gasping with a suplex onto the apron. Cena is right back with a dropkick for two and it’s time for some more right hands to the head.

AJ comes back with a forearm to the face, earning himself Cena’s finishing sequence. It’s way too early for the AA though as AJ hits a Pele, followed by the Styles Clash for a close two. The fans were actually more into the near fall than I was expecting as you would think they’d know better this early. The AA gives Cena two of his own and both guys are down again.

Styles slips out of the super AA and grabs the torture rack for the spinout powerbomb. They’re trading bombs at this point and it’s the only way they should be going here. Something like a Big Ending gives Cena two but he can’t get the STF. Instead it’s the AA neckbreaker for two on Cena (not the same as the AA JBL) but the springboard 450 only hits mat.

A faceplant puts Cena down again though and AJ can’t follow up. He manages the springboard forearm but Cena reverses into the worst STF I’ve ever seen. Thankfully AJ slips out and grabs a Crossface, which Cena powers out of as well. That’s reversed into the Calf Crusher which AJ is smart enough to twist away from the ropes. Cena reverses that into another horrible STF (AJ’s face is on the mat) so AJ is quickly up with the enziguri. A tornado DDT plants AJ and there’s the top rope Fameasser for two.

Cena heads up again and gets taken down with a super hurricanrana (Mauro: “MAMA MIA!”), followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for a VERY near fall (drawing Mauro to his feet). It’s Cena’s turn now as he takes AJ up for the super AA and….it’s two. NOW the fans know it’s on as I don’t think anyone has ever kicked out of that before. Cena is stunned and the AA is countered into another Clash. The Phenomenal Forearm puts Cena away clean at 23:10.

Rating: A. I know it’s not going to sound good but a lot of this goes to Cena. At the end of the day, the crowd completely lost it when AJ kicked out of that super AA. AJ wins here not because he got a pin but because he beat Cena clean. That’s a very, VERY short list and that’s what makes it feel so important. Think back to how big of a deal it was when Warrior pinned Hogan clean. That felt like an era changing win, and while this isn’t quite that big, it’s the same idea.

Oh yeah and it’s an outstanding match and possibly the Match of the Year. This was the heavyweight slugfest formula as they beat the heck out of each other with both guys hitting everything they could until one of them couldn’t get up. That’s a really hard match to pull off and these two did it in an incredible match. It belonged on the grand stage and gives Cena one heck of a mountain to overcome, which he somehow did in a better match at the Royal Rumble.

Post match Cena takes off his wristband and leaves it in the ring. He would do dark matches for a few weeks and then be back wrestling on TV in less than a month so this didn’t mean anything.

Some fans won a contest and got some stuff. In other words, let the fans have a breather.

Here’s Jon Stewart for your celebrity appearance. He makes fun of himself for interfering in Cena’s match last year and says the big lesson he learned was to tuck your shirt in when you’re taking an AA. As for tonight though, he’s here to be in New Day’s corner to help deal with Anderson and Gallows. In honor of the moment, he throws on a unicorn horn and does Big E.’s (out injured due to getting crotched against the post) entrance.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

New Day is defending of course and unfortunately Anderson and Gallows are still doing their stupid doctor nonsense, complete with jars for Kofi, Xavier and Jon’s testicles. I hear Paige can help you with one of those. Anderson headlocks Kofi down to start but he’s right back up with the jumping back elbow to the jaw. Kofi flips onto his feet and gets two off the standing double stomp. You can tell the fans are still recovering from the previous match and it’s off to Woods.

That goes badly as the he gets taken into the corner for a beating from Gallows. At least it does bring the fans back a bit with the rhythmic clapping. Gallows gets taken into the corner for the Unicorn Stampede (which they’ve kind of stopped doing in recent months) and the fans are really not responding. Woods sends him outside so Kofi can hit a running dive (while posing in the air) to take him down again. Back in and Gallows kicks Kofi in the head to take over for real this time with Anderson working on the arm.

That goes nowhere as the hot tag brings in Woods to clean house. Anderson sends him to the apron for an enziguri, setting up the rope walk elbow drop. Everything breaks down and Anderson kicks Kofi in the chest, setting up the Magic Killer. Stewart gets in though and it’s time to crotch him as well. Hang on though as he has to tuck in his shirt first. Cue the returning Big E. for the save though and that’s a DQ at 9:09.

Rating: D. I don’t know if it was the previous match or what but sweet goodness the fans did NOT care for this one. It’s not a good match in the first place as Anderson and Gallows aren’t funny in the doctor roles, but the bigger problem here was the focus being on Stewart at the end. Oh and the ending sets up a rematch, which really isn’t what they need to be going with here. Bad match but Big E.’s return did wake up the crowd.

Big E. drinks the fluid in the jar holding his “testicles”. Stewart dances with New Day and the fans…well they care when Big E. dances at least.

We recap Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph won a six way match to earn the shot and then it all went nuts. Ziggler started talking about how he was tired of being told that he always either too good or not good enough. It was time to turn up the jets and become champion for the third time. Serious Ziggler was nice but I don’t think anyone was buying him as having a real chance here. You know, because he’s Dolph Ziggler.

Smackdown World Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is defending and Shane and Daniel are here for no apparent reason. The fans are behind Ziggler and they trade some grappling on the mat with Ziggler getting the better of it (not exactly a surprise). The threat of a neckbreaker sends Ambrose bailing to the floor so Dolph splashes him against the barricade.

Back in and Ziggler’s jumping DDT is countered with Dean throwing him outside again. Ziggler escapes a super Dirty Deeds so Dean slaps on a half crab of all things. You can tell Dean is playing the subtle heel here as the smark crowd is always going to cheer for Ziggler. Dean heads up top and gets dropkicked out of the air but he’s right back with a double chickenwing facebuster.

Ambrose tunes up the band (which is now mocking Ziggler instead of anything involving Shawn Michaels) but shakes his head and tries Dirty Deeds instead. That’s reversed into the jumping DDT and both guys are down again. A double collision gives us another lay down period until Dean is up first and hammering away.

The top rope elbow gets two so Ziggler grabs the sleeper, earning them both a tumble out to the floor. Ziggler gets in the superkick on the floor but it’s barely two back inside. The Zig Zag gets the same but Dean pops back up with the rebound lariat. Ziggler catches Dean on top and pulls him back down, right into Dirty Deeds to retain the title at 15:22.

Rating: D+. And that people, is Ziggler choking again. This would lead to him saying he’s never won the big one, which would turn into him never holding the World Title that long because holding the title is more important than winning it. The match was nothing all that good as we were just waiting on Dirty Deeds, which only happened so Dean could keep it warm for AJ next month. That was completely obvious the second AJ pinned Cena again and that’s all this title needed to do.

Package on Summerslam weekend.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Eva Marie vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Dang I didn’t know the Glow was a year old. Actually hang on a minute as Eva Marie is suffering from exhaustion, anxiety and stress (likely brought on by reading too many Wellness Violation messages, which meant she would never wrestle again) so we have a replacement. At least we got that amazing entrance one more time.

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

So yeah, you know full well that Nikki is going to be all that matters in this match because IT’S HER BIG COMEBACK THAT EVERYONE TOTALLY CARES ABOUT BECAUSE WE LOVE HER SO MUCH! She does get one heck of a pop though, which is rather scary. During her entrance, Mauro declares her return “miraculous”. Oh man this is going to be a long one.

Bliss rolls Becky up to start and gets in a hard slap for good measure. Naomi comes in to scare Alexa off so it’s Natalya instead. A forearm puts Natalya down and the splits legdrop gets two. Carmella comes in for the Staten Island Shuffle before a missed charge sends Natalya outside. Back in and a powerslam out of the corner plants Carmella before it’s off to Nikki, the heel, for a strong face pop.

We hit the chinlock but hang on as we need some Nikki pushups. Alexa chokeshoves Carmella down for the moonsault knees to the ribs as the crowd is dead all over again. The abdominal stretch keeps things slow until Carmella finally rolls over and makes the hot tag to Becky. All three heels are send into the corner for the springboard kicks from Lynch, followed by a Bexploder on Natalya.

Becky’s top rope legdrop gets two with Nikki making the save. A blind tag brings in Naomi for the dancing kicks with the fans just not reacting at all. Bliss’ springboard splash hits knees so it’s off to Nikki vs. Carmella. A bad looking Bronco Buster gets two on Nikki and everything breaks down. Nikki’s big forearm sets up the Rack Attack 2.0 (Nikki: “I’m back.”) for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: D. This was all about Nikki’s return and that’s not enough to carry a dull match. Naomi’s Glow stuff wasn’t over yet, Becky was stuck around people who weren’t up to her level and Carmella was showing that she didn’t need to be on the main roster yet. The same was true for Alexa and Natalya was her usual self. Just not a good match and it showed the lack of depth to the division.

We recap Rusev vs. Roman Reigns. Rusev and Lana were married and so Reigns interrupted for no apparent reason to insult them and shove them into a cake.

Maria Menunos interviews Rusev and Lana, who don’t like her questions about Reigns. They won’t stand for this and Lana is sure that her husband will destroy Reigns.

We recap the Universal Title match. Basically we need a new title due to the Brand Split and Universal Title was the best they could come up with. Seth Rollins was put into the match as Raw’s #1 draft pick and Finn Balor earned his way in by winning a series of matches. Not much else to it as there’s no major animosity between them but it’s better than pulling the title out of a suitcase.

Seth did get in a great promo talking about how he’s done everything Balor has done but he’s done it a little bit better. He’s not wrong, though that’s not the best thing to do when you have someone so new to the main roster. Then Balor showed up as the Demon and scared Rollins to death.

Universal Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Anything goes and the title (which isn’t that well received due to a bad case of being hideous) is vacant coming in. Unless I’m forgetting something, to date this is the only time Balor has wrestled as the Demon on the main roster. We get the Big Match Intros and the title itself receives some hearty boos. Balor dropkicks him into the corner at the bell but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace.

Instead Balor hits a suicide dive to the floor, followed by some kicks to the knee back inside. They head outside again with Seth getting in his first offense via a suplex on the floor. Balor is right back with something like a Phenomenal Forearm off the barricade. Back in again and Balor hits a basement dropkick for two as this is almost one sided so far. Finn stays on the leg as the fans are singing something.

Balor jumps over the ropes but Rollins slides between his legs and powerbombs him into the barricade, completely destroying Balor’s shoulder and putting him on the shelf for the better part of eight months. We’re less than four minutes in though and you can see the shoulder looking all messed up. Back in and Seth gets two off a backbreaker, setting up a chinlock. The chants are still going and it sounds like THAT TITLE SUCKS to the tune of John Cena Sucks.

Seth starts the trash talk and cuts off a comeback attempt. A snapmare into a kick to the back has Finn in even more trouble but Seth would rather walk around than follow up. It’s back to the chinlock for a good while until the springboard knee to the head sets up Seth’s frog splash for two. What looks like a Rainmaker is countered into a DDT to give Balor his first major offense in a long time and he follows up with some forearms.

A basement dropkick sets up the Sling Blade but Seth kicks him down without much effort. An enziguri stuns Balor but he’s right back with the Pele, earning a very nice round of applause. If nothing else the chants about the title have stopped. 1916 (reverse implant DDT) gives Finn two but the Coup de Grace is countered into a triangle choke of all things. Finn falls outside because rope breaks don’t count (anything goes remember) and things slow down a bit.

Back in and the buckle bomb sets up the low superkick for two on Balor with Seth looking stunned on the kickout. A small package driver gets the same count and reaction so Seth goes up, allowing Balor to hit a very loud enziguri to put him on the floor. Balor adds a shotgun dropkick to send him into the barricade, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head for two. The Coup de Grace misses and it’s a Pedigree for two. Finn counters a second Pedigree into a double stomp, followed by the Coup de Grace for the pin and the title at 19:23.

Rating: B+. When you factor in that shoulder injury, this is quite the impressive performance. Above all else though, how good is it that Balor won the title here? If he loses his first major pay per view match and then goes away until April, he’s lucky to come back to the cruiserweight division.

This was a heck of a match with both guys beating the heck out of each other. It took some time to get built up but once they finally got there, the fans really started to accept things, which is a very positive sign. Balor is someone who is going to get a very positive reaction no matter what and giving him the title here was entirely the right call.

Balor can barely move his right arm after the match but finally holds the title up. On his WWE 24 special, he said you could feel and hear the shoulder crunching and crackling as he lifted the title and it probably did more damage to the arm.

The pre-show channel chats a bit and throws us to a KFC ad with Dolph Ziggler dressing up as Colonel Sanders to beat up Miz dressed as a chicken. It’s actually dumber than you remember it being.

Here’s Lana to introduce Rusev, albeit while wearing half of a wedding dress, the bottom of which looks like a diaper. She’s one of the most beautiful women on the roster but she looks ridiculous here.

US Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Roman is challenging and the booing is strong with this one. Rusev jumps him before the bell and they fight out to the floor with Roman being sent into the steps. The fans chant RUSEV MACHKA because they’ve given up on America over their hatred for Reigns. Roman gets in a Superman Punch as the bell hasn’t rung yet. They fight over a chair with Reigns getting the better of it and destroying Rusev. Reigns finally leaves but comes back with a spear, all while the fans chant WE WANT SLATER. No match of course, likely due to time issues.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar. This match was announced as Orton’s return match from surgery and the build focused on Orton being able to hit the RKO anytime, including a sweet moment where Orton interrupted a Lesnar promo with an RKO. The hype video even includes some OVW clips as they came up through developmental together and debuted within a few months of each other. This had a heck of a build and felt like something important but the question was whether Lesnar would have an actual match or just do his usual Lesnar stuff.

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

Heyman handles Lesnar’s introduction, saying he’s conquering out of the University of Suplex City. Brock seems to get into his MMA stance to start before driving Orton into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Orton escapes the first German suplex attempt but can’t hit the RKO.

Now the first suplex connects (with Mauro knowing that it’s the 33^rd Lesnar has hit at Summerslam because he’s awesome that way) and Brock follows with two more. Orton is almost out on his feet so Lesnar suplexes him again. It’s nothing but suplexes at this point and it’s already getting dull. They head outside for a much needed change of pace with Orton being thrown over the announcers’ table.

Orton gets thrown from the front row through the table as this is dominance. The other table is loaded up but whatever Lesnar is trying is countered into the RKO onto (not through) the table. The hanging DDT plants Lesnar back inside and another RKO gets two. Orton realizes he has no choice and tries the Punt, only to have it reversed into the F5 (bad one) for two more.

That’s enough for Lesnar so he takes off the gloves and pads and hammers on Orton. An elbow to the head actually busts Orton open VERY badly. Lesnar just keeps hammering on him while the fans chant GOLDBERG until the referee FINALLY stops it at 11:47. I’ve heard a bunch of answers about what happened but I believe this was the planned ending and a hard way opening.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work when it happened and it didn’t work again this time around. Lesnar suplexing Orton for five minutes then selling a few big moves doesn’t make me think it’s an awesome main event. This was everything wrong with Lesnar’s current WWE run in one match and that made for a really dull match, save for the odd finish that seemed designed to protect Orton. You know, after he was basically squashed.

Lesnar keeps hammering on him until the always intimidating Shane McMahon comes out, earning himself an F5 (which thankfully didn’t lead anywhere). Heyman panics as they leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. If you cut an hour (or more) out of this, it’s bordering on the classic level. As it is, this is just a good show that runs WAY too long. At some point you have to cut something out and WWE just refuses to do that. Cut out the Dudleys match or the women’s tag and give us some breathing room here because sweet goodness this show could use it.

Now that being said, there’s some outstanding stuff on here with the Styles vs. Cena match as an instant classic, the Women’s Title being very good, a great Universal Title match and really only the Tag Team Title match being without much value. The show is certainly good and the positives outweigh the negatives but unless the show is a masterpiece, fans are going to start losing interest near the end. It’s a solid show but cut out a good forty minutes to really make it great.

Ratings Comparison

American Alpha/Hype Bros/Usos vs. Breezango/Ascension/Vaudevillains

Original: C

2017 Redo: B-

Dudley Boyz vs. Neville/Sami Zayn

Original: C

2017 Redo: C-

Sheamus vs. Cesaro

Original: B-

2017 Redo: B

Chris Jericho/Kevin Owens vs. Enzo Amore/Big Cass

Original: C+

2017 Redo: C+

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Original: B

2017 Redo: B

Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Original: C

2017 Redo: D+

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Original: A

2017 Redo: A

New Day vs. Anderson and Gallows

Original: D+

2017 Redo: D

Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Original: B-

2017 Redo: D+

Natalya/Alexa Bliss/Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch/Naomi/Carmella

Original: C

2017 Redo: D

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+

2017 Redo: D+

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

2017 Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: B

2017 Redo: B-

That’s quite the drop on Ambrose vs. Ziggler and Lesnar vs. Orton. Some of them are spot on though and that’s not the biggest surprise.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2016/08/21/summerslam-2016-they-didnt/

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

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

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

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

 

NXT UK
Date: June 25, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard

Things have changed a lot since last time around but this week’s show is another Superstar Picks, which probably takes about ten minutes to put together in the first place. These things have had some very nice surprises in there and it’s great to open up the memory banks every now and then. Let’s get to it.

No opening sequence this week, likely due to various images.

Jinny goes first, with this one from NXT, June 28, 2017.

Medics come out to check on a smiling Nikki to end the show.

Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith pick their gear colors. They’re ready to dominate the division.

Nina Samuels goes with this, from Wrestlemania II.

Tag Team Titles: British Bulldogs vs. Dream Team

Rating: B. Match of the night by far here with Dynamite taking one heck of a bump to end the match. The Bulldogs were a great team and they definitely deserved the titles and they did it in a tag match that went completely against the common tag team formula. Unfortunately it felt like it was much more about a way to get Osbourne on screen, which is only going to get worse.

Ridge Holland is ready to take NXT by storm.

Next week: more Superstar Picks.

Aoife Valkyrie goes around the world for her pick, from Beast In The East.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Post match Itami and Japanese legend Tatsumi Fujinami come in to honor Balor but Owens refuses to shake hands. Balor gets a bit ovation as he celebrates.

Overall Rating: A. Yeah this worked, mainly as due to the worst match being the best match from that year’s Wrestlemania. The good thing is they could do this kind of show for months (just like they could do on 205 Live) and never repeat material, which is a good place to go for something like this. The profile shows and Hidden Gems are fine, but how many can they do? Open up the vault and have some fun. It’s not like you have anything else to offer right now.

 

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: June 24, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips

It’s title night as Keith Lee is defending the North American Title against Johnny Gargano and Finn Balor in a triple threat match. That’s big enough, but the bigger story is that the winner will be facing Adam Cole for the NXT Title in a title vs. title match in two weeks. And yes, that is the same night as the second week of AEW Fyter Fest. Let’s get to it.

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

Mauro explains the main event.

Cameron Grimes has attacked Damien Priest.

Here’s Grimes for a chat. He accuses Priest of no showing the biggest match of his career by faking an attack in the parking lot. That’s fine with Grimes though and he’ll accept a forfeit win. Cue the banged up Priest though and we’re ready to go.

Cameron Grimes vs. Damien Priest

Grimes jumps him before the bell and gets punched down with a single right hand. Priest stomps away but misses a charge in the corner. He’s fine enough for the big sitout chokeslam but the ribs are too banged up to cover. Grimes teases walking out but managed to send Priest ribs first into the apron. The Cave In on the floor rocks Priest again, though he manages to beat the count. Back in and the regular Cave In finishes Priest at 3:16.

Rating: D+. More angle advancement than match here as Priest wasn’t going to be able to do much of anything with the banged up ribs. They’re doing a good job with having Grimes rack up wins though and we could be in for something big if he is ever give a push a little higher up on the card. The talking alone will get him a long way.

Rhea Ripley wants the Women’s Title back. A slightly less disheveled Robert Stone comes in to say Aliyah has officially signed with him. He rarely gives seconds chances but he’s willing to give Rhea another shot. Rhea hits him low and throws him in a trashcan. Aliyah comes up and a match is made for later.

Back at the Catch As Thatch Can wrestling school, Timothy Thatcher shows how to torture more people.

Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas

Non-title and Raul Mendoza/Joaquin Wilde are with him. Atlas starts fast with a running crossbody before snapmaring Escobar into a chinlock. An armdrag lets Atlas hammer and stomp away as Escobar isn’t starting well. There’s a running headscissors but Atlas gets distracted by the goons, allowing Escobar to knock him to the floor.

Back from a break with Escobar grabbing the chinlock and then switching to a seated abdominal stretch. Atlas fights up with some ax handles to the chest and a standing moonsault gets two. Another distraction makes Atlas dive onto the goons, though he’s back up in time to get two off a bulldog driver. Escobar catches him on top though and the Phantom Driver finishes Atlas at 10;31.

Rating: C. This was more of a way to establish that Escobar can win matches without the mask but with the goons, which worked well enough. Atlas losing so soon was a little surprising but it would seem that either Drake Maverick or possibly Isaiah Scott is going to be the real threat to the title anyway. This got its point across without being all that great, which is fine.

Earlier today, Roderick Strong was still undergoing therapy with Dr. Kyle O’Reilly in a bad disguise to overcome his fear of car trunks. Strong thinks he’s ready and somehow finally recognizes Kyle. All four of them go outside and Strong gets in the trunk, which is immediately closed. The driver is told to pop the trunk and Strong gets out just fine. Tonight, he gets to face Dexter Lumis and he’s ready for that too. Well, maybe at least.

Malcolm Bivens and Indus Sher are ready for Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan.

Video on the North American Title match. All three of them want to be champion, but they also all want to get their hands on Cole and the NXT Title.

Video on Karrion Kross.

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai

Carter chops at the much bigger Gonzalez to start and gets powered down. Kacy comes in and it’s a double shot to the leg to send Gonzalez into the middle rope. Back in and Carter catapults Catanzaro into a Thesz press for two on Kai. A Gonzalez threat distracts Catanzaro enough for Kai to send her into the corner though and things slow down.

Cater makes a save off a powerslam and comes in to kick Kai in the face. It’s back to Catanzaro but the delay lets Gonzalez come in. Cater launches Catanzaro at Gonzalez, who powerbombs the heck out of her. Kai comes in with the reverse Rings of Saturn for the tap at 4:06.

Rating: C-. This was more a showcase for Gonzalez and that’s a good idea. She’s so much bigger than almost the entire division that she is going to stand out in a big way. That’s what she did here and while she’s fine as a bodyguard at the moment, she could be a nice enough force in the division in the future.

Post match Kai says she wants the Women’s Title.

Bronson Reed vs. Karrion Kross

Scarlett is here with Kross. Reed gets thrown around to start but pops up yelling with a kick to the head. They slug it out until Kross hits a northern lights suplex. A hard clothesline drops Reed again and it’s the Doomsday Saito into the Krossjacket to finish Reed at 2:19. Reed brought it for awhile there.

Adam Cole doesn’t care who he faces.

Mercedes Martinez is coming.

Rhea Ripley vs. Aliyah

Robert Stone is here with Aliyah. Rhea starts with the power but Aliyah snaps her throat first across the top. Aliyah’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air but she goes to the eyes for a break. Ripley powers her down again though and it’s a running basement dropkick for two. The Prism Trap goes on so Stone gets on the apron and throws in his shoe. The chase is on and Ripley rips off Stone’s jacket. Aliyah’s cheap shot fails and Riptide is good for the pin at 3:04.

Rating: D+. What else were you expecting here? I’m getting some good chuckles out of Stone being humiliated every single week as it’s certainly a different twist on the classic manager trope. It’s a funny idea and it’s not like anything is being hurt since it’s so low level. Ripley beat Aliyah in short order as she should have so it was entertaining all around. Not good mind you, but fun.

Roderick Strong vs. Dexter Lumis

Bobby Fish has to make Strong go to the ring. Strong bails to the floor to start and gets stalked around the ring by Lumis. The slow motion chase sees Strong hit the Plexiglas and that’s enough for Strong, who runs off for the countout at 1:47. They never made contact.

Post match Fish is annoyed and it’s made even worse as Lumis chokes him for a bit.

Robert Stone asks William Regal for one more match between Aliyah and Ripley. Regal agrees and makes it a handicap match, but Stone wants one more thing: if Ripley loses, she joins the Robert Stone Brand. Ripley pops in and accepts for next week.

Also next week: Mia Yim vs. Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai vs. Candice LeRae for the next shot at Kai.

Also next week: Strong vs. Lumis in a strap match.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor

Lee is defending and the winner faces Cole, title for title, in two weeks. Gargano drops to the floor at the bell so Balor launches himself at Lee to no avail. That lets Gargano come back in for a failed rollup attempt, meaning it’s Lee running both challengers over in a hurry. Back from a break with Balor’s sleeper not doing much good on Lee, as he powers Balor into the corner.

Lee northern lights suplexes both of them at the same time and then taking them to the floor. Balor catches Lee with a Sling Blade though and Gargano hits a running flip dive off the apron. A double team sends Lee into the steps and we take another break. Back again with Gargano hitting the slingshot spear for two on Balor, who is right back up with a suicide dive to keep Lee on the floor. The Final Cut gets two on Gargano back inside and Balor goes to the corner….but Lee rises up next to him.

Lee slingshot crossbodies both of them down but Balor goes for Lee’s legs. That’s fine with Lee, who puts him in an electric chair but gets caught in a sleeper. Gargano superkicks Lee down and hits Balor with the One Final Beat for two. A tornado DDT plants Lee while also kicking Balor in the chest but Lee bails to the floor. Gargano hits a suicide dive on Lee but Balor blocks a second attempt.

1916 to Gargano on the floor is broken up by Lee’s Pounce (Why?) and it’s time to go back inside. The Spirit Bomb to Balor is countered into a stomp to the chest but Gargano superkicks them both. A rollup with feet on the ropes gets two on Lee, who hits the Big Bang Catastrophe on Gargano. Balor’s Coup de Grace save hits Gargano, so Lee adds another Big Bang Catastrophe to finish Balor at 19:42.

Rating: B. Good stuff here and I wasn’t sure who was going to win until the end, which is always a nice feeling. Lee winning is the right call though as he has been on such a roll as of late that it makes sense for him to have the big showdown with Cole. Balor can come later and Gargano feels like he is always going to be around, but it’s Lee’s time at the moment.

Post match Cole comes in for the staredown with both titles being held up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Outside of the main event, the wrestling was absolutely nothing worth writing home about this week. That being said, the point of the show was to get us ready for the next two weeks (with next week being announced as the Great American Bash as we came back from a main event commercial) and it did that well enough. I’m not wild on some of the matches we’ll be seeing, but they were set up properly and that’s what matters most here. Not a great show, but it did what it was supposed to.

Results

Cameron Grimes b. Damien Priest – Cave In

Santos Escobar b. Jake Atlas – Phantom Driver

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro – Reverse Rings of Saturn to Catanzaro

Karrion Kross b. Bronson Reed – Krossjacket

Rhea Ripley b. Aliyah – Riptide

Dexter Lumis b. Roderick Strong via countout

Keith Lee b. Johnny Gargano and Finn Balor – Big Bang Catastrophe

 

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: June 17, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

After everything that happened last week, we could be in for a big night. Well actually we could be in for some big nights on July 1 and 8, as AEW’s Fyter Fest probably need some competition. That could be set up tonight, but we also have some guest stars with Bayley and Sasha Banks. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium vs. Breezango

Breezango is challenging and do their own version of the Imperium (or Emporium, under the names of Marsupial and Fabio). As you might guess, Imperium doesn’t like this and Aichner takes Breeze down with an armbar to start. Breeze is sent outside and into the Plexiglas as a WE WANT FABIO chant starts up. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Breeze fights up and sends Barthel to the floor. The hot tag brings in Fandango and the big dive to the floor takes out the champs as we go to a break.

Back with Fandango hitting a slingshot elbow onto Barthel onto Breeze’s knees, with Aichner making the save. The Last Dance gets two more but Breeze is backdropped to the floor. Barthel is sent outside with him and it’s Indus Sher coming out, only to have Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch Cutting them off. The distraction lets Aichner hit a DDT on Fandango to retain at 12:24.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how much drama there was here and that became an issue. The interference wasn’t exactly interesting either, though that might just be to the general existence of Indus Sher. They didn’t look great in their previous appearances and “we’re foreign monsters” isn’t quite interesting. Other than that though, Breezango aren’t about to take the titles and I don’t know how many people bought it. The action was pretty good though and that’s enough to easily carry this one.

Post match Malcolm Bivens yells at Indus Sher.

Velveteen Dream sees one of Dexter Lumis’ drawings of the two of them as Tag Team Champions. That is a dream though, because Dream is a solo act.

Damien Priest vs. Killian Dain

They run the ropes for a standoff to start but Priest may have hurt his back on a leapfrog attempt. Dain dropkicks him into the corner and hammers on the back. Priest is sent to the apron and bangs his back up even more, allowing Dain to clubber some more. A middle rope legdrop to the back makes it even worse and rolling belly to back suplexes cut off Priest’s comeback.

Dain hits a belly to back faceplant for two but misses a charge into the corner. Priest strikes away and a big clothesline finally puts Dain down. A running crossbody gives Dain two but Priest is back with a rollup for two of his own. Priest kicks him in the head and the Reckoning finishes Dain at 5:41.

Rating: C. Are they turning Priest face? That’s one of the weirder ideas I’ve heard in a good while but I’m oddly intrigued by it. If nothing else it is something new for him, unlike having him fight another monster. Priest might need to change some things up about his character, but at least they are trying something with him, which NXT is often willing to do when necessary.

Video on Santos Escobar, along with his designated goons.

Xia Li vs. Aliyah

Robert Stone, holding a bottle in a brown paper bag, is down near the entrance but Aliyah pulls him up to ringside to put him in her corner. Aliyah takes over with a Thesz press and right hands but Li drives her into the corner for the kicks to the ribs. A northern lights suplex gets two on Li so she scores with a jumping kick. More kicks put Aliyah in the corner and a running kick has her down. Stone gets on the apron and vomits at Li, allowing Aliyah to grab a fairly sloppy rollup for the pin at 1:51. Is anyone surprised that this kind of thing has made it to NXT? Stone continues to be amusing though so well done in a way.

Post match Stone falls off the apron and crashes to the floor.

Timothy Thatcher has his students in the ring and demonstrates a Fujiwara armbar. The students are not shown, other than the one tapping a lot. A double wristlock makes him tap even more. It’s all Thatch As Thatch Can wrestling you see.

Earlier today, Adam Cole and Bobby Fish gave Roderick Strong Undisputed Therapy to deal with Strong’s fear of Dexter Lumis. They have Strong lie down and the doctor lowers his Justin Timberlake book to reveal…..Kyle O’Reilly in glasses and a hat. Strong talks about his history of incidents with Lumis, who he can’t get out of his head.

O’Reilly, using his thick accent, suggests a Rorschach Test, with Strong seeing muscles, Lumis, and the trunk that he was locked inside. O’Reilly says that’s a breakthrough because the trunk is what’s causing everything. Strong needs to face the trunk and Cole and Fish talk him into it. They go outside and go towards the trunk…but Strong sprints away. Cole: “Aside from him running away and stuff, I think that went pretty good.” I think this is all the evidence you need that they are rapidly running out of ideas for the team. Or that O’Reilly wasn’t in the same room.

Back in the arena, Adam Cole has the hourglass from last week and says it doesn’t matter who comes for the title. Keith Lee comes in to say he’s taking the title from Cole, and then smashes the hourglass. Lee: “Tick tock.”

Here’s Cole in the ring (he’s busy tonight) to talk about how great his NXT Title reign, now at 381 days, has been. After everything he has done, he can’t believe that people think they can just throw their name out there and get a title shot. Look at Killian (yes Killian) Kross, who beat Tommaso Ciampa (Cole: “Been there, done that.”) and thinks he should be #1 contender. Then there’s Lee, who has his eyes on the NXT Title but Cole has his eyes on the North American Title. Remember that he was the first champion and of course the best. Maybe he’ll come after Lee and become Champ Champ Bay Bay.

Cue Lee but before he could say anything, it’s Johnny Gargano interrupting to say Johnny Gargano (speaking in the third person) doesn’t care about moments anymore. Now it’s all about results, which is why he wants the North American Title back. But why stop there? Why not win the NXT Title too so he and Candice LeRae can be the co-champions that they should be. Lee finds it interesting that he was more concerned about LeRae last week and LeRae said thank you.

Cue Finn Balor to say they can stop being marks for themselves and start being a mark for him. Balor is coming for both titles because Cole is a great little transitional champion. Balor points at Cole’s chest and that’s where he’s going to punch him. Cue William Regal on the screen to make Lee vs. Gargano vs. Balor next week for the North American Title match. The winner of that will move on to face Cole at July 8 in a winner takes all match. And yes, that is the second night of Fyter Fest if you were suddenly curious.

Post break, Candice LeRae interrupts a Keith Lee interview but Mia Yim shows up for the brawl.

Kayden Carter vs. Dakota Kai

Kacy Catanzaro is here with Carter and Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai as is customary. Carter knocks her to the floor to start and the chase is on but Gonzalez’s distraction lets Kai get in the scorpion kick for two. The comeback is on in a hurry with Carter hitting some right hands and rolling her up into a low superkick for two. Gonzalez gets on the apron for a distraction so Catanzaro goes after her, allowing Kai to grab a rollup for two. With that not working, it’s a reverse Rings of Saturn to make Carter tap at 2:43.

Scarlett finds the broken hourglass and looks at the sand. A foot steps on the glass.

Mercedes Martinez is coming. Cool.

Bronson Reed vs. Leon Ruff

Standing splash, backsplash, frog splash for the pin on Ruff at 24 seconds.

Post match Reed says he wants Karrion Kross for next week. Reed even helps Ruff up and carries him to the back in a nice (I think?) moment.

We cut to the parking lot where someone has flattened all of Damien Priest’s tires. Cameron Grimes pulls up, asks if Priest wants an Uber, and drives off.

Here are Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde for a chat. Escobar talks about how El Hijo del Fantasma was known as the best cruiserweight artist in the world, but no one knew who he was because of the mask. Then he came to NXT and knew that the time of El Hijo del Fantasma would come to an end. He is a leader and knew that he would lead the two of them…but here’s Drake Maverick for the brawl. Maverick gets in a few shots but the trio gets the better of him and it’s a Phantom Driver through a table.

During the break, Maverick was taken out on a stretcher.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Shotzi Blackheart/Tegan Nox vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks

Bayley and Banks, who are serious legends around here, are defending. Banks takes Nox down to start and sends her into the corner for some trash talk. A rollup gives Banks two but Nox pulls her to the ropes so Blackheart can come in for two of her own. Bayley comes in and gets rolled up as well. That doesn’t work for Bayley, who knees Blackheart in the head as we take a break.

Back with Bayley driving shoulders into Nox’s shoulders in the corner but Nox gets over to Blackheart for the tag. Everything breaks down as Blackheart cleans house and suplexes Banks for two. Banks sends her outside for the Meteora off the apron for two back inside. The Meteora in the corner missed (that looked painful) and the stereo reverse Cannonballs crush the champs.

Bayley and Banks are sent outside so Blackheart runs the corner for a big crossbody to the floor. Back in and the assisted Sliced Bread plants Bayley for two but Banks slips out of what looked to be a Doomsday Device. Blackheart’s missile dropkick gets two but Banks pulls her into the Bank Statement. Blackheart grabs Cattle Mutilation of all things so Bayley grabs a chair, with the distraction letting Bayley flip the hold over. Now the Bank Statement makes Blackheart tap at 11:39.

Rating: B-. The action was good but there wasn’t exactly a ton of drama about who was leaving with the titles. Given that they are already advertising the IIconics getting a shot on Raw, the doubt wasn’t strong here. Nox and Blackheart were fine as challengers of the week but that’s about as far as they were going to go int his situation.

Post match the celebration is on but here’s Io Shirai to take out both Banks and Bayley, who bail so Shirai can moonsault into a pose. A long staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show here with the big announcement of the title matches being the focal point throughout. The main event felt like a big deal because of the star power, but it’s not like Nox and Blackheart were some red hot team. Other than that they set some stuff up for the future, which is a rather important role that needs to be filled at some point. This wasn’t the big show, but rather the show getting to the big show and that’s not a bad thing.

Results

Imperium b. Breezango – DDT to Fandango

Damien Priest b. Killian Dain – Reckoning

Aliyah b. Xia Li – Rollup

Bronson Reed b. Leon Ruff – Frog splash

Bayley/Sasha Banks b. Tegan Nox/Shotzi Blackheart – Bank Statement to Blackheart

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: June 10, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

We’re done with Takeover: In Your House and the only major change was Io Shirai winning the Women’s Title. Other than that, Adam Cole is still NXT Champion and needs a new challenger. Tonight he faces Dexter Lumis in a match that has me worried. Finn Balor and Keith Lee would seem to be the next big challengers so let’s get to it.

Here’s Takeover if you need a recap.

Takeover recap.

Here’s the Undisputed Era for a chat. Adam Cole talks about how he’s still champion because while Velveteen Dream is a great challenger, but he’s not Adam Cole bay-bay. As for what’s next, what difference does it make? The rest of the team yells about Lumis being weird and stuffing them in a trunk (Strong: “YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE BEING STUFFED IN TRUNKS!”). Strong keeps thinking he seems Lumis in the crowd and Cole is tired of hearing about it. Cole has this tonight, so don’t worry about Lumis. As the team is leaving, Lumis pops up and Strong panics.

Post break, the Era runs into Keith Lee and Mia Yim. Lee likes the look of the NXT Title but Cole says in his dreams.

Keith Lee/Mia Yim vs. Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae

Back with Yim being knocked into the corner, only to have Mia hit Soul Food. The hot tag brings in Lee to beat up Gargano, including Grizzly Magnum. A crazy high toss sends Gargano flying so LeRae tags herself in. That’s fine with Lee, who carries both of them at once. LeRae’s DDT is blocked with ease so Gargano kicks him in the head to make the DDT work. Yim is back in with a kick to the face and a dragon suplex drops Candice again.

Gargano makes the save so Mia hammers on him as well, including a German suplex. Candice hits Soul Food on Mia though and a Lionsault gets two. Gargano comes back in but Mia low bridges him to the floor, allowing her to kick at Candice. Lee Pounces Gargano right into Mia though, allowing Gargano to hit the slingshot suplex, right onto LeRae. Lee immediately checks on her and picks her up, but Gargano rolls him up for the pin at 10:48, sending Candice flying in the process.

Rating: C+. There’s your setup for the rematch as Gargano looks even more evil than usual. That’s the kind of thing you have to do to make him a heel and it worked well here. It was a good match with the man vs. woman stuff not seeming contrived or ridiculous, which is one of the biggest dangers of trying something like that.

We look at Finn Balor beating Damian Priest at Takeover.

Priest wouldn’t change a thing and wanted the match for a reason. The match was the next step in Priest’s name living forever and he accomplished his progress.

Cameron Grimes is ready for Finn Balor tonight but doesn’t think much of Priest’s loss. Priest comes up and decks Grimes with a forearm to the jaw.

Video on Io Shirai winning the Women’s Title, with Asuka and Shinsuke Nakamura being excited for her.

Indus Sher vs. Mike Reed/Mikey Delbrey

Reed gets kicked in the face to start and a running splash in the corner makes it worse. A side slam/middle rope legdrop combination (with the leg possibly not coming close) finishes Reed at 1:05. Total squash.

Cameron Grimes is claiming a broken jaw and doesn’t think he can wrestle tonight. William Regal wants to hear it from Grimes himself.

Post break Grimes is hitting on some women and doesn’t know that Regal is watching from a tablet. Grimes instantly remembers his injury so Regal says the match is on.

Video on Breezango, who need to take things more seriously. It’s not that they can’t go in the ring, because Fandango debuted at Wrestlemania and won (against someone not worthy of naming). They’re going to be entertaining but take things seriously, starting next week against Imperium for the Tag Team Titles.

We look at Karrion Kross beating Tommaso Ciampa in pretty dominant fashion.

Ciampa stayed late after Takeover was over but didn’t have anything to say.

Rhea Ripley isn’t happy with her loss but here’s the still disheveled Robert Stone to offer a partnership. Ripley doesn’t seem impressed but he thinks it’s a maybe. She hits him low and slams him onto a crate. I’m curious where the Stone deal is going, though it’s not likely to mean much.

Finn Balor vs. Cameron Grimes

Grimes hides in the corner to start before getting his arm caught in a hammerlock. Some uppercuts knock Balor to the ropes but he’s right back with an elbow to the face. Balor kicks him down and we hit the chinlock to slow things down. Back up and some running chops in the corner rock Grimes again and the fans seem to approve. Grimes takes him down by the leg but needs to stop for a rub of his sore chest.

Balor rolls through a sunset flip into a basement dropkick though and they head outside. That’s fine with Balor, who can hit a running chop and a whip into the barricade. Back in and Grimes hits a heck of a clothesline to set up his own chinlock, which seems a bit more appropriate. Grimes runs him over again and we take a break.

We come back with Grimes shouting a lot until Balor kicks him out of the corner. There’s the Sling Blade into the John Woo dropkick but the Coup de Grace misses. Grimes is back with a forearm to the face and 1916 is countered into a small package for two. A spinning slam gives Grimes two but Balor avoids a charge and hits the reverse 1916 for two more. The Coup de Grace into the 1916 finishes Grimes at 12:37.

Rating: B-. These guys beat each other up and they have done a good job of making Grimes into someone with some value. At the same time though, Balor hasn’t looked like this in a long time. He’s coming off as a top star and someone who could beat anyone at the moment. Keep this up and show what Balor really can do as a top star.

Post match Balor calls out Keith Lee for a North American Title match.

Dakota Kai vs. Kacy Catanzaro

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai. Kacy takes her down in a hurry for a slingshot hilo and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Catanzaro snapping off a hurricanrana. Back in and a slingshot kick takes Kai down again. This time though, Kai sends her face first into the buckle but charges into a sunset flip for two. Kai is back with the scorpion kick into the GTK for the pin at 2:29. This could have been worse as Kacy is someone who has all kinds of positives but she needs a lot more experience. Kai is getting a lot better as a heel too and I like seeing her beat people up.

Post match the beating continues but Kayden Carter runs out for the save. Gonzalez takes Carter out though and the villains stand tall.

Timothy Thatcher is training some unseen wrestlers and promises to make it barbaric and violent. They will begin next week after their legal clearances are in.

Here’s El Hijo del Fantasma for a chat but before he can say much, here’s Drake Maverick to interrupt. Maverick wants to say congratulations because Fantasma is a phenomenal competitor. People have been talking about Drake’s situation but it should be about Fantasma, who debuted in this tournament and then won it. However, Maverick has been curious what would have happened had his head been clear last week (though he said that it was last week) and now he knows he can beat Fantasma.

The champ is down but here are the masked men from last week….and Fantasma headbutts Drake. The other two come in for the big beatdown, with the masked men unmasking as Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Fantasma gives Drake the Phantom Driver and unmasks himself, saying his name is Santos Escobar. Wilde and Mendoza hit stereo top rope splashes and the trio poses.

The Undisputed Era is in their dressing room and Strong finds a drawing from Lumis. Panic ensues but Cole says he’s got this. Cole and Fish leave and Strong sees Lumis looking through the window.

Next week, Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot. Also, Imperium defends against Breezango.

Dexter Lumis vs. Adam Cole

Non-title and Strong/Fish are here with Cole. Lumis takes him into the corner to start so Cole stomps away. That goes nowhere and Lumis kicks away without much trouble. Cole bails to the floor and comes back in to stomp away. Lumis powers him up and throws him away (that looked good), with Cole bailing to the apron. This time Cole kicks him down and we take a break.

Back with Cole dropping him for two and hammering away at Lumis’ head. Lumis is starting to get annoyed so Cole drops him with a neckbreaker. This time Lumis fights up with a bulldog into a slingshot suplex for two. Lumis’ German suplex gets two but Cole snaps off a superkick for two more.

There’s a spinebuster to plant Cole but he sends Lumis to the floor. Lumis crawls underneath the ring though and grabs another spinebuster for another two. The Swanton hits knees but Lumis is right back with the head and arm choke. Fish offers a distraction though and Strong makes the save to overcome his fear. The Last Shot finishes Lumis at 12:20.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a bad match but there is no reason to be interested in Lumis. Other than he’s creepy and draws pictures, what else is there to know about him? This shouldn’t be anything big and thankfully it seemed to be a one off match against Cole. It’s fine to do something with him on a lower level, but Cole has bigger opponents to face.

Post match Cole talks trash but Lumis pulls him into the choke. The rest of the team comes in, drawing in Velveteen Dream for the save. Cole is left alone in the ring….and there go most of the lights. Cue Scarlet to put an hourglass on the apron. Fans: “TICK TOCK!” Scarlet leaves and Cole is worried to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a good fallout show from Takeover and you can see a lot of where things are going from here. I’m not sure how that is going to work as we could be months away from another Takeover, but NXT knows how to set up some big TV shows in advance. This week was about setting up for the future in a hurry and that isn’t a bad idea in this situation.

Results

Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae b. Mia Yim/Keith Lee – Rollup to Lee

Indus Sher b. Mike Reed/Mikey Delbrey – Side slam/middle rope legdrop combination to Reed

Finn Balor b. Cameron Grimes – 1916

Dakota Kai b. Kacy Catanzaro – GTK

Adam Cole b. Dexter Lumis – Last Shot

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

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

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

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

Takeover: In Your House
Date: June 7, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips

I’m almost scared for this one, as I don’t know if NXT can pull off the same magic without the fans. It doesn’t help that the show has been a lot weaker since it moved to two hours, but you never bet against Takeover because the show has a pretty outstanding record. Tonight’s main event seems to be another cinematic match between NXT Champion Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream so let’s get to it.

The opening video is a pure nostalgia trip, with an NXT version of the old “revolutionary force in sports entertainment” intro, Todd Pettengill running down the card, and one lucky winner…..not winning a house tonight. New Generation fans (all 14 or so of them) will have a good time with that one.

An altered version of the old house set is here too, with Code Orange performing the opening song.

Shotzi Blackheart/Tegan Nox/Mia Yim vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez/Candice LeRae

LeRae tags Gonzalez in to hide from Yim, who is game to go after Gonzalez instead. Kai comes in so Mia brings in Nox for the revenge. Nox slugs away in the corner and hands it off to Blackheart for some kicks to the face. Kai gets in her own kick for two though and it’s back to LeRae, who misses the backsplash. Gonzalez kicks LeRae by mistake and it’s time to go outside for the parade of dives.

Back in and Shotzi runs LeRae over for two, followed by Cattle Mutilation. Kai makes the save and then distracts the referee so Gonzalez can get in her own clothesline. It’s Shotzi staying in trouble but Gonzalez misses a running boot in the corner. Mia gets the hot tag and comes in to clean house until a double knockdown puts her and LeRae down. Nox comes in to beat on Gonzalez, who comes back with a powerbomb for two. Yim and LeRae fight to the floor and then into the garage, leaving us two on two. Kai kicks Gonzalez by mistake and a double dropkick puts Gonzalez on the floor. The Shiniest Wizard finishes Kai at 9:52.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced and exciting opener and that’s all you could expect from something like this. Nox is a star in the making, but I’m not sure how much faith you can put in someone with her history of injuries. I like having the two feuds in one match here and Nox vs. Kai feels like it could have some legs if they want to keep it going.

Promotional consideration paid for by the following, with William Regal as Alfred Hayes: WWE Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches.

We recap Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor. Priest wanted to make a name for himself and attacked Balor, who wasn’t going to stand for that. It’s time for a showdown.

Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest

Balor dropkicks him in the corner before the bell and goes after the knee to take the big man down. They head outside with Balor going shoulder first into the steps and then back first onto the apron. The forearms don’t do much for Balor as Priest plants him with a lifting Downward Spiral. Priest stomps Balor down in the corner for one, meaning it’s off to the chinlock.

Balor fights up and sends him to the apron for the dropkick into the barricade. Some hard stomps against the barricade keep Priest in trouble but Priest is back in with a clothesline to cut off the dive. A series of strikes has Balor in trouble so he hits a fast Pele kick for two. Priest knocks him back to the floor and hits a Razor’s Edge onto the apron for two of his own. Back in and Priest hits some running elbows in the corner but Balor is back with the Sling Blade to break up the trio.

Priest kicks him in the face again, only to have Balor counter again. The Coup de Grace is countered into a sitout chokeslam for two and Priest tells the referee he’s not stopping this. A Razor’s Edge off the apron onto the steps is broken up so Balor forearms him off the apron and onto the steps instead. Back in and the top rope double stomp to the back sets up the Coup de Grace finishes Priest at 12:37.

Rating: B. This is one where the NXT wrestlers at ringside helped carry things as they made it feel more energized. These two started fast and didn’t really stop until the ending, which is a good way to do a match like this. Balor almost has to move on to the title picture now, or at least into contention for it. What else is there for him to do at the moment?

And now, here’s Adam Cole for ICO-PRO.

We recap Johnny Gargano vs. Keith Lee for the North American Title. Gargano and Candice LeRae aren’t happy with how they’ve been treated around here so it’s time to do things their way. This includes defeating Lee to become North American Champion, so Lee and Mia Yim mocked their big proclamation. Gargano attacked Lee’s eyes with his car key and then crushed Lee’s hands to even the odds a bit coming into this one.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano is challenging and has the key in his trunks. Lee has a Black Lives Matter vest and shoves Gargano around a few times to start. The spinning kick to the face misses and Gargano is terrified. A quick chase lets Gargano get in a dropkick through the ropes, but the suicide dive is pulled out of the air. Gargano can’t send the bad hand into the steps but winds up running towards the set door.

Since that’s not a real door, Lee catches up to him for the Grizzly Magnum chop. They head back inside with Gargano stomping on the hand so Lee knocks him away for a short breather. Gargano is right back with left hands in the corner before shoving Lee’s face against the buckle.

The band hand is bent around the turnbuckle before cranking on the arm even more. The slingshot spear is cut off by an enziguri to give Lee two but he can’t hit a powerbomb. Gargano’s clotheslines don’t work so Lee shows him how it’s done for two more. Lee wants to see Gargano’s heart and loads up another powerbomb.

This time Gargano kicks him in the head and rolls into a sunset flip for two more. Gargano knocks him outside and it’s a suicide tornado DDT to knock Lee silly on the floor. The count is broken up at nine so Lee Pounces Gargano through the Plexiglas. Lee pulls what used to be Gargano back in but here’s Candice for a distraction.

Mia Yim comes out to take care of her but the distraction lets Gargano use the key on Lee’s eye. There’s the slingshot DDT for two on Lee, followed by a low superkick for the same. Gargano hits two more of them for the same but talks too much trash, allowing Lee to hit the Spirit Bomb. The Big Bang Catastrophe retains the title at 20:38.

Rating: B. Another hard hitting, back and forth match here with Gargano taking a surprising loss so soon after starting his big heel turn. That being said, I’m not sure what in the world is left for Lee. Other than going title for title with Adam Cole, who else is left to come after him at the moment?

We recap Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream. Cole has been champion for a year but Dream had him beaten until the Undisputed Era interfered. Tonight, they’re fighting in a Backlot Brawl, meaning in a ring behind the building with fans in cars around the ring.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream

Anything goes, Cole is defending and drives up to the ring in a really big truck, while Dream is in a Lamborghini and dressed as Negan from Walking Dead (complete with Lucille the bat). Dream gets in some early near falls but Cole catches him with a kick to the face. Cole grabs the belt and gets in another car but Dream is there to beat on it with the bat.

They slug it out again and here’s an Uber, with the two of them literally fighting through it. The Uber pulls away and they fight up what looks like the street in front of an apartment building. Cole gets away and finds a fire extinguisher to blind Dream. Some uppercuts knock Dream back to ringside and Cole forearms him up against a truck. Dream manages to post him but Cole rolls away and asks for time out.

A dive off the top is superkicked out of the air to put Dream down again. Dream does the same to Cole though and the champ is out on the ground. Cole gets planted onto the hood of a car and Dream busts out a ladder. The Purple Rainmaker from the ladder is loaded up but here’s the rest of the Undisputed Era in another car with the horn offering a distraction. Dream is fine enough to knock Cole off the ladder and into the windshield though, drawing some blood from Cole’s arm.

The Era beats Dream down in a hurry and that means it’s time to fill the ring with chairs. Dexter Lumis pops out from under the ring though and beats up the Era, even throwing them in the trunk of a car and driving off. Dream is down on the pile of chairs so Cole pulls himself up, only to have the Panama Sunrise countered into a Dream Valley Driver for two. Dream says it’s Dream Over so Cole hits him low and hits the Panama Sunrise onto the chairs to retain at 14:58.

Rating: B. This was one of the more enjoyable cinematic matches and some of that might have had to do with commentary. It helped keep the match a little more grounded and that’s what it needed. This almost has to be it for Dream, because what else is there of him to do down here if he isn’t winning the title?

DX is having issues answering internet questions.

We recap Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa. Kross debuted and attacked Ciampa so it’s time for his first real test.

Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Kross starts fast and sends Ciampa down in a hurry. Ciampa is back up with the Willow’s Bell attempt. Which is countered for a kick to the face. They head outside with Kross dropping him back first onto the apron and there’s a hard suplex back inside. Kross hits a big clothesline and loads up a chokeslam but Ciampa slugs away to knock him to the floor. Now Willow’s Bell can connect for two but the Fairy Tale Ending is countered into an F5. The Krossjacket goes on and Ciampa is out at 6:12.

Rating: C. I thought he would win but I didn’t think he would do it like that. This was just a step ahead of a squash and that is the kind of major debut that Kross needed. Kross comes off like a total monster and giving him that kind of a finisher could make him quite someone to be reckoned with around here. I like the presentation and with someone like Kross, that’s what matters.

A disheveled Robert Stone is here.

We recap Charlotte vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s Title. Charlotte beat Ripley to win the title at Wrestlemania and then Shirai won a ladder match to become #1 contender. Shirai beat Charlotte via DQ so the triple threat title match was set.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley

Charlotte is defending and bails to the floor to start. Back in and Charlotte takes them both down while shouting about how this is her house and they are just guests. Ripley fights up but gets sent hard outside, with Charlotte sending her even harder into the barricade. Shirai grabs a hurricanrana off the apron to take Charlotte down but she’s back up to run both challengers over.

Charlotte and Shirai are back inside with the former grabbing the Boston crab until Ripley makes the save. Shirai cuts Ripley off though and adds a 619 to Charlotte. A double stomp to Charlotte’s ribs keeps her down but Rhea is up to drop Shirai and put everyone on the mat for a bit. Charlotte gets in a double spear for the double knockdown but the moonsault hits Ripley’s knees.

Shirai escapes the Riptide and grabs the Crossface on Charlotte, meaning Ripley has to make another save. That’s fine with Shirai, who hits a springboard missile dropkick on Ripley but Charlotte grabs Natural Selection for two more. Shirai knocks Charlotte outside and hits the big suicide dive onto Ripley. Charlotte is back up to take Shirai down and the brawl with Charlotte starts going around the arena. Naturally, Shirai uses the distraction to get up to the top of the house set and dive onto the other two for a huge crash.

Charlotte stays down on the floor but Ripley can’t superplex Shirai. They switch places as Charlotte gets back in and pulls Shirai down. Ripley is ready for her though and it’s a super Riptide to Charlotte for two with Shirai making the save. The standing Texas Cloverleaf has Shirai in trouble until Charlotte makes the save with the kendo stick. The spear sets up the Figure Eight on Ripley but Shirai moonsaults onto Ripley (mostly onto her head) for the pin and the title at 17:40.

Rating: B+. Other than being terrified for how Shirai landed on Ripley, this was a heck of a fight with all three going hard from bell to bell with one save after another. Shirai winning was a surprise but one that I can take as it should slow down the amount of Charlotte appearances. It’s a rather good main event though and that’s what mattered, with Ripley being able to get another shot later on. Charlotte needs to take a few weeks off, but I doubt that’s what she winds up doing.

Confetti and streamers end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah I’d say that worked, as Takeover manages to pull off another one. The worst match of the night was the short Kross vs. Ciampa match and even that was easy enough to watch. They need some fresh blood at the top of the card though and I think Lee vs. Balor is going to be the match to determine that spot. The action was very good here though, and a lot of that was due to the wrestlers acting as the crowd. They really did add something and if the rest of the shows could duplicate it, we would be in a much better place from week to week. Very good show here, though it didn’t have the blow away classic.

Results

Shotzi Blackheart/Tegan Nox/Mia Yim b. Candice LeRae/Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez – Shiniest Wizard to Kai

Finn Balor b. Damian Priest – Coup de Grace

Keith Lee b. Johnny Gargano – Big Bang Catastrophe

Adam Cole b. Velveteen Dream – Panama Sunrise onto a pile of chairs

Karrion Kross b. Tommaso Ciampa – Krossjacket choke

Io Shirai b. Rhea Ripley and Charlotte – Moonsault to Ripley

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

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

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

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

NXT UK
Date: May 28, 2020
Commentators: Andy Shepard, Tom Phillips
Host: Andy Shepard

It’s another Hidden Gems episode, meaning we have more dark matches from various NXT UK TV tapings. I had a good time with this last time around and hopefully that means we could still be in for some fun here. You never know what you might get out of these but their track record isn’t half bad. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Andy tells us what to expect.

From Coventry, England, March 7, 2020.

Finn Balor vs. Kenny Williams

Balor pulls him down into an early headlock but Williams jawbreaks his way to freedom. Williams takes him into an armbar and drops a leg on the arm, followed by a running knee to the chest. That’s not cool with Balor, who is back up to stomp away at the chest for two. Some running chops in the corner set up another kick to the chest for two more but the fans get behind Williams again.

Balor promises to kill Walter and the delay lets Williams get in some forearms. A rebound lariat gives Williams two and he sends Balor to the floor for the suicide dive. Balor is right back with the Eye of the Hurricane into the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace sets up 1916 to finish Williams at 8:10.

Rating: C. This was a nice enough match with Balor having to break a bit of a sweat against someone who wasn’t all that much of a challenge. Having him call out Walter the entire time made it even better as Balor was focused on Walter, even if the masses weren’t going to be seeing this. Not a great match, but it worked well enough.

From Brentwood, England, October 5, 2019.

Rhea Ripley vs. Nina Samuels

Samuels can’t spin out of a top wristlock to start and a hiptoss is blocked as well. Rhea puts her on top and throws her down for daring to jump. Back up and Samuels kicks away and sends Rhea face first into the middle buckle for two. We hit the crossarm choke for a bit but Rhea is right back up with a basement dropkick for two more. Not that it matters as Riptide finishes Samuels at 4:51.

Rating: D+. This was Ripley’s last match in NXT UK and it makes sense to send her out with a fairly dominant win. Ripley was a much bigger star than Samuels could ever hope to be so just having Ripley on the show was a good idea. Let the fans feel like they got to see something special and send them home happy.

From Derby, England, June 16, 2019.

Killian Dain vs. Travis Banks

The much bigger Dain sends him into the corner but Banks starts kicking away. That just causes Dain to say bring it so Banks kicks him down and fires off some YES Kicks to the chest. Dain throws him down and limps around before sending Banks hard into the corner. Running knees to the chest give Dain two and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Banks’ back.

A seated abdominal stretch keeps Banks in trouble until he fights up with more kicks to the leg. The running dropkick in the corner connects to put Dain on the floor and there’s the suicide dive. A top rope double stomp gets two back inside but the Slice of Heaven misses. Dain gives him a fireman’s carry slam though and the Vader Bomb finishes Banks at 8:28.

Rating: C+. I had a good time with this as it was a fine power vs. speed/striking match. Banks continues to be someone with a lot of potential who never has gotten anywhere for some reason. Dain is fine for a midcard monster, but I’m not sure if he’s ever going to break through to the main event level. Still though, good little match here.

From Plymouth, England, July 19, 2019.

Here are the Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK Tag Team Champions) and Joseph Conners for a chat. Zack Gibson isn’t pleased with the SHOES OFF chant because he can see the webbed feet from here. After a break (and a Gallus video), Conners says he wants the best the world has to offer. Cue the Street Profits (NXT Tag Team Champions) to tell Drake to shut up. They’ve got a friend with them tonight too.

Street Profits/Matt Riddle vs. Grizzled Young Veterans/Joseph Conners

After an exchange of holding up titles, Riddle and Conners start things off but it’s Drake coming in before anything happens. Riddle grapples him down without much effort and then takes it to the mat with a headlock takeover. The kick to the chest misses so Riddle goes with the rolling gutwrench suplexes. Gibson comes in and is quickly pulled into a cross armbreaker so it’s right back to Drake, whose ankle is locked in a hurry. It’s off to Dawkins, who holds up both Veterans on the ropes so Ford (still in the hoodie) can jump onto their backs.

The hoodie comes off and Ford chops Drake so hard that he shivers a bit himself. A cheap shot sends Ford to the floor though and it’s the backbreaker/slingshot forearm to keep him in trouble. Back in and the stomping continues, followed by the chinlock from Gibson. That’s so thrilling that we go split screen for a highlight package on the match and Drake comes in for a neck crank. Drake’s snap suplex gets two and it’s off to another chinlock.

Gibson continues the chinlock parade but the fans get behind Ford to bring him back up. I mean it doesn’t actually get him to his feet, but they are at least cheering for it. Drake can’t get another chinlock as Ford rolls over for the tag to Dawkins for the house cleaning, followed by a Doomsday knee to the chest from Riddle. Everything breaks down and the Veterans hit a superkick/neckbreaker combination on Ford.

Everyone is down and it’s a double tag to bring in Ford and Drake. Ford superkicks him out of the air and small packages Gibson for two. A double dropkick takes down Gibson and Conners, who tagged himself in on the way. The Cash Out into the Bro Derek finishes Conners at 13:39.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of Riddle I like: the calm, cool, laid back version who can suddenly go beast mode with the suplexes and submissions. The Profits continue to have more charisma than they know what to do with and the fans absolutely hate the Veterans. Entertaining match here with the result never in any serious doubt.

Overall Rating: B-. This is how you do a Hidden Gems show, with a collection of entertaining matches with low stakes. It’s very much a sit back and enjoy some fun wrestling and that’s what they did here. I liked this more than I was expecting to and if you need something really easy to watch, this is a great choice.

Results

Finn Balor b. Kenny Williams – 1916

Rhea Ripley b. Nina Samuels – Riptide

Killian Dain b. Travis Banks – Vader Bomb

Matt Riddle/Street Profits b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Joseph Conners – Bro Derek to Conners

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

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

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

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