Main Event
Date: March 25, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Byron Saxton

You can feel how much bigger things are getting around here every single week and that is always great. I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make for Main Event because of the revolving door principle that this show lives by, but maybe they will throw in at least a minute change up. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak

Tozawa: “NINJA POWER!” Gulak kicks him in the ribs for his efforts but is knocked off the apron in a hurry. That means a running flip dive off the apron to take Gulak down again and a Tozawa nails a kick for two back inside. Gulak gets in his own kick but Tozawa strikes away at his face. Another takedown sets up a seated abdominal stretch to make Tozawa scream a lot, followed by a chinlock for the same. Tozawa breaks that up in a hurry and hits a pop up hurricanrana. A Shining Wizard sets up the top rope elbow to the face for two. The Octopus goes on but Gulak spins out, setting up the Cyclone Crash for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C. Gulak continues to be one of the true hidden gems in WWE as he can have a perfectly watchable match against anyone. Tozawa is better than most but didn’t exactly shine in this one, which is kind of a shame. I could go for more of both of them, but it isn’t like this was the right place for a breakout performance.

From Raw.

Asuka vs. Peyton Royce

Non-title and this is the result of Royce venting on Raw Talk. Asuka goes for the arm to start but Royce reverses into a bridging leglock. That’s broken up with a kick to the ribs and Royce is sent to the apron for the spinning backfist. Royce avoids a running hip attack and hits a spinning kick to the back as we take a break.

Back with Asuka kicking her down again but getting caught in a Gory Stretch, with Royce dropping to her knees for two. A Codebreaker gives Asuka her own two but Royce shoves her off the top. Royce’s top rope double stomp to the back gets two but Asuka pulls her into the Asuka Lock for the tap at 11:12.

Rating: C+. Royce looked good here and there are far worse ideas than turning her into a more serious challenger. Asuka has cleared out the division and there is little reason to not give someone new a chance. I know Rhea Ripley is going to be sent to the top of the card but Royce as a potential future star could work rather well.

Post match here’s the debuting Rhea Ripley, instantly looking like a total star. Ripley wastes no time and challenges Asuka for the title at Wrestlemania. Asuka yells in Japanese but then says that Ripley is not ready for Asuka, meaning the match is on.

We see the Hurt Business attacking Sheamus on Raw, which gave Drew McIntyre an idea.

From Raw.

Drew McIntyre vs. Hurt Business

If Drew wins, Shelton and Cedric are banned from ringside at Wrestlemania. Drew throws Shelton around to start and hits an early suplex, followed by a heck of a backdrop to Alexander. We settle down to Drew stomping on Shelton’s hand but Alexander pulls Shelton to the floor to avoid the threat of the Claymore. McIntyre posts Shelton instead but a distraction lets Shelton knee him out to the floor.

Alexander hits a big flip dive and sends McIntyre into the barricade. We take a break and come back with McIntyre still in trouble with Shelton grabbing a chinlock. McIntyre fights up for the Dragon Whip, earning himself a Glasgow Kiss. Back up and McIntyre starts cleaning house, including the Claymore to both of them to finish Alexander at 13:06.

Rating: C. This was only there for the sake of giving Drew some more momentum on the way to Wrestlemania. Drew getting rid of the rest of the team works fine as they only need to have Lashley vs. McIntyre with MVP involved too. Not a bad match or anything, but the wrestling wasn’t the point here.

Post break, MVP yells at the team and Lashley says he is going to find someone who can get this done. Lashley goes up to the usual gang of losers and says anyone who takes McIntyre out before Wrestlemania will get a shot. MVP seems fine with this.

Wrestlemania rundown, including clips from Raw of Miz challenging Bad Bunny and the challenge being accepted.

Gran Metalik vs. Angel Garza

Lince Dorado is here with Metalik. Garza works on the arm to start but gets reversed into an armbar to change things up. That doesn’t go very far so Metalik hits a handspring elbow to send Garza outside instead. We take a break and come back with Garza hitting a pop up knee and TAKING OFF HIS PANTS.

A running kick to the face drops Metalik again and we hit the double arm crank. That’s broken up with a flying mare and a reverse Sling Blade to drop Garza. The rope walk dropkick gets two on Garza but he’s right back with a belly to back slam for two. Metalik hits a springboard back elbow for two of his own so Garza hits him in the face. The Wing Clipper finishes Metalik at 10:40.

Rating: C+. Not a bad match here, which shouldn’t be surprising given that Garza is one of the most talented wrestlers to fly under WWE’s radar. The ending gave me a bit of a chuckle as Garza shrugged off Metalik’s offense and just finished him off with ease. Nothing great here, but they did their thing rather well.

We look at Edge costing Daniel Bryan the Universal Title at Fastlane.

Recap of Randy Orton burning the Fiend alive and assorted magical curse issues that followed, including Alexa Bliss bringing the Fiend back at Fastlane.

From Raw.

Here is Randy Orton, with a bag, to summon the Fiend. Orton talks about watching the Fiend burn alive but last night was some kind of an abomination. Tonight, he is getting rid of Alexa Bliss and the Fiend once and for all. Cue Bliss, with a Jack in the box, which reveals something close to the Fiend inside.

Cue the real Fiend, so Orton opens the bag and pulls out a can of gasoline. Orton throws it on him and pulls out a match but goes with the RKO instead of burning Fiend up. Alexa gets in for a distraction so Orton stares at her as Fiend stands up. The Mandible Claw sets up Sister Abigail to knock Randy silly and Fiend points at the Wrestlemania sign. Fire goes off around the sign and I’m almost scared of what is coming there. The match is confirmed to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Just another Main Event, though it was nice to see some decent original stuff. That is one of the better things WWE can brag about: they have the talent to allow them to do just about anything they want to do, including having this show to bring in some international money. The recaps don’t mean anything, but at least you have a way to get fans into the show in a hurry.

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NXT
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s a huge night this week with the absolutely stacked New Year’s Evil card. The main event is Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kyle O’Reilly in a Takeover rematch, which should be a heck of a fight. Other than that, we have a hoss fight between Karrion Kross and Damian Priest, plus the Cruiserweight Title on the line. Let’s get to it.

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

Dexter Lumis, our host for the evening, is in the empty arena to start things off. He goes to the control and hits some buttons to mess with the lights before turning everything on. What a great way to draw in viewers! A guy pushing buttons in silence!

Damian Priest vs. Karrion Kross

Scarlett is here with Kross and this is a grudge match after Kross returned and Priest said he’s in if Kross wants a fight. They go with the hard lockup to start and fight out to the floor without breaking it up. Back in and Priest kicks him into the head and starts slugging away but Kross knocks him down as well. A running clothesline in the corner has Priest in trouble again and the t-bone suplex gets two.

We hit the double arm crank for a bit before they go out to the floor. Priest kicks the steps out of his hands and slugs away back inside, even managing to kick Kross down. A spinning suplex gets two on Kross and it’s time to crank on the arm, including a reverse cross armbreaker. They trade kicks to the head until Priest hits a springboard flip dive to take him down again.

That just earns him a running clothesline for two and Priest is put on the top. The super Doomsday Saito is broken up though and a Razor’s Edge out of the corner gets two. Kross breaks up the chokeslam onto the apron so Priest knocks him to the floor for the big dive. Back in and a kick to the face sets up South of Heaven for two on Kross.

That doesn’t really keep him down as it’s right back up for a powerbomb to Priest for two more. It’s back to the floor with Kross powerslamming him onto the steps to mess with the ribs even more. Back in and Priest tells him to bring it, earning himself the Doomsday Saito and a running forearm to the back of the head for the pin at 15:29.

Rating: B. They gave us what they advertised here by having two big, strong people beat each other up for fifteen minutes. Priest losing is fine as Kross seems destined for the title scene and it’s not like losing to a former NXT Champion is going to hurt him. Good opener here, with Priest looking good on his way down and Kross looking even better.

The Undisputed Era is ready for their first round Dusty Classic match against Breezango. They may be entertaining but the Undisputed Era is that much better.

Cruiserweight Title: Gran Metalik vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar, with Legado del Fantasma, is defending and Lince Dorado is here with Metalik. They start fast with Metalik snapping off a hurricanrana out to the floor. Back in and a double springboard hurricanrana takes Escobar down again, setting up the big dive to the floor. Escobar kicks him in the head but a rope walk hurricanrana is mostly botched and they fall to the floor.

Back from a break with Escobar dropping him ribs first onto the turnbuckle. The surfboard goes on for a bit, followed by a clothesline for two. Metalik gets in a superkick into a reverse Sling Blade to send Escobar outside again. That means another step up flip dive, followed by a top rope splash for two back inside.

Escobar knees him out of the air though and now it’s Metalik getting crushed by a dive for a change. Back in again and Escobar almost knocks the mask off but Dorado has to take out the rest of Legado. Metalik’s next hurricanrana gets two but the top rope elbow misses. The Phantom Driver retains the title at 12:26.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much drama here and that’s a good thing, as Escobar isn’t going to drop the title to someone coming down from Raw for a two match run. Metalik wasn’t great here either as some of his stuff wasn’t hitting and he used that hurricanrana quite a few times. Not bad, but it wasn’t quite memorable.

Mercedes Martinez doesn’t care that Io Shirai is the Competitor of the Year. She wants the Women’s Title and she’s waiting on the champ.

Xia Li vs. Katrina Cortez

This is Li’s, with a masked man, return after being trapped in a kung fu torture movie for a few weeks. Li kicks her down to start and hits some knees to the ribs. Cortez’s strikes are shrugged off and a big kick to the face finishes for Li at 1:27. Li, especially the finish, looked awesome here.

William Regal regrets to inform us that Timothy Thatcher is injured, meaning the Fight Pit against Tommaso Ciampa isn’t happening. The match will happen when Thatcher is healthy.

We get a special look at Bronson Reed, who promises a colossal 2021 and thinks Rhea Ripley wins tonight.

Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Last Woman Standing. Ripley dropkicks her into the corner to start and hammers away with right hands to the head. Back up and Gonzalez blasts her with a clothesline, followed by the fall away slam. Gonzalez cranks on the arm and kicks away but talks a bit too much trash about their matching tattoos. That means they go out to the floor with Ripley busting out the kendo sticks to put Gonzalez in some pain.

Gonzalez chairs her out of the air though and hits a hard whip into the barricade. The handcuffs are brought in but Ripley gets them away and attaches her to the barricade. That’s fine with Gonzalez, who rips them off and hits Ripley in the face. Ripley is sent face first into the bell and a backdrop onto the edge of the announcers’ table (geez) puts Ripley down again. Ripley makes it back in and we take a break.

Back with the Gonzalez hitting her in the face with the steps on the stage and then kicking Ripley down the steps. They fight to the back with Ripley spearing her through a glass door. Gonzalez is laid on a table and hits a Swanton off a box to drive her through it. Cue Dakota Kai with a kendo stick though and Ripley is in more trouble. That’s fine with Ripley, who kicks Kai into a locker and puts an anvil case in front of her for a nice trap.

Gonzalez and Ripley go back to the stage with Ripley grabbing the Prism Trap and choking with a chair. That’s broken up though with Gonzalez kicking her into the lighting structure. Ripley goes into the LED board (messing it up for a bit on the process) and it’s the one armed powerbomb to drive them both through the stage for the huge crash. Gonzalez is the only one to climb out for the win at 18:04.

Rating: B+. These two beat the fire out of each other and that’s all you could ask for here. The only thing that worries me is Ripley losing AGAIN because that seems to be the case almost all the time these days. The ending looked great though and Ripley locking Kai in a locker was funny so the whole thing was a success. Ripley almost has to be heading to the main roster now though right?

The Way, with a police escort, arrives for their latest celebration. They get in the ring, where something is under a sheet for them. Johnny Gargano talks about reversing the curse last week, just like the Cleveland Browns. Gargano: “YO CANDICE! I DID IT!” Candice is proud of him and has a plaque commemorating the curse being broken.

Austin Theory and Indi Hartwell offer their own praises and have a gift for him: a portrait of the Way as superheroes. Gargano is touched and announces that he and Theory are entering the Dusty Classic. Cue Shotzi Blackheart with the tank, which she fires at Theory’s crotch. As Theory is writhing in pain, here’s Kushida to go after Gargano. Lumis shows up to ring the bell.

Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae vs. Kushida/Shotzi Blackheart

Gargano and Candice, in street clothes, rant on the floor before Shotzi kicks Candice in the head to start. We take an early break and come back with Shotzi getting kicked out of the corner as Lumis sits on commentary in silence. Blackheart snaps the arm down and it’s off to the men to pick up the pace.

Kushida goes for the cross armbreaker but Gargano gets his foot on the rope. Candice comes in for the save and offers to fight Kushida herself but Blackheart cuts her off in a hurry. Gargano and Candice are knocked outside so Shotzi can hit a big dive onto LeRae. A Theory cheap shot gets him pulled inside and kicked down, leaving Kushida to grab a rollup for the pin on Gargano at 9:05.

Rating: C. I’m still looking forward to both singles matches but this was just kind of there as a tag match. I love the Way’s wacky devotion to Gargano and Candice sells everything rather well, but the matches are only ok for the most part. Nothing too bad here, but not exactly must see stuff.

Takeover is back on Valentine’s Day.

The Dusty Classic is back next week, with the Undisputed Era vs. Breezango and the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise.

William Regal announces the first ever women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. That could actually work.

NXT Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending and they’re both on their own. After the Big Match Intros, O’Reilly shoulders him down to start and Balor touches the previously broken jaw. A headscissors doesn’t go anywhere and it’s the threat of a kick to the head to shake Balor again. The second headscissors keeps Balor down and O’Reilly starts in on the arm. Balor tries to get up and grabs an abdominal stretch, sending O’Reilly to the ropes, which he bites for the break.

The trainer checks on O’Reilly’s mouth but Balor pulls O’Reilly into a headlock to stay on the jaw. O’Reilly fights up and starts in on the arm, including twisting it around the ropes. Balor goes back to the jaw and then stomps away, setting up a Crossface. That sends O’Reilly feet first to the rope for a change so Balor elbows him in the face and drives the forearm into the jaw.

Back up and O’Reilly kicks him down and goes for the arm, earning another shot tot he jaw for a breather. Balor hits the kick to the head to send O’Reilly outside and he has to beat the count. O’Reilly gets back in and it’s time to go after the leg, earning O’Reilly another kick to the face. Balor goes right back to the Crossface and hits the Sling Blade into a jumping stomp to the chest.

The shotgun dropkick puts O’Reilly in the corner but Balor gets crotched on top. A superplex into a brainbuster gets two and it’s back to the arm. A foot on the leg gets Balor out of trouble, even though his eye is cut. O’Reilly charges into a kick to the side and collapses, allowing Balor to put on something like the Rings of Saturn with a Crossface to make O’Reilly tap at 17:27.

Rating: A-. These guys were fighting an uphill battle as they had to live up to some unbelievable hype. Somehow they managed to have a heck of a match with Balor going after the jaw to mirror what happened last time. There wasn’t a lot of drama about the winner, but watching these guys beat the fire out of each other for about eighteen minutes was all you needed, and Balor looks all the more ready for Kross.

Medics and the Undisputed Era check on O’Reilly as Balor poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This lived up to the hype and that’s a heck of a trick given how much this show was built up. You could have passed this off as a slightly weaker than usual Takeover and it would have worked just fine. There are some very good matches up and down the card and a limited use of Dexter Lumis makes everything better. Check this one out as it was a great show, with the main event and Last Woman Standing being some hard hitting fights.

Results

Karrion Kross b. Damian Priest – Running forearm to the back of the head

Santos Escobar b. Gran Metalik – Phantom Driver

Xia Li b. Katrina Cortez – Spinning kick to the face

Raquel Gonzalez b. Rhea Ripley – Ripley could not answer the ten count

Kushida/Shotzi Blackheart b. Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae – Rollup to Gargano

Finn Balor b. Kyle O’Reilly – Rings of Saturn with a Crossface

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:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: December 28, 2020
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

It’s the last Raw of the year and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. The big story coming out of last week saw Sheamus attacking Keith Lee, which did not sit well with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. That would seem to be setting up a title match at the Royal Rumble, but we have over a month to hammer down the details. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Jon Huber.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to get things going. McIntyre talks about how this has been a pretty crazy year for him. We hear about what he has done this year and next week is starting with a bang as he is defending the title on Legends Raw. Here’s Sheamus to interrupt and McIntyre doesn’t want to hear the platitudes. They have known each other for fifteen years and next week they are ready to face off for the title, like they have always wanted to. Sheamus says he just has to Brogue Kick Keith Lee tonight so they can start next year the right way.

Cue Lee (McIntyre: “You had to know this was coming.”) to say he didn’t like getting kicked in the head last week. He’ll wait for the bell tonight to extract an apology, but he does say Sheamus might stab Drew in the back. Sheamus says he kicked Lee last week for always running his mouth about how he was going to turn on Drew. The argument makes McIntyre say let’s get a referee down here and do this now. Sheamus Brogue Kicks Lee before the bell and Drew isn’t happy. Of note: McIntyre got in a Luke Harper “yeah yeah yeah” for a rather nice tribute.

Sheamus vs. Keith Lee

The winner gets a shot at Drew McIntyre, on commentary, next week. Lee shoves him down to start but gets hit in the ribs, setting up a quickly broken armbar. Sheamus kicks Lee down again and stands on his face to set up another armbar. Back up and Lee suplexes him to the floor, setting up a posting. Sheamus knees him down on the way back in though and a top rope clothesline puts Lee onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Sheamus hitting the ten forearms to the chest. Sheamus goes up top but misses an ax handle, allowing Lee to pounce him down. The spinebuster gives Lee two but the Spirit Bomb is blocked. Instead it’s something like a crossbody for two on Sheamus and a better version connects for the same. Back up and Sheamus manages White Noise but loses a battle of headbutts. The Grizzle Magnum sets up the Spirit Bomb to give Lee the pin and the title shot at 12:54.

Rating: B-. There’s something great about two big guys hitting each other really hard for a little while and that’s what they did here. Lee getting the shot is certainly interesting, even if it seems likely to be a path towards a triple threat at the Royal Rumble (or Sheamus getting a shot of some kind). Either way, nice hoss match here, which is all it needed to be.

Lee goes out to see McIntyre post match and the title is held up.

Miz vs. Gran Metalik

John Morrison and Lince Dorado are at ringside. Miz is rather distraught over losing the briefcase so Metalik grabs some rollups for early near falls. A headscissors sends Miz to the floor and there’s a dropkick to put him down again. Metalik adds a moonsault to the floor but Miz hits a big boot back inside. A second big boot sets up a reverse chinlock and Miz throws in a bunch of trash talk. Back up and Miz misses a shot, allowing Metalik to grab a sunset flip for the upset pin at 3:22.

Rating: C-. Metalik was flying all over the place to start and the upset was a nice touch. What matters most here was going with a bit of a surprise, even if it is more about Miz than Metalik. I’m curious to see where this is going for Miz, but it’s nice to see him getting featured at a more appropriate level. At the same time, I could go for more of the luchadors but that isn’t likely to be the case.

AJ Styles and Omos interrupt Elias’ practice and Jaxson Ryker isn’t happy. AJ says Elias is more like Johnny Trash and a match is set for later.

Dana Brooke vs. Shayna Baszler

Mandy Rose is in Brooke’s corner. Brooke slaps her in the face to start but the cartwheel splash hits knee. Baszler cranks the arm across the apron and slaps on an armbar back inside. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on from the floor with Mandy yelling at Baszler. The arm stomp misses so Brooke takes it back inside for a running flip neckbreaker for two. Brooke has to bail out of something off the top though and it’s a jumping knee into the Kirifuda Clutch for the tap at 3:32.

Rating: D+. Brooke is trying rather hard but there is no reason to believe that she is going to be able to beat someone like Baszler. That makes these matches rather boring to watch as you can only have so much reason to believe that it’s going to work. Brooke has come a long way, but the gap is still far too big for her to cross.

Long video on Randy Orton vs. the Fiend with Alexa Bliss hinting that the Fiend will be back.

Here’s Alexa Bliss with Alexa’s Playground because she too needs another talk show. Bliss talks about how the Fiend is gone but he’ll be back someday. Maybe next week at Legends Raw, because he wants to meet his hero, Hulk Hogan. Fiend has been taking his vitamins and saying his prayers, but Bliss doesn’t want to know what he prays to. After her own “yeah yeah yeah”, Bliss introduces Randy Orton, who doesn’t come out.

Bliss does it again and again there is no Orton. Bliss finds this rude, but we go to the Firefly Fun House, where Orton walks through the door. That’s not cool with Bliss, and Orton makes it worse by kicking Huskus the Pig away. Orton laughs at the idea that the Fiend could come back and throws Mercy the Buzzard out the window, taking out Abigail in the process. Orton ribs Ramblin Rabbit’s head off as Bliss challenges Orton for tonight. Orton thinks this is where Fiend is supposed to return, so he accepts.

We look at Nia Jax attacking Charlotte to put her on the shelf six months ago.

Charlotte is ready for revenge, even against someone like Jax. Asuka comes in to celebrate the new year because Jax isn’t ready for Charlotte.

AJ Styles vs. Elias

Omos and Jaxson Ryker are here too. AJ strikes away to start but gets caught with a backdrop for one. They head outside with Elias sending him arm first into the post as we take a break. Back with Elias hitting a top rope Meteora to set up a chinlock. AJ gets sent outside so Omos offers some intimidation.

They head back inside with AJ hitting the Phenomenal Blitz into the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Drift Away gives Elias the same but the Pele catches him on top. A quick TKO gives Elias another two but AJ goes to the apron for a forearm. The Phenomenal Forearm finishes Elias at 14:02.

Rating: C+. This deserves the same complaint that I have about a good number of AEW matches: it didn’t need to be this long and felt like they were extending it out for the sake of extending it out. Elias looked pretty good here, but it’s kind of hard to believe that AJ is going to need fourteen minutes to beat him. The match was far from bad, but cut something like this down.

We see a clip from Raw Talk with Ricochet talking about how frustrated he is with losing all the time. Something needs to change.

Mustafa Ali says Ricochet needs to change.

Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet

The rest of Retribution is here too. Ricochet hammers away to start and hits an early powerslam for two. The dropkick gets two but a Retribution distraction lets Ali knock him into the corner. Mace shoves Ricochet off the top for a crash and we take a break. Back with Ali grabbing a chinlock but Ricochet fights up and manages a moonsault into a German suplex to put them both down.

A hard clothesline drops Ali as well and the Kick Back connects, only to have Mace pull Ali out. The rest of Retribution gets on the apron so Ricochet tries a springboard DDT to T-Bar off the apron, which only somewhat connects and nearly kills T-Bar. Ali gets dropkicked into the post and another tornado DDT drops Mace with another scary landing. Back in and Ricochet’s shooting star press hits Ali’s knees, setting up the Koji Clutch to knock Ricochet out at 11:50.

Rating: B-. They had me believing in Ricochet again there near the end and that’s a pretty impressive trick. They’re doing something with Ricochet fighting against the team but I’m not sure where it ends. I can’t imagine Ricochet joining the team, but at least Retribution and Ricochet are FINALLY doing something for a change.

Post match Ali offers Ricochet the chance to join Retribution, earning himself a no and the Recoil.

Nia Jax says she has some goals: beat Charlotte, get the Tag Team Titles back, and (Shayna Baszler: “There’s a #3?”) enter the Royal Rumble to go on to Wrestlemania. Baszler likes the sound of that idea.

We look at Keith Lee becoming #1 contender.

Drew McIntyre says everyone has been waiting for Lee to step up, but he might not like what he finds up there. Lee can beat anyone when he is motivated, except Drew of course. See you next week.

Charlotte vs. Nia Jax

Asuka and Shayna Baszler are here too. Nia powers her around to start so Charlotte grabs the arm. That’s broken up with power so Charlotte starts slugging away to knock her outside. Baszler and Asuka come over as Charlotte sends Jax into the post. Back in and the Figure Eight is easily countered with a shove into the corner and we take a break.

We come back with Jax hitting a sitout powerbomb (with the feed going black for a bit, possibly due to Charlotte’s gear having some issues) but Baszler and Asuka get into a brawl. Charlotte avoids the legdrop and tries the Figure Eight but Baszler comes in with the Kirifuda Clutch for the DQ at 10:52.

Rating: C. You can probably pencil in the rematch for the Tag Team Titles for the Rumble, even if it might not be the most thrilling story. Jax just wrestles the same match far too often and it brings down what value she has. Charlotte needs to shake some rust off, but she’s going to be the focal point of the division until Becky gets back at least so she doesn’t have much to worry about.

The Hurt Business chases off another random guy in the back.

Angel Garza has a rose when Charly Caruso comes up for an awkward reunion. Garza won’t say who the rose is for but here are R-Truth and the merry band of numskulls to knock the rose out of his hand. The petals are on the floor so Garza hands it to her anyway, saying it’s the thought that counts. Caruso doesn’t seem impressed.

We look at Big E. winning the Intercontinental Title on Smackdown.

Riddle, Jeff Hardy and New Day try to come up with a four man team name.

Riddle/Jeff Hardy/New Day vs. Hurt Business

During the entrances, Bobby Lashley declares for the Royal Rumble so he can main event THIS YEAR’S Wrestlemania. Cedric Alexander dropkicks Riddle down to start but walks into a gutwrench suplex. Lashley comes in to shoulder Riddle down and it’s off to Shelton to drive him into the corner. Riddle takes Shelton into the corner for a change and the Unicorn Stampede is on, capped off by Hardy’s slingshot dropkick.

Everything breaks down and house is cleaned, with the Hurt Business being knocked outside. Lashley has to be held back and we take a break. Back with Lashley hitting a Downward Spiral for two on Riddle and handing it to Shelton for a half crab. Cedric’s reverse chinlock doesn’t last long as Riddle comes back with a kick to the head. Kofi comes in off the hot tag to clean house, including the Boom Drop to Alexander.

Woods makes a blind tag and Kofi dives onto Shelton. Everything breaks down again with Woods taking out Cedric and MVP at the same time. Jeff dives off the top onto MVP and Woods nails Alexander with the discus lariat (Tom: “A big Harper clothesline!”) and Hardy adds the Swanton. Lashley makes the save and Shelton knees Riddle off the apron. The Twist hits Shelton and Lashley comes back in, only to have Hardy block the spear. That’s fine with Lashley, as it’s the Hurt Lock to finish Hardy at 14:27.

Rating: B-. They were hitting another level with that everything breaks down sequence and it went on for a lot longer than something like that usually does. I’m not sure how much value there is in having Hardy tap out tot he same hold again but they kept Riddle and Lashley looking strong, which is what matters most. The Hurt Business continues to be one of the best things in WWE today and the more I see of them next year the better things will be.

Post match the brawl stays on with Riddle hitting the Final Flash to Lashley so the team can escape.

John Morrison tries to perk Miz up but saying John Cena lost to Kevin Federline doesn’t help. Adam Pearce comes up with the Money in the Bank briefcase…..because he’s here to return it to Miz. It turns out that Miz is right so he’s Mr. Money in the Bank again. Celebrating ensues.

Here is Alexa Bliss so Randy Orton can answer her challenge. Orton asks where Fiend is but Bliss says this is about her. She goes outside to find a present, which contains gasoline. Bliss challenges Orton to do to her what he did to him but Orton doesn’t move. Bliss pours the gasoline on herself and says light the match.

Orton still won’t move so she calls him a little b**** and pours the rest of the gas on herself. Orton: “You think I won’t do it?” He talks about how much he loves to hurt people so if Bliss wants to join the Fiend in h***, he’ll make her join him. There go the lights so Orton lights the match….and that’s it. Dang when is the last time they had an actual cliffhanger???

Overall Rating: B-. This was an up and down show as they didn’t have some of the best efforts on parts of the card. What matters here though is it feels like they are focused on the Royal Rumble and that’s a good thing. WWE does far better when they have something to focus on and you can get a long way based off having people announced for the Rumble. I’m curious to see where some of these stories go though and since there is no football on next week, some people might actually watch the show for a change.

Results

Keith Lee b. Sheamus – Spirit Bomb

Gran Metalik b. Miz – Sunset flip

Shayna Baszler b. Dana Brooke – Kirifuda Clutch

AJ Styles b. Elias – Phenomenal Forearm

Mustafa Ali b. Ricochet – Koji Clutch

Charlotte b. Nia Jax via DQ when Shayna Baszler interfered

Hurt Business b. New Day/Riddle/Jeff Hardy – Hurt Lock to Hardy

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 21, 2020
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

So we’re coming off Tables, Ladders And Chairs where the Fiend was burned alive to end the show. That’s kind of intense, but it’s cool because he sent out a tweet about twenty minutes later just in case there was any emotional impact built up. Last week’s numbers were an all time disaster and there is a chance we’re in for a shakeup (it’s been long enough since they’ve, ahem, fixed the problems around here) tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Tables, Ladders And Chairs if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Charlotte, now billed as a thirteen time champion because of the Women’s Tag Team Title, to get things going. We look at Charlotte returning last night to help Asuka against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, with Charlotte saying that she’s always willing to help a friend when asked. Charlotte introduces Asuka, who comes out to rant in Japanese, before switching to English to say she’s a double champion.

Charlotte brings up the Raw Women’s Title, friend to friend of course, but here are Baszler and Jax to interrupt. Nia says Charlotte took six months to heal up her broken arm but that voice is still just as robotic. Charlotte mocks her for losing last night but Nia says the two of them have a naughty or nice list. They just hand out beatings, like the one they gave to Lana.

Cue Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, who are scheduled to face Jax and Baszler later tonight. Mandy thinks something looks different about Dana. She can’t figure it out, but she knows Baszler looks like Rudolph with a nose job and Jax is a reindeer without antlers. Then they get it: they aren’t the champions anymore. Charlotte says get a referee out here and the champs will sit around and watch.

There is going to be a Legends Night on January 4, featuring Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle and more. So there’s your effort to make the show better: the exact same people who they always trot out for something like this. Great indeed.

Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke vs. Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax

Charlotte and Asuka are on commentary as Baszler takes Rose down to start. Rose tries some grappling of her own and Baszler has not time for any of that, kicking her away without much trouble. A kick to the head gets two on Baszler though and it’s off to Brooke for a double suplex. Jax comes in and gets taken down with a very spinning headscissors. An ax handle to the knee and a knee from Rose put Jax on the floor.

The double dives take out Jax and Baszler but Rose and Brooke stop for a staredown with Charlotte and Asuka. Jax sends Rose into the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Rose slugging away on Jax but getting taken down by Baszler. Jax and Baszler stomp away on the leg but Jax misses the legdrop.

Baszler gets knocked off the apron though, leaving Rose to clothesline Baszler and hammer away in the corner. It’s off to Brooke for the cartwheel splash and a step up enziguri drops Baszler. The Swanton gets two with Jax making the save so Brooke takes Jax down on the floor. Baszler kicks Rose down though and hits a spinning backbreaker on Brooke. The stomp onto the arm misses but Baszler Kirifuda Clutches Brooke for the tap at 12:56.

Rating: C-. Brooke and Rose are there for obvious reasons and while they were trying here, I didn’t buy them as any kind of a threat to the monsters and it would have been fairly ridiculous to have them win. That being said, they do seem to be trying to get better and if they keep improving, good for them and good for us in the future.

Post match Jax gets sent out over the top post match for the big crash.

We look back at the Hurt Business winning the Tag Team Titles last night.

The Hurt Business finds a production worker wearing a New Day shirt, which they rip off and replace with a Hurt Business shirt. Dude got a new shirt so I don’t see this as a huge problem.

Here’s the Hurt Business for the VIP Lounge. MVP brags about their success and says the VIP Lounge is for people better than you. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander brag about their win last night and Bobby Lashley says no one can beat him for the US Title. MVP thinks it’s a special occasion so he has a professional photographer for a photo. R-Truth photo bombs them though and the merry band of idiots chases him off.

Cue Riddle and Jeff Hardy to interrupt, with Riddle saying the Hurt Business should be chilling instead of being worried. Maybe listen to the Joe Rogan podcast or watch a Dave Chapelle special and escape the existential nature of life. After all, we’re all carbon based lifeforms living on a rock hurdling into space. MVP: “Nobody knows what you’re talking about. Nobody cares about your hair brained concepts. Why are you here?” Hardy says there is more to life than status and they would rather die with pride than live a life of greed. Ok then.

Angel Garza vs. Drew Gulak

Before the match, Garza gives the backstage interviewer a rose and offers her a post match interview under the mistletoe. She seems…..intrigued? Unsure? Thinking she forgot to pick up bread this week? Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS and throws them at Gulak to start, meaning it’s time to hammer away early on. A backbreaker gets Gulak out of trouble but Garza chops him in the corner. Garza hits a running knee to the ribs for one but the Wing Clipper finishes Gulak at 2:13.

We look at Drew McIntyre successfully defending the WWE Title last night against AJ Styles and Miz, who cashed in Money in the Bank.

AJ Styles blames Miz for costing him the title. Now he’s going to be on MizTV to hear an explanation and it better be good.

It’s time for MizTV, because on a show where we have so many people sitting on the sidelines, we can have two talk shows in the first hour with wrestlers in action later tonight. Miz apologizes for losing last night and brings out AJ for another apology. AJ yells at Miz for costing him the title by failing at a cash in but Miz snaps, saying he successfully cashed in ten years ago. Now he can’t do it again, because he has been here for fifteen years and no one respects him. Maybe becoming champion again would make people respect him but now he won’t have the chance.

Miz apologizes to AJ because they were both robbed last night. He even has a peace offering: AJ Styles can co-star in the next Marine film! We see a poster, which features Miz and Omos front and center, with a tony AJ on the head. Omos grabs the mic and says Miz screwed up last night but Morrison defends him. AJ talks about how Omos was about to have a peanut butter and Morrison sandwich last night but AJ called him off. Hang on though as Miz thinks that because Morrison technically cashed in the briefcase, he should get the contract back.

Miz demands it back RIGHT NOW but here’s Drew McIntyre to say he had a little celebration after he won the match last night. There was a little celebration and he, Keith Lee and Sheamus had an idea for a sequel to last week’s Night Before TLC. Sheamus and Lee pop up to read their part of the poem, which is all about tonight’s six man street fight. Drew thinks we should just do it now, but AJ dropkicks Lee into Sheamus, meaning Drew has to separate them.

We recap Retribution trying to recruit Ricochet over the last few weeks.

Drew has to keep Sheamus and Lee apart in the back. Sheamus leaves and Drew tells Lee that the three of them can do some damage together. Lee eventually agrees.

T-Bar vs. Ricochet

Retribution is at ringside as Ricochet kicks away at T-Bar to start. The springboard spinning crossbody is pulled out of the air though and the standing backbreakers let T-Bar toss him around. T-Bar blasts him with a clothesline for two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Ricochet low bridges him to the floor but has to deal with Shatter and Mace. That’s enough for T-Bar to get in a boot from behind, but Mustafa Ali stops T-Bar to yell at Ricochet. T-Bar saves Ali from Ricochet and Feast Your Eyes gives T-Bar the pin at 2:43.

Post match T-Bar tells Ricochet to join Retribution or be ended.

New Day says they’ll be back after last night’s loss.

Hurt Business vs. Riddle/Jeff Hardy

Bobby Lashley/MVP for the Hurt Business here with the rest of the team at ringside. Hardy jumps the Business to start and hands it off to Riddle in a hurry. Riddle doesn’t do so well as Lashley takes him into the corner, meaning MVP can come in for the choking. A neckbreaker gets two on Riddle but he gets in a shot of his own, allowing the tag off to Hardy.

The legdrop between the legs into a basement dropkick gets two on Lashley, who powers out on the kickout. Broetry in Motion hits Lashley and the assisted Floating Bro keeps MVP in trouble. We take a break and come back with Hardy being knocked off the top and onto the steps on the way to the floor. Lashley starts going after the arm and MVP adds an armbar with an elbow into the shoulder.

The Ballin Elbow gets two but MVP misses a charge in the corner, allowing Hardy to hit the Whisper in the Wind. The hot tag brings in Riddle to clean house, with Alexander’s distraction not slowing him down in the slightest. A fisherman’s suplex connects but Lashley makes a very fast save. Riddle takes out Alexander and Benjamin but Lashley avoids the Swanton. The Twist of Fate is countered into the Hurt Lock and the tap at 11:50.

Rating: C+. This was pretty straight formula stuff and it’s a good thing to see Lashley getting another win. I’m really wanting to see Riddle vs. Lashley for the US Title, likely at the Rumble at this point, but I’m not sure where that leaves Hardy and the rest of the team for now. The Hardy Bros isn’t exactly a brilliant idea, but for a short form team, it should work out well enough.

Here’s Elias for a song. He talks about how rough of a year it has been but he has discovered someone who understands the Universal Truth in Jaxson Ryker. Now get his opponent out here.

Jaxson Ryker vs. Gran Metalik

Ryker throws him around to start as Elias sits on the turnbuckle for a song. Metalik avoids a charge into the post and hurricanranas Elias, but Ryker runs him over. The sitout chokebomb finishes Metalik at 57 seconds.

We recap last night’s main event, including the post match burning of the Fiend.

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat. He has been called sick, twisted, deranged and demented and last night, he showed he was all of those things when he burned the Fiend alive. Orton is not a normal man and he enjoyed every single second of what he did. He kneels down to look at the exact spot where it happened and says he can smell it if he closes his eyes. Orton: “Burning flesh has a tendency to linger.” Last night he couldn’t sleep because the voices in his head were gone.

All that he could hear instead was the Fiend gasping for breath and the flames got hotter. Orton says the Fiend is no more and he is the evil son of a b**** who took him out. Speaking of out, the lights go out and Alexa Bliss, on a swing set is in the ring. Bliss says he built this for her and now it’s Alexa’s Playground. Orton is probably wondering where He is. Maybe He is at a tanning salon or at the beach or maybe he’s at his favorite restaurant, eating his favorite food (Bliss: “Barbecue!”).

But Orton is right: it was right here where you can still see and smell what happened to the Fiend. It’s almost like Fiend was absorbed into the mat and now he’s home in the earth. But if he ever leaves home, he’ll come back to Alexa’s Playground and it’ll be like nothing Orton has ever seen. The lights go out again and…..we look at commentary. As usual, WWE is horrible at building up tension as this could have taken six weeks but instead it took one day. Just let us believe that Fiend could be gone instead of all but saying “yeah he’ll be back” the next night.

We look back at Charlotte returning to win the Tag Team Titles last night.

Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce are ready to take care of Charlotte and Asuka tonight.

Lacey Evans/Peyton Royce vs. Asuka/Charlotte

Non-title. Royce is caught in the Asuka Lock fifteen seconds in with Evans having to make a save. Asuka kicks Lacey in the ribs as we see Baszler and Jax watching from the back. Royce gets in a cheap shot and we take a break. Back with Asuka in trouble but Lacey and Peyton get in an argument, allowing Asuka to suplex her way over for the tag to Charlotte. Chops abound and a big boot drops Royce. Charlotte gets pulled into a half crab though and Evans tries to play defense, only to have Asuka slip in for the save. Asuka kicks Lacey down and the Figure Eight finishes Royce at 8:03.

Rating: C. Just a quick win to keep Asuka and Charlotte hot after their title win last night. The team should be fine as a dream team for a little while, but I’m not sure who is supposed to take the titles other than Baszler and Jax. That can work for the time being though, as it’s not like the titles are regularly defended in the first place. On the other side, it’s nice to see that we are getting closer to the Iiconics reunion every single week.

We look at Titus O’Neil giving a long time Tampa worker a car after 27 years on the job. It was one of five cars that O’Neil and his foundation gave away.

We look back at Drew McIntyre having to break up the fight between Sheamus and Keith Lee.

Miz is on the phone trying to get his contract back but AJ walks up to hang up the phone. Miz isn’t happy.

Drew McIntyre/Sheamus/Keith Lee vs. Miz/John Morrison/AJ Styles

Holiday street fight, so Morrison and Sheamus start things off. Morrison elbows Sheamus in the head and takes him down by the leg in a bit of a surprise. Sheamus is taken into the corner for some triple teaming but Sheamus powers his way out without much trouble. It’s off to McIntyre, with Morrison taking him down by the leg. The Glasgow Kiss rocks Morrison though and Lee comes in for a double toss suplex to send Morrison flying.

A double shoulder drops Morrison as well and there’s a double hiptoss to AJ from Sheamus and Lee. Sheamus glares at Lee, who slaps him in the chest, causing Drew to have to separate them again and we take a break. Back with Miz and Morrison being shoved off the apron as things have calmed down a bit. Sheamus puts AJ in a chinlock but Styles gets up for the tag off to Morrison.

That’s fine with Sheamus, who knocks him down and goes up top, only to be shoved down through one of the tables at ringside. Back in and Miz takes over on Sheamus, even ripping at his face to make it worse. AJ comes in and cuts Sheamus off, only to get caught with White Noise. The hot tag brings in McIntyre to clean house with a bunch of suplexes. McIntyre nips up but tweaks his leg (which Morrison worked on earlier and AJ damaged last night) in the process.

It’s fine enough to hit a spinebuster for two as everything breaks down. Lee runs over Styles and Morrison takes the Irish Curse. AJ comes in with some candy cane kendo stick shots to McIntyre’s knee to take things outside. McIntyre throws him into a Christmas tree and then hits a powerbomb through a table of egg nog and cookies.

The Claymore is broken up but Sheamus tags himself in to load up the Brogue Kick. Lee tags himself in as well and shoves Morrison into Omos’ arms, allowing Omos to drop Morrison through a table (with the camera cutting to the ring and then back to the powerbomb). The Spirit Bomb finishes Miz at 18:25.

Rating: D+. What kind of a street fight was that? This was a regular six man (with tags) for fifteen minutes with a weapons shot and some tables being broken in the last three, making me wonder why they bothered with the theme at all here. It didn’t help that they’re redoing the arguing teams from the Survivor Series deal (with two of the same people) a month later, but you can’t expect WWE to be that creative. At least Sheamus vs. McIntyre should be fine for a Rumble title match.

Post match Sheamus hits Lee with the Brogue Kick, causing McIntyre to yell WHY to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This definitely wasn’t the reset show and really, it’s not the worst thing to do. The numbers aren’t going to be great in the first place, but it’s also four days until Christmas and they have over a month before the Royal Rumble. Why bother trying to do something big here when they aren’t going to have an audience in the first place? Granted it probably isn’t a good idea to take a week off after last week’s terrible number, but that’s WWE for you.

Results

Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax b. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke – Kirifuda Clutch to Brooke

Angel Garza b. Drew Gulak – Wing Clipper

T-Bar b. Ricochet – Feast Your Eyes

Hurt Business b. Jeff Hardy/Riddle – Hurt Lock to Hardy

Jaxson Ryker b. Gran Metalik – Sitout chokebomb

Charlotte/Asuka b. Peyton Royce/Lacey Evans – Figure Eight to Royce

Keith Lee/Sheamus/Drew McIntyre b. John Morrison/The Miz/AJ Styles – Spirit Bomb to Miz

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 9, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We are less than two weeks away from Survivor Series and that means it is time to find something to talk about for the show. So much of the build is spent on the Raw vs. Smackdown elimination match and there is almost nothing else going on. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling shows and unfortunately I don’t know if WWE is going to do much to fix it. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Randy Orton attacking Drew McIntyre last week with the Fiend being somewhere on the outside looking in.

Opening sequence.

Here are Miz and John Morrison for MizTV. Miz is excited about tonight’s six man main event when the two of them team with Randy Orton against Drew McIntyre and New Day. Big things are happening, and Morrison thinks that might mean cashing in the briefcase. That’s a possibility, but also that Miz and Mrs. debuts this week. Miz wants to bring out the guests but here’s Orton to interrupt.

Orton isn’t happy because he wants to get his hands on McIntyre but now Miz is teasing cashing in the briefcase. He remembers the time when he threw Miz out of the locker room and then Miz went down to wrestle in the minor leagues. Orton turns his back on them and says try it but Miz says Orton needs to stop making it about himself.

It could go big for all three of them, because Miz and Morrison could get a Tag Team Title shot after tonight’s main event. Cue New Day to laugh off the idea and get in, where Orton hits a RKO on Kofi and Woods is sent outside. McIntyre runs in but gets hit with the briefcase and an RKO. Total mentions of the Hurt Business, who pinned New Day last week, or Orton’s match with Roman Reigns at Survivor Series for that matter: zero.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Riddle vs. Elias vs. Jeff Hardy

For the final spot on the team. Before the match, Elias talks about how he had a vision of becoming the final member of the team. For now though, he is going to sing a song and looks towards the entrance for the interruption. He does it a few more times and then starts, which finally draws out Jeff’s entrance. I chuckled a bit, which is destroyed as soon as I see that it’s actually Riddle instead of Matt Riddle.

They trade rollups to start until Riddle is sent to the apron. Elias knocks him outside and posts Riddle before running Jeff over. We take a break and come back with Elias hammering on both of them until Hardy hits back to back atomic drops. A quick Drift Away gets two on Hardy with Riddle diving in to make the save. Riddle kicks Elias down for two but can’t get Bro Derek on Jeff. Instead Elias knocks Jeff to the floor and it’s the Bro Derek to finish Elias at 8:49.

Rating: C-. Riddle (erg) is the best choice of the ones they had available here but it’s not like the Survivor Series match has any heat on it. I know this kind of thing happens every year but there is just nothing going on with this year’s version. I’m not sure how much better they can make it with just a few shows to go, but Riddle getting on the team helps a bit.

AJ Styles is in the back and says of course he’s happy with Riddle being on the team. Sheamus comes in to say he doesn’t like this. Styles is NOT his captain, and here’s Braun Strowman to say the same.

Retribution talks about how they respect Ricochet but the team has been forgotten. They were never given the chance and they will not stop until they shut you down. Noted. Now go lose again.

We look at the Hurt Business beating New Day last week.

Drew Gulak comes up to the Hurt Business and offers his services because the 24/7 Title could make the team that much better. MVP: “Are you serious?” They find out that Drew is wearing a clip on tie, which is due to needing to be ready to run to protect the title. The beating is on in a hurry….and here’s R-Truth to get the title back.

Veterans Day video.

Lana vs. Shayna Baszler

Lana looks scared to come to the ring and we see a montage of her being put through the announcers’ table time after time. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke are on commentary. Lana jumps on Shayna’s back to start and gets kneed in the corner for her efforts. Shayna throws her around again but misses another knee in the corner. That means a kick to the face and the stomp to the arm connects. Another knee into the Kirifuda Clutch makes Lana tap at 1:50. As expected.

Post match Nia Jax loads up the announcers’ table but Mandy and Dana scare Shayna and Nia off. I’m having a bit of trouble buying that as realistic.

Post break Lana thanks Mandy and Dana, who tell her to stay out of their way.

Here’s AJ Styles for a Survivor Series team meeting. AJ, with his large friend, brings out the rest of the team (Keith Lee, Riddle Braun Strowman and Sheamus) and the arguments are on in a hurry. Strowman threatens to let Sheamus have these hands so Sheamus says bring it. Riddle says that AJ is the skipper, Lee (Riddle: “Happy birthday Keith!”) is Bro Lee and Sheamus is Fire Face, because his face gets rid. Sheamus: “So what’s your code name? Dopey?” Riddle: “Yeah!”

AJ cuts this off and says what they’re up against on Smackdown. Sheamus should be worried about Jey Uso and if Strowman isn’t paying attention, he’ll bow down to King Corbin. This gets their attention but they don’t like AJ saying he’s captain. AJ says he’s talked to Adam Pearce and tonight it’s Sheamus/Strowman vs. Riddle/Lee with himself as guest referee. Saxton: “This is going to be a catastrophe. This is never going to work.”

Keith Lee/Riddle vs. Sheamus/Braun Strowman

AJ Styles is guest referee and Sheamus bounces off of Lee to start. Riddle comes in to strike away in the corner but Sheamus drives him into the other corner to take over. Strowman comes in to step on Riddle’s hair and it’s already back to Sheamus to hammer away. AJ yells at Sheamus for getting too violent and Riddle accidentally knocks him down. Back up and Riddle does it again, meaning it’s time for Lee and Strowman to get in a fight of their own.

The large friend gets in the ring and we take a break. Back with Strowman chinlocking Riddle before hitting him with a toss suplex. Strowman’s charge hits post though (he never learns) and it’s Lee coming in for running splashes in the corner. Sheamus is thrown into Strowman and it’s a Spirit Bomb to put Riddle onto Sheamus in a crash. A heck of a clothesline drops Strowman for two but Sheamus is back with a jumping knee to Lee.

The Brogue Kick puts Lee on the floor but Riddle grabs a German suplex for two on Sheamus. Riddle goes after Strowman on the apron though and it’s Sheamus running him over again. The Brogue Kick is loaded up but Strowman tags himself in and throws Riddle around some more. The running powerslam is loaded up, though this time it’s Sheamus tagging himself in. A Brogue Kick knocks Sheamus off the apron and it’s a rollup to give Riddle the pin on Sheamus at 12:24.

Rating: C. This is rapidly approaching the levels of Money in the Bank for most pointless wastes of time in all of the WWE calendar. The matches aren’t bad but we’re sitting here watching these people argue over who is captain in a match where they can’t get physical with their opponents in a match over brand supremacy. If this is the best they can come up with for Survivor Series, maybe it’s time to come up with a very new concept for the pay per view.

Post match Lee and Riddle show some respect.

Alexa Bliss is playing with some flowers in the back when Nikki Cross comes up. She apologizes for not being there when Bliss needed her but Bliss says she’ll get Cross an invitation to the Fun House for a play date. Cross says Fiend is evil and it’s time to pick either her or the Fiend. Bliss blows flowers in her face and picks Fiend before walking away smiling. If Nikki didn’t get the hint before this, that’s not going to change her mind.

Next week: Hurt Business gets a Tag Team Title shot against New Day. Well at least they addressed it.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley to, believe it or not, talk about Survivor Series. MVP talks about the champion vs. champion match, where Lashley is going to show that the United States Title is superior to the Intercontinental Title. Lashley didn’t hear Sami talking on Smackdown because Sami knows what is going to happen at Survivor Series.

Cue Titus O’Neil of all people to interrupt, because he isn’t happy that his offer to join the Hurt Business was turned down. MVP says he respects O’Neil for his charity work and as a result he has a chance to walk away right now. Titus says he isn’t leaving and gets fired up to ask where the pride is in being US Champion if he won’t defend the title. Lashley says Titus can have a shot, but it’s going to be his first and last.

US Title: Titus O’Neil vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is defending and MVP says this is taking place above the ring rather than beneath it. Titus unloads on Lashley in the corner but Lashley runs him over. The Hurt Lock goes on and Titus taps at 1:08.

Sheamus rants about what happened in the tag match to Drew McIntyre. He can’t stand anyone on his team almost as much as he despises New Day. Drew does the clap and Sheamus calls him a lunatic. They talk about the old days when they teamed together and agree to have some pints together later.

Asuka vs. Nia Jax

Non-title. Before the match, we got to the back where Nia and Shayna Baszler argue over who the team leader is (AGAIN) with Nia saying she’ll dominate Survivor Series and then beat Asuka to become Raw Women’s Champion. The rest of the Raw women’s team is at ringside. Asuka starts fast with an Octopus hold into an armbar but Nia takes her to the floor. That means a swing into the barricade to drop Asuka hard and we take a break. Back with Asuka grabbing a guillotine choke but getting reversed into a suplex.

The running splash in the corner gets two on Asuka, who has to bridge out of the near fall. Asuka’s hurricanrana gives her two of her own and there’s the running hip attack for one. Nia is right back with a powerbomb but gets a little too cocky with the cover, allowing Asuka to grab a cross armbreaker. Lana and Baszler get on the apron with Baszler grabbing the Clutch so Asuka hip attacks both of them. The Samoan drop is loaded up but Asuka reverses into the Asuka Lock, drawing in Baszler for the DQ at 7:26.

Rating: C. This was every Nia match you’ve seen with someone trying to slay the giant. That has been the case for months now and it is probably going to be the case with every match Jax will be doing for months, because it’s all she does. I like Asuka a lot, but I feel like I’ve seen this same match from Nia since she was down in NXT. Find something new, because the impact is gone.

Post match Nia and Shayna clean house and it’s another Samoan drop to put Lana through the announcers’ table (eight). Nia says Lana should quit because she’s dragging the team down.

We look back at the opening segment.

R-Truth is defending the 24/7 Title in a seven way match, which he calls a 24/7 Title Seven Camera DQ Photo Shoot. After a quick correction, he wants to know what he’s supposed to do with the clip on tie.

Andrade says he is going to fight for every woman when he gets in the ring. This one woman though should get everything that he wants though and has a rose for her.

24/7 Title: R-Truth vs. Drew Gulak vs. Tucker vs. Erik vs. Lince Dorado vs. Gran Metalik vs. Akira Tozawa

Truth is defending and gets jumped to start. Everyone else brawls and Tozawa rolls Truth up to win the title at 28 seconds.

Post match Erik wins the title.

Gulak wins the title.

Tucker wins the title.

Gulak wins the title.

Tucker wins the title.

Gulak and Truth go after the title and the brawl breaks out until Metalik hits a top rope elbow to win the title.

Dorado turns on Metalik to win the title.

Truth wins the title and runs off.

Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet

They go right at it to start with an exchange of early strikes. Ricochet starts flipping around and gets knocked down, meaning it’s off to an early chinlock. Back up and Ricochet scores with a backdrop but gets sent out to the apron. Ricochet pulls Ali out there with him and hits a headscissors to the floor. The rest of Retribution glares at Ricochet and Ali grabs a running….well we’re not sure as they couldn’t wait one more second before going to a break.

Back with Ricochet fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught with a running neckbreaker for two. Ricochet fights out of another chinlock and rolls some northern lights suplexes. He keeps spinning into a brainbuster for two and takes Ali up top, only to get caught in a super Backstabber (geez) for two more. Ricochet is back up with a reverse hurricanrana but goes up top for a very corkcrewy give onto Retribution. The Phoenix splash misses though and Ali grabs a Koji Clutch to knock Ricochet out at 13:57.

Rating: B-. Hokey freaking smoke Retribution won a match. I mean it only took five people to beat one and it was because Ricochet went after the team instead of going for the win but they did manage to win. That’s as good as you can get for Retribution here and somehow it’s a step in the right direction.

Adam Pearce tells Randy Orton that he is defending the title against Drew McIntyre next week on Raw. Orton shoves him up against the wall and says since Pearce is just a messenger, he can tell the staff to go to h***.

Randy Orton/Miz/John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre/New Day

Morrison and Woods start things off with a quick double team putting Morrison down. Miz comes in and gets taken down as well, sending him over to Orton for a tag, though Orton is not exactly interested. Instead it’s back to Morrison, who gets taken down with a standing stomp. Everything breaks down and Miz and Morrison are sent to the floor. The big double dive takes them down again (though Woods seemed to get caught in the ropes and might not have made contact whatsoever).

Back from a break with Morrison hitting an Alberto double stomp to drive Woods into the apron. Morrison hits something like a Samoan drop on Woods so Miz comes back in, only to still not get a tag from Orton. The delay lets Woods fight up and bring in McIntyre to clean house. A double overhead belly to belly suplex sends Miz and Morrison flying, followed by the Future Shock to Morrison.

McIntyre stares down at Orton and begs him to make his day. Orton teases tagging in but walks away instead. Morrison hits a crazy flip dive onto Woods but the Flying Chuck is knocked out of the air with the Glasgow Kiss. The Claymore pins Morrison at 13:26, with McIntyre glaring at Orton during the cover.

Rating: C-. This was the latest match in a series tonight with very low stakes, if there were any there whatsoever. I know they’re teasing tensions between Miz and Orton, but unless that cash-in is taking place really soon (and to be fair it may be), I’m not sure how much interest there was in having these people fight. Orton vs. McIntyre has been set up for months now, while New Day and Hurt Business, who have a title match next week, didn’t even look at each other tonight. That should be an easy one, but I guess teasing a cash-in which might not come for months is more important.

Overall Rating: D. I know Raw is bad a lot more often than not, but this was a rare example where I really felt like I wasted my time. The wrestling was acceptable all night long and none of the matches were terrible (Ricochet vs. Ali was good) but I have no idea what almost any of this did to make me want to watch next week’s show or Survivor Series.

The Raw team is fighting over who is the real leader, and in case you haven’t heard that story enough, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax are having the exact same argument. Riddle is now on the team, though is there any actual interest in that match? Lashley talked a bit of trash about Sami Zayn and then squashed Titus O’Neil. Lana has now been put through eight tables by Jax, but I’m sure that big moment where she does it once will be worth it. The main event was just there, as they desperately try to make me care about Money in the Bank and fail more miserably every time.

Survivor Series was mentioned in passing a few times and Fiend was nowhere in sight. It’s like Survivor Series is this weird pit stop they have to make on the way to their next show, and that is the case with far too many pay per views this year. Either find a better way to present Survivor Series or just make it whatever other generic pay per view your team of 38 writers come up with in ten seconds, because this is approaching Money in the Bank levels of wasting my time.

Results

Riddle b. Elias and Jeff Hardy – Bro Derek to Elias

Shayna Baszler b. Lana – Kirifuda Clutch

Riddle/Keith Lee b. Sheamus/Braun Strowman – Rollup to Sheamus

Bobby Lashley b. Titus O’Neil – Hurt Lock

Asuka b. Nia Jax via DQ when Shayna Baszler interfered

Akira Tozawa b. R-Truth, Tucker, Drew Gulak, Erik, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik – Rollup to R-Truth

Mustafa Ali b. Ricochet – Koji Clutch

Drew McIntyre/New Day b. Miz/John Morrison/Randy Orton – Claymore to Morrison

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 25, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for Clash Of Champions though the Smackdown side of things might not interest you the most. The blue main event for Sunday’s show will feature Roman Reigns defending against Jey Uso, which kind of slows down the interest that the show is going to have. Maybe the last show before Sunday can help things out. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Road Warrior Animal.

Here are AJ Styles, Sami Zayn and Jeff Hardy for a Championship Ascension ceremony to set up the ladder match. Corey Graves, the emcee, explains the match and says there is no champion’s advantage. AJ says Jeff must think the title feels heavy because it’s the last time he’ll be holding it. As for Sami, why are you here? He took six months off to grow a neck beard and still thinks he’s champion.

Sami accuses AJ of being stupid for winning a tournament and calls Jeff’s title a shampionship. Jeff: “Sami, Sami shut up man.” Hardy actually agrees with Styles when he says Sami has no claim to the title. The belts are hung but Sami drives the ladder into their heads and beats on Jeff, with AJ making the save. Cue Adam Pearce to make the scheduled Sami vs. Jeff match a triple threat with AJ also involved. We’ll do that next.

AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy

Non-title. Sami gets sent to the floor so AJ can hammer on Hardy. That doesn’t last long as Sami comes in to jump AJ and then send Hardy outside. AJ is right back with a chinlock on Sami but Jeff is back in with a dropkick for the save. Jeff uses Sami for a springboard to splash Styles in the corner but Sami breaks up the Swanton by knocking him to the floor.

Styles follows with a slingshot forearm and we take a break. Back with the Tower of Doom being broken up and a triple slugout starting. Sami hits a running boot to each of them but AJ nails a Pele. AJ is back up with the Phenomenal Forearm to Jeff but Sami throws him outside and steals the pin at 12:02.

Rating: C. Not only is it winning a match via pin to set up a match that has nothing to do with pins, but it’s the most basic ending to a triple threat that you can find in WWE. Oh and for a bonus, the champ gets pinned. The wrestling was fine, but it feels like the kind of thing that we’ve seem time after time. Kind of like ladder matches in general, as WWE (counting NXT) has run an average of about a ladder match a month for the last year.

Post match AJ jumps Sami and climbs the ladder to pick up both titles.

We recap Miz/John Morrison threatening to sue Otis over the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Otis doesn’t buy this and doesn’t trust Miz’s lawyers so he’s keeping the briefcase. Miz and Morrison come up with the former saying that he is going to take everything, including Otis’ mama’s double wide. More threats are made, with Miz bringing up Mandy Rose being sent to Raw. Otis goes for Morrison’s throat and referees break it up. Is anyone ever going to explain why Otis and Mandy, who work in the same company, in the same city, in the same building, but on different shows where wrestlers seem to come and go as they please, is a big problem?

We look at Bayley attacking Sasha Banks twice in a row.

Here’s Bayley, with the chair that started it all, to have a seat for a chat. Bayley doesn’t have time for the fans booing because the champ’s time is important. She has business to tend to on Sunday because Nikki Cross is waiting for her. Why is Cross thinking it should be different just because there is no Sasha? Bayley looks at the chair and says she is retaining the title. Bayley: “Right Sasha?”

Gran Metalik vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The rest of Lucha House Party and Cesaro are here too. Graves gets straight to the point by saying that singles matches have almost no bearing on tag team wrestling. Metalik misses a superkick to start but sends Nakamura outside. That’s fine with Nakamura, who sends him hard into the barricade, followed by a hard ram into the turnbuckle back inside. Metalik sends him outside and hits the big flip dive, followed by a slingshot hilo for two back inside. The moonsault misses though and Nakamura pulls him off the ropes. The reverse exploder into Kinshasa finishes Metalik at 4:17.

Rating: C. I was worried they would do something like have Metalik get the cheap pin here, which would be a bit too much to take. Granted when you have commentary saying that the match doesn’t mean anything for Sunday, you kind of have to wonder why we’re supposed to be interested. The match was fine as Metalik is talented, but it didn’t exactly draw me in.

Post match Cesaro comes in and lays out Lince Dorado as Kalisto looks on. After Cesaro and Nakamura leave, Kalisto gets in but gets yelled at by the rest of the team.

Jey Uso wants Roman Reigns to come deal with things.

Video on Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns, including clips of them growing up and members of the Anoa’i Family commenting. Rikishi and Sika talk about watching their sons growing up and Jey is ready to fight his family to be champion. Jey says Reigns used to be a puppy and both dads say their kid will win. This was a really good idea and as usual, WWE knows how to produce a video.

Here’s Jey Uso for a chat. We see a clip from last week’s street fight, where Jey pinned King Corbin and then picked up the Universal Title. Reigns didn’t like the pin or what happened after the match, giving him a big glare to end the show. Uso wants Reigns out here now, but we see Heyman and Reigns in the back sitting in silence.

Heyman finally comes out of Reigns’ locker room and says the world should get to see these two face to face in the ring. Here’s where everyone has it wrong though: it’s on Reigns’ time, not Uso’s. That will happen tonight, but on Reigns’ time. Uso isn’t happy with that and says he’ll man up at Clash and tonight. Welcome to the Uso Penitentiary.

We recap Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin.

Corbin is ready to make Riddle say Bro, but with meanings involving all kinds of pain.

King Corbin vs. Matt Riddle

We get an inset promo from Riddle, who says he can’t wait to throw down and show Smackdown the difference between a stallion and a jacka**. Riddle starts fast and hammers away but Corbin catches him on the way inside. Corbin powers out of what looked like a Kimura and hits a hard elbow for two. A kick to the face sends Corbin outside though and Riddle throws him over the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Riddle grabbing a triangle but Corbin powers out in a hurry. Corbin’s running right hand drops Riddle again and he can barely get back up. It’s just a ruse though as Riddle catches him with a jumping knee to the face. The Broton into another knee gets two so Riddle tries the Bromission. That’s broken up as well and Corbin hits the Deep Six but the End of Days is countered into another knee to the face. The Floating Bro hits knees though and End of Days finishes Riddle at 11:23.

Rating: C+. Was anyone asking for this to continue? I’m not sure, but WWE had the chance to set up a trilogy and all it took was Riddle losing clean to Corbin of all people. I’m sure we’ll have a third match at some point, but it’s not like Riddle had any momentum going after beating Corbin in the first place.

Post match Riddle says losing sucks but it isn’t stopping the stallion. He is going to keep going until Smackdown is the Bro Show.

The mystery woman puts on her jewelry and makeup. She also writes UNTOUCHABLE in lipstick on her mirror and takes a picture of it.

Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans

Fallout from last week when Bliss took Lacey out after a match. In an inset promo, Alexa calls Lacey a Karen without calling her a Karen. Bliss rolls her up for two to start but Lacey knocks her down. Lacey sends it into the corner and throws the napkin at her, followed by the slingshot dropkick for two. We hit the cobra clutch for a bit but Bliss comes right back by cranking on the arm. Hold on though as the Fiend’s laugh is heard and we take a break.

Back with Evans stomping away and tying up Bliss’ legs for a forearm to the face. Bliss gets sent into the corner and a nasty slingshot dropkick puts her on the floor. Back in and Lacey gets two as we cut to a crowd shot (possibly so Bliss can fix her gear). Bliss makes the comeback with a basement dropkick but Evans cranks her down by the arm. Evans misses the double jump moonsault (Bliss had moved before the second jump) and we have the Fiend’s red light. Bliss snaps and unloads on Evans for the DQ at 10:50.

Rating: D. These two didn’t even seem to be in the same book out there for a lot of this, but some of that is due to trying to cram in a little too much. They did the Fiend’s voice and then did the light, all so Bliss could snap. On top of that, Lacey is now a former Marine, a tough mom, a southern belle, and now Karen. Pick two of those at most and calm down.

Post match, Alexa hits Sister Abigail on the floor and Fiend’s voice says let me in.

Here are Reigns and Heyman for the big closing. Before Heyman can get very far, here’s Uso to interrupt. Reigns cuts him off and says this family needs him to be the tribal chief. That’s why he’s keeping the title on Sunday and he walks away. Jey asks what if Reigns is wrong. Why can’t Jey be the Big Dog and provide for his family and kids as Universal Champion?

For his whole life, it has been Reigns as the star and the man. Whenever anyone talks about Jey, they ask which one he is. On Sunday, Jey is going to the top. Uso goes to leave but Reigns pops back up with a Superman Punch. Reigns screams at him about feeding the entire family with the title. Jey can take the payday and the whipping that comes with it, but he’s never taking the title from Reigns. He is never taking Reigns’ place at the head of the table. This was more incredible stuff from Reigns, as it tends to always be these days.

Overall Rating: D+. The wrestlers were trying, but this came off like a show that did not matter in the slightest. It was a bunch of middle of the road stuff, including a match where commentary said it didn’t matter with regards to Sunday. This felt like a show where they took the week off and threw whatever they had out there to fill in the time. Uso vs. Reigns has actually been set up well though and I’m more than a little impressed with how they have turned what should be a two minute squash into something interesting. Well done there, but the rest might as well have been Main Event.

Results

Sami Zayn b. AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy – Phenomenal Forearm to Hardy

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Gran Metalik – Kinshasa

King Corbin b. Matt Riddle – End of Days

Lacey Evans b. Alexa Bliss via DQ when Bliss attacked Evans

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 18, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We are coming up on Clash Of Champions and that means it is time to start getting ready for the pay per view. There are a lot of different things being set up, including a few more title matches. Tonight we might get a few steps closer to that but you never know around here. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the Dirt Sheet, with Miz and John Morrison promising to get all of the dirt on the biggest stories going on in WWE today. After a clip of Miz announcing Mandy Rose is on her way to Raw on Talking Smack, Miz insists that he is not trying to get back at Otis. No, instead he is trying to help Otis as a former Mr. Money In The Bank. Now that Mandy is gone, Otis can focus on cashing in the briefcase while the men on Raw can focus on Mandy. Morrison: “Isn’t Ziggler over there?”

Cue Otis to beat both of them up, with Tucker throwing both of them back in as they try to escape. Otis is so angry at Miz that he hits the Caterpillar, showing the height of his violence. He even strips Miz down to his underwear, which isn’t quite the biggest deal when he wrestles in the same kind of gear.

Post break, Miz makes a phone call and says they have a plan.

Gran Metalik vs. Cesaro

The rest of Lucha House Party and Shinsuke Nakamura are here too. Metalik headscissors him down to start but gets taken into the corner for the uppercut. The armbar goes on as Kalisto and Lince Dorado seem to argue at ringside. Metalik gets sent outside and the referee ejects the rest of the House Party. Cesaro is pleased but the distraction lets Metalik hit a big springboard flip dive and we take a break. Back with Cesaro getting two off a big boot but Metalik gets up top for a flip dive and his own two. The moonsault hits raised boots though and Cesaro Neutralizes him for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C. The Lucha House Party’s collapse continues, even though they’re getting a pay per view title match. I’m not sure how good it is going to be to split them up because the trio doesn’t seem like the kind of guys that are going to get a push on their own, but tag teams exist to be split up in WWE so it doesn’t matter that much. Also, how random is that champion vs. champion match on Monday feeling? It really does seem to be just a one off instead of building to anything, which is a little odd.

After looking at a clip of last week’s main event, Jey Uso says he trust Roman Reigns tonight. At Clash Of Champions tonight though, one of them is leaving as the Universal Champion. They’ve been fighting since they were little, but now they aren’t little anymore.

And now, Know Your Bro with Matt Riddle. Matt demonstrates how many different emotions you can convey with the word “bro”.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss, with Nikki Cross as the guest. We look at Bliss giving Cross Twisted Bliss last week and walking away, only to have Cross win anyway. Cross and Bliss hug before Bliss can get to the question: why should we believe Cross can beat Bayley after losing to her all summer? Cross says she’s ready for Bayley and promises to win the title. Now that we have that settled, Cross has a question for Bliss: what is going on with her?

Last week she hit Cross with Sister Abigail, but Bliss can’t explain it. She doesn’t know how to handle it…and here’s (the rather not dead) Lacey Evans to interrupt. Lacey asks if this is the View with these women talking about their feelings. Cross should be thanking Bliss for helping her last week because Bliss threw Lacey off of her game. Besides, Cross can’t win if she doesn’t have a mean streak. The fight is on and they fight to the ring for their scheduled match.

Lacey Evans vs. Nikki Cross

Bliss is on commentary but hang on because Evans needs to sanitize before the bell. Cross kicks her to the floor and then takes it back inside to jump on Evans’ back. Lacey sends her into the corner and starts working on the arm with some hard knee drops. A running boot in the corner connects and there’s the slingshot Bronco Buster for two.

The chinlock doesn’t last long but Evans cuts her off again and starts pulling on the arm some more. Evans rams her head first into the mat and stays on the arm before hitting the standing moonsault. With Cross down, Lacey sprays the hand sanitizer in Nikki’s eyes, but she’s right back up with a hair takedown. Nikki hits a corner splash and finishes with the hanging neckbreaker at 7:12. Bliss seems rather pleased.

Rating: D+. The sanitizer deal was rather dumb here as Nikki acted like it was water in her eyes instead of alcohol. The rest of the match was Evans beating up Nikki in a match she had no chance of winning because Nikki has a title shot coming up and Evans has fallen through the floor. Nothing to see here, which shouldn’t be that shocking.

Post match Evans crawls over to Bliss while shouting about the Fiend. Bliss goes into the same trance as last week, hits Sister Abigail, and slowly walks off in the trance.

Paul Heyman narrates a video about the Anoa’i Family being perhaps the greatest wrestling family of all time. We see a lot of the members in action and dang there have been a ton of them over the years. Heyman talks about how it is a battle of the family at Clash Of Champions, but while they feast at the same table, there is one ruler of the dynasty.

We get a sitdown interview with Sasha Banks, beginning with a look at Bayley attacking her two weeks ago. Banks is nearly in tears and says she’s still here as we hear a lot of cheering noises. Cole talks about how Bayley used her and Banks knows that Bayley finds her useless now. She and Bayley used to walk these halls and talk about everything they have done together.

They had planned to take over the whole company together but now she sees these halls and, through tears, she sees all of the things she and Bayley did together. Banks gets a lot more serious and calls Bayley an idiot who is nothing without her. Now Banks is coming for the title. Bayley runs in and blasts her with a chair before wrapping the chair around Banks’ neck again. Some rather short people run in to break it up before Bayley can stomp on the chair. The idea made sense, but Banks isn’t much of an actress and the delivery hurt it a lot.

Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles

Sami goes to insist that he is introduced as the Intercontinental Champion but AJ jumps him from behind to start fast. Sami gets in a few shots and stomps away before grabbing a quickly broken chinlock. As Cole manages to find new levels of annoyance by talking in that completely unnatural manner associated with WWE commentary, Sami kicks the post by mistake and falls to the floor.

The slingshot forearm takes him down again and we take a break. Back with Sami hitting a Stun Gun but AJ grabs a neckbreaker for two. Sami slugs away but the Pele kick connects to drop them both. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Sami two and he suplexes AJ into the corner. The Helluva Kick misses though and AJ grabs a rollup, possibly with tights, for the pin at 10:18.

Rating: B-. Not too bad here but you can almost see the triple threat at Clash from here. Sami at least looked good after his long time off. AJ was a smart choice for the first opponent too as he can have a good match with anyone, meaning this was almost a layup. It’s hard to make heel vs. heel work but they pulled it off here.

Post match Sami jumps AJ and complains about the tights being pulled. Cue Jeff Hardy to take Sami out…and grab a ladder (oh freaking dang it). Jeff is tired of being called cheat and a fraud so let’s end it once and for all, with a ladder match. Good grief I’d give so much money to put a ban on ladder matches for a few years.

Otis is served with a lawsuit. Apparently Miz and Morrison are suing over emotional distress, creating an unsafe working environment (STOP MAKING UP STORIES ABOUT THAT BECAUSE YOU DO IT ALL THE FREAKING TIME!) and violating their First Amendment rights by interrupting their news program. Otis has a week to decide if he will forfeit the Money in the Bank contract or go to court.

Sheamus and King Corbin are ready for their Samoan Street Fight tonight. The guy who lured Big E. to the parking lot last night comes in to say Sheamus’ car is being towed. Sheamus goes outside and gets jumped by Big E. in disguise. Big E. beats up the guy from last week as well, including a Big Ending on the car and throwing him in the trunk, showing more seriousness than he has in years. Adam Pearce comes in to say Big E. needs to leave. This worked a lot better than I would have expected.

The mystery woman gets dressed behind a screen. She turns around but there is a mirror in front of her face.

Roman Reigns/Jey Uso vs. Sheamus/King Corbin

Samoan Street Fight and Paul Heyman is here with Reigns (actually present to start the match) and Uso. Before the match, Reigns says he didn’t want any confusing this week. This is his yard, island, ring and WWE. If you want to change it, come take it. Sheamus is a little banged up but still here. It’s a brawl to start and thankfully there are no tags here because thankfully they understand the idea of a street fight.

The villains are sent to the floor early on, where Corbin pelts a chair at Reigns’ head for a scary crash. Jey dives onto Corbin but a second dive is countered into Deep Six on the floor. Back in and Corbin grabs a chair but gets kicked in the head for his efforts. Reigns chairs Corbin down but Sheamus runs Reigns over on the floor. The beatdown is on and Reigns is thrown over the announcers’ table. A regular table is brought inside and Uso gets planted through it for a near fall.

Reigns is back up and throws an announcers’ chair at Corbin’s head for a pretty impressive power display. Sheamus knocks him down again and loads up the announcers’ table but White Noise is broken up. Reigns kick Sheamus low and Samoan drops him onto (not through) the table. Corbin is posted and Sheamus is speared through the barricade. Back up and Corbin jumps Reigns before throwing Jey over a bunch of stuff. Uso is back with a title shot to the face though and Reigns adds a spear. The Superfly Splash gives Jey the pin at 6:10.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun and most of that is because of Roman Reigns. THIS is the Reigns that people had been wanting to see for a long time. He was like a bulldozer here and running through everyone in his path, which made for some really awesome moments throughout. That’s the kind of Reigns that looked like the star of the company and someone who could be the champ for a long time with a huge moment being needed to take it from him. I liked this a lot and Reigns came off as the monster they have been wanting for a long time now.

Post match Reigns doesn’t look happy with Uso. Jey grabs the title and teases posing with it but throws the title to Reigns for a smile. Reigns and Uso hug so Jey can leave, with Reigns glaring at him from the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They’re taking an interesting approach to Clash as the main event is little more than a formality but the story has been set up well. Reigns vs. Uso is much more like the next step in Reigns’ story as we’ll get to see what he is willing to do to family, which makes it a lot better than what it would have been otherwise. Then you have Bayley vs. Nikki Cross, which is the most throw away, lame duck title match in recent years. The pay per view is looking hit or miss, but this week’s show worked out well enough. Just enough with the lawsuits and ladder matches though, please.

Results

Cesaro b. Gran Metalik – Neutralizer

Nikki Cross b. Lacey Evans – Hanging swinging neckbreaker

AJ Styles b. Sami Zayn – Rollup with a handful of tights

Roman Reigns/Jey Uso b. King Corbin/Sheamus – Superfly Splash to Corbin

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 14, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We have less than two weeks to go before Summerslam and it’s time to try and juice the interest a bit. Last week saw Retribution show up on Smackdown and this week it’s a bunch of guest stars in a tri-brand battle royal for the shot at Bayley’s Smackdown Women’s Title. That could go a lot of different ways so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Retribution’s attacks and antics over the last few weeks.

Cole says that Retribution is “hiding behind current events.”

Big E. vs. John Morrison

Before the match, Big E. reminds us of his singles success and calls those who forget it false prophets. There’s no Miz here, but there are some flickering lights….and here’s Retribution. They chase off commentary and storm the ring, including taking out Big E.’s knee. A spear puts Big E. down and the team runs away, with Miz running out to check on Morrison. There were eight or nine of them this time but only about half of them got physical. No match of course.

Post break Big E. and Morrison are in the back with various wrestlers around them. Miz blames Big E. for sending out a tweet about Retribution, but here’s King Corbin to say Smackdown needs leadership. Corbin can lead them to safety so Big E. talks about how this is Smackdown. Cue Sheamus to say we need someone serious and he can smell the fear in Big E. because he’s lonely. Big E. says he’s not lonely and most of the wrestlers leave with him.

Here are Bayley and Sasha Banks for a chat. They can’t be held down by Stephanie McMahon and they’ll defend their Tag Team Titles at Payback. As for tonight, they don’t like commentary so they’ll handle the ring introductions for the battle royal.

Battle Royal

Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Tegan Nox, Shotzi Blackheart, Lacey Evans, Naomi, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Tamina, Asuka

The winner gets a shot at Bayley’s Smackdown Women’s Title at Summerslam. Before the match, Sasha runs her mouth about Asuka a bit too much and here’s Asuka to chase her off. We come back for the opening bell and Riott is kicked out in a hurry. Morgan pulls Kay out and Royce follows her, but they pull Morgan out as well. The four get in a brawl on the outside and Cross is thrown outside, but not eliminated. Belair is thrown over but hands on by one hand for an impressive save.

As Cole confirms that they are leaving the Performance Center next week, Tamina superkicks Cross out and has the staredown with Belair. That doesn’t last long as Tamina is thrown out, meaning it’s time for Naomi to clean house for a bit. Lacey throws her to the apron, where Naomi kicks Shayna in the head but gets Woman’s Righted out. Shotzi gets rid of Lacey but Shayna grabs the Kirifuda Clutch on Shotzi and Lacey pulls Blackheart out.

Nox can’t whip Belair in but she can roll her throat first into the middle rope. Belair misses a charge and gets low bridged out. We’re down to Nox, Asuka, Baszler and Brooke (on the floor) with Nox hitting the reverse Cannonballs on the Raw women. Baszler blocks Nox’s chokeslam and picks her up (barely) for the elimination. Brooke gets back in and is tossed by Brooke, meaning it’s off to Asuka vs. Baszler.

With Bayley looking worried, Baszler kicks Asuka over the top and out to the apron, but Asuka kicks her down as well. Bayley and Banks interfere and get knocked down so Baszler knocks Asuka onto the apron….and she lands on the champs, meaning no elimination. Asuka pulls Baszler out for the win at 8:05, meaning she’s facing both Banks and Bayley for both singles titles.

Rating: C. This was fine and Asuka getting both shots is certainly a different way to go. It’s not like there is anyone else who could be a viable option to challenge Bayley at the moment. I can get the idea of going with the safe pick, but at some point they need to actually elevate someone else. That’s going to mean more than just putting someone out there as the challenger of the month too, and WWE hasn’t seemed interested in doing that on Smackdown for a long time.

Post break Asuka jumps Bayley from behind and has to be held back.

We look at Sonya Deville jumping Mandy Rose two weeks ago.

Mandy doesn’t think much of Sonya saying she’s just a pretty face because she has heard it all before. She has been called a Barbie who has everything handed to her her whole life, but she worked three jobs to put herself through college while winning a Miss Bikini World Title. Is that being handed everything? If Sonya hates her that much, put her money where her mouth is and let’s have a hair vs. hair match at Summerslam. Then we’ll see how ugly it gets. This was better than any other Mandy promo, but that isn’t much of a bar to clear.

Sheamus tells security to enjoy themselves because no one is attacking him tonight.

Nikki Cross sees Alexa Bliss (who she should have seen as both of them seem to have been standing in the same place for a little while) and hugs her but Bliss needs to be alone to deal with this Fiend stuff.

Sheamus vs. Shorty G.

Sheamus powers him into the corner to start but Shorty takes him down by the leg. A chinlock is broken up in a hurry and Sheamus ax handles him in the face. Shorty gets in a rolling kick to the face and a missile dropkick gives him two of his own. Sheamus has had it though and hits White Noise into the Brogue Kick for the pin at 3:35.

Rating: D+. And there’s another loss for Gable, because we were dumb enough to believe that they might actually do something good with him for once. As long as he has that name, nothing is going to matter whatsoever with him though and when you add in the losses, it isn’t exactly looking great for his future. Not a good match either, but being on TV is better than being on the sidelines.

AJ Styles yells at an agent over something on a computer. That agent would be better known as Abyss, albeit in his Joseph Park attire.

Here’s AJ Styles, with the yet to be named Park and a board covered with a black sheet, to rant about how he has beaten a bunch of people and needs a new opponent. After plugging his Twitch channel, AJ talks about how fans have been telling him that he needs to face certain opponents because statistically, they are his best opponents. AJ has been watching baseball and football and realizes that he is a stud of a stats nerd himself. That brings him to Park, who is his Phenomenal Intercontinental Statistic System. AJ: “IT’S A WORK IN PROGRESS!”

Based on the statistics, let’s see who is #1 one on the board. That would be AJ Styles, and, after consulting with Joseph Park (who AJ mentions by name), we see that no one is #2-5, because no one has earned a shot at the champ. Cue Jeff Hardy to interrupt to say he never got a fair shot at the title because of Sheamus.

That title is important to him because it was his first singles title in WWE. Now he’s back on his feet and the idea of Hardy vs. Styles sounds mega cool. AJ says he respects Jeff but of course he can’t have a title shot. Jeff jumps AJ, hits Park, and nails the Twist of Fate on Styles. Hardy writes his name on the board in a nice touch.

Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura are in the back but Lucha House Party steals their titles. The chase is on.

AJ promises to erase Jeff Hardy, but the marker is permanent. The match seems to be on though.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Gran Metalik

Cesaro and Lince Doradn are here too, with Cesaro taking the titles back early on. Feeling out process to start with Nakamura taking him into the corner, only to have Metalik stop a charge with a shot to the face. Metalik hits a springboard elbow to the face for two and loads up the rope walk, but Cesaro offers a distraction.

Nakamura kicks him out of the air for a cocky near fall and grabs the reverse exploder. Kinshasa is loaded up but here’s the returning Kalisto (I believe in his first appearance this year) to take out Cesaro. The distraction lets Metalik kick Nakamura in the head and hit the rope walk elbow for the upset at 4:10.

Rating: C-. The action was good enough but the point of this was the return of Kalisto, which at least makes the House Party a little more credible. Dorado and Metalik are good but they haven’t actually won anything. Kalisto has won a bunch of titles and while it has been a good while ago, it’s better than what his partners have done.

Matt Riddle, after assuring that it’s ok to refer to Kayla Braxton as bro, isn’t worried about the King’s Ransom on his head. He’s tried to fight King Corbin but it’s clear that Corbin is just a royal pain. Cue Shorty G. to say he’s sorry and he was just looking out for his family. Injuring someone isn’t his thing and everything seems to be cool. Riddle is down for a fight anytime, but here’s Corbin to jump Riddle from behind. Corbin thanks Shorty, and even calls him Chad. Gable doesn’t seem sure of what just happened.

We get a sitdown interview with Alexa Bliss, who talks about her relationship with Braun Strowman. This includes a highlight package of their time together, including their rather adorable Mixed Match Challenge vignettes. She isn’t sure if anything would ever happen romantically between the two of them, but they have to talk about the Fiend. Bliss knows what it means to be in his presence and it really is like a moth being drawn to a flame. We see Strowman’s comments from last week where he said he didn’t care about her. Bliss is too emotional to speak to wrap it up.

Next week: AJ Styles defends against Jeff Hardy.

Sonya Deville accepts Mandy Rose’s challenge and can’t wait to see her bald.

Big E. vs. John Morrison

Miz is on commentary and praises Morrison’s mastery of all the martial arts. Miz: “He’s even a great painter!” Big E. has a taped up knee so Morrison goes straight for the target. Morrison heads up top but gets shoved down in a hurry. That’s enough to set up the apron splash but Big E. goes after Miz, allowing Morrison to get in a chop block. Miz has to get a fresh headset as Morrison grabs a chinlock. Cue Otis with the Money in the Bank briefcase but the lights start flickering. Cole calls for security and we take a break.

Back with the lights flickering again and the locker room at ringside for security. We cut to the back where Retribution is wrecking things, including beating up some referees and a lone wrestler. They lock someone in the bathroom and throw a bunch of chairs, but since no this isn’t on the screen for no adequately explained reason (They can play entrance videos but not show a backstage feed?), the wrestlers at ringside don’t know anything about it.

Cue Jessika Carr to deliver the message so the locker room runs to the back. Retribution is gone and the wrestlers aren’t happy with the crossed out WWE logo spray painted on the wall. Big E. shoves Morrison off the ropes and hits the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two. Morrison escapes the Big Ending and kicks at the knee as Miz explains that he cares about Morrison too much to go backstage. Big E. grabs the Stretch Muffler for the quick tap at 11:49.

Rating: C-. It was hard to focus on the match here as there was so much going on at the same time. This felt more like an Attitude Era style angle with a bunch of other stuff going on and the match as a backdrop, which is fine enough as it’s not exactly something important. At least Big E. got the win as well, as they haven’t managed to derail the singles push. Yet.

Post match here’s Sheamus to brogue Kick Big E. but here’s Braun Strowman (now bald) to scare everyone else off.

Post break Strowman says Fiend knows what he’s getting at Summerslam so get out here and face your fears. Strowman is going to eviscerate him and consume his entrails…but here’s Alexa Bliss instead. She says they need to talk but Strowman says she used him. He’s like a pawn that she used to get him to sing songs in her stupid car. Bliss wants to know what is going on, so Strowman explains that the Fiend changes everyone, including her. So get out of here, because he wants the Fiend.

Bliss tells him to be careful what he wishes for and offers to slap some sense into him. She demands he look at her and hits a heck of a slap before doing it over and over. Strowman picks her up in a gorilla press…and there go the lights. Strowman shouts for the Fiend and slams Bliss down as the lights go completely out. They come back in red with Fiend having replaced Strowman. Strowman appears on the screen and laughs, with Fiend doing the same, to end the show.

The Bliss stuff is a little more interesting but when you have Strowman reading what sounds like the results you get from looking up your promo in a thesaurus, you can only take it so seriously. Strowman still can’t talk and since his entire character is built around being really strong, he doesn’t have the emotional depth to make something like this work out. Also it has been about three months now and they need to wrap it up already.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t the point here, but the big positive is the same thing that was the case on Raw: it feels like they have a focus and an idea that they’re going for on this show. I’ll take a slightly weaker show with a point than a bunch of meaningless stuff week after week. They set up stuff for next week and for Summerslam and that’s a heck of a lot better than Raw and Smackdown tends to do. Not a great show, but it’s a lot better than what they had been doing in recent months.

Results

Asuka won a battle royal last eliminating Shayna Baszler

Sheamus b. Shorty G. – Brogue Kick

Gran Metalik b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Top rope elbow

Big E. b. John Morrison – Stretch Muffler

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 31, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

Summerslam is getting closer and closer but at the same time we have a lot to do on the way there. That includes a pair of title matches this week as AJ Styles defends the Intercontinental Title against Gran Metalik and Nikki Cross gets another shot at Bayley’s Smackdown Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Bayley is ready to beat Nikki Cross again and Sasha Banks laughs a lot.

Nikki says her confidence was in the gutter after Extreme Rules but last week she beat Alexa Bliss, who is better than Bayley and Banks.

Big E. says Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston are in his heart and mind. Tonight, Miz feels the power.

Miz isn’t worried about Big E. having a singles career. John Morrison thinks it sounds like a bad spinoff.

Lacey Evans is ready for the nasty Naomi.

Naomi promises to make Lacey feel the glow.

Gran Metalik wants the Intercontinental Title (in Spanish).

AJ Styles is ready to teach Metalik a lesson.

We go to the Firefly Fun House where Bray Wyatt has a snorkel because he was looking for Braun Strowman. Though maybe the alligators have already eaten Braun. All Bray ever wanted to do was save Braun but now HE is awake and HE wants something Braun has. Until HE gets it, none of you are safe. Let him in.

Intercontinental Title: AJ Styles vs. Gran Metalik

Metalik is challenging and has Lince Dorado with him. AJ drives him into the corner to start and we’re at an early standoff. Some kicks to the ribs take Metalik down and Styles sends him face first into the buckle. There’s a suplex for two and AJ whips him hard into the corner but misses an elbow.

Metalik sends him outside and cuts AJ off at the legs. A running hurricanrana off the apron takes AJ down and we take a break. Back with Metalik hitting a high crossbody but a monkey flip is blocked. AJ starts in on the leg by cranking away on the mat, including a half crab to send Metalik to the rope.

Metalik slips out of the fireman’s carry neckbreaker and snaps off a tornado DDT for a hotter than expected near fall. There’s the rope walk dropkick for two more but AJ is right back with the Phenomenal Blitz. The Phenomenal Forearm misses though and Metalik hits an enziguri for the double breather. Metalik walks the ropes again but AJ knocks him out of the air. The Calf Crusher makes Metalik tap at 14:24.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of thing I can go for: have AJ Styles working with some random wrestler and getting a good match out of him. Metalik can do some good stuff on his own, but Styles is the kind of guy who can do whatever he wants with anyone and make it look easy. Nice stuff here and a perfectly fine match to open the show.

Post match Dorado checks on Metalik and gets taken out with the Styles Clash.

King Corbin comes up to Shorty G. and talks about how overlooked Gable has been. All of the short jokes were there to motivate him, and he can do that against Matt Riddle tonight. Gable seems to think about things. As usual, it’s amazing how much all of the energy that opener put together goes away as soon as Corbin shows up.

We look back at the bar fight last week.

Here’s Hardy for a chat. Jeff has not felt this good in a long time and knows that, as a fan shouts, Sheamus sucks. Last week was a reminder that he is on the right path. It’s true that he is an alcoholic but he is also a loving husband and a WWE star. That is what makes him never want to let anyone down again and he is fighting the struggle every day. Cue King Corbin to say enough about the sobriety stuff.

What is going on around here? Hardy is standing in the ring talking about how tough things is so suck it up and deal with it. Corbin has to deal with that idiotic Matt Riddle who can’t keep his shows and tonight he has to face Drew Gulak. Hardy says maybe Corbin is the real problem but Corbin thinks Hardy is more concerned about sitting in a circle, talking about the twelve steps and collecting coins. Gulak jumps him from behind and we’re off. Well after a break that is. So yeah, Corbin is now in two stories at once, assuming we’re not counting Gulak as a third.

Drew Gulak vs. King Corbin

Joined in progress with Gulak working on the arm and throwing Corbin down. A stomp to the arm sets up the hammerlock as Corbin is sent into the corner. Corbin right hands him out of the corner though and Gulak is rocked in a hurry. It’s off to a half crab on Gulak, with Corbin turning it into the middle of the ring.

That’s reverses into a YES Lock but Corbin gets out and reaches the rope. Some running dropkicks have Corbin in trouble and Gulak adds a top rope clothesline for two. Corbin is back with Deep Six but here’s Matt Riddle for a distraction, setting up a small package for two. Not that it matters as the End of Days finishes Gulak at 5:12.

Rating: C. And yes of course we keep Corbin going because he must be on the show no matter what happens. Corbin continues to do his thing and if we have to see him, I would rather have him in the ring than on the microphone, though it is the lesser of two evils at best. Gulak continues to be a great hand in the ring and that isn’t a bad spot to have.

Post match Riddle runs in and goes after Corbin but Shorty G. runs in with a suplex to Riddle and a smile to Corbin.

Big E. vs. The Miz

John Morrison is here with Miz while Big E. is alone, as commentary makes very clear. Miz gets driven into the corner so Big E. can hit the hip swiveling. Then it’s a fireman’s carry into more swiveling, setting up the spanking abdominal stretch. Miz gets out and slaps him in the face for some reason, which doesn’t go well. They head outside with Miz being sent into various things but Morrison hits a flipping kick off the steps.

Miz gets in a kick to the face and it’s a top rope ax handle back inside. Big E. powers out of a chinlock and sends him to the apron for a clothesline. The apron splash misses though and we take a break. Back with Big E. fighting out of another chinlock but getting kick in the face for two. Big E. is back up again with some belly to belly suplexes into the Warrior Splash. The Big Ending and Skull Crushing Finale are blocked so Miz hits the DDT for two more. There are the YES Kicks but Big E reverses one into a failed powerbomb attempt.

Miz kicks the knee out and kicks away at it in the corner. Some running knees are countered into a not great Rock Bottom out of the corner but the spear through the ropes is countered with another knee. Morrison gets on the apron for a kick to the head though and the Skull Crushing Final gets two. Miz grabs the Figure Four but Big E. gets over to the rope. Morrison teases another kick but gets caught this time for an ejection. Miz panics for a good while and gets rolled up for two, followed by a Stretch Muffler of all things to make Miz tap at 14:00.

Rating: C-. They needed to cut some of the time out of this as Big E. didn’t quite look like a breakout star. The idea of him being out there on his own makes sense, assuming you ignore his Intercontinental Title, NXT Title, and long successful run as part of the New Day. They’re treating him like some rookie who has never done this before and that doesn’t exactly fit anything about him. I liked the ending, but this needed to be about five minutes shorter.

Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura are celebrating when Lucha House Party comes in. They seem interested in a title shot but Cesaro makes fun of Metalik for choking.

Sheamus talks about making the mistake of fighting Jeff Hardy in a bar. No matter how many bottles Sheamus broke over his head, he knew Hardy was fueled by alcohol. Hardy is no longer his problem and that’s bad news for Smackdown. Now, he is the locker room’s problem.

Lacey Evans vs. Naomi

Before the match, Lacey promises to make everyone feel sorry for Naomi when she beats her again. Lacey takes her into the corner to start and goes to tie Naomi’s hair around the rope. That’s broken up as Naomi tries a hurricanrana, earning herself a powerbomb. Naomi’s back is bent around the post with Lacey pulling on the hair, followed by a hard posting.

Lacey traps the hair in the steps but Naomi beats the count and knocks her outside again. Naomi tries a sliding….I want to say sunset bomb or Canadian Destroyer but she loses Lacey on the flip and sends her flying instead, with Cole even asking what the heck that was. Back in and Lacey ties the hair into the ropes again but this time Naomi comes out with a backslide for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: D. I’d love to know who the producer was for this because they probably need to be demoted. It felt like they had about five ideas but none of them were developed and it turned into a mess. Lacey trying to tie the hair up over and over was as close as they got to a point, but the big spot was so horribly botched and I’m still not sure why I should care about Lacey being mad over a karaoke contest. Naomi and Lacey could both be developed into something, though it isn’t happening like this.

Otis and Mandy Rose are here and have plans for a date, with Mandy making some suggestive statements involving food. They’ll be ready in a few minutes but Sonya Deville looks on.

Post break Sonya jumps Mandy and covers her face with makeup. She cuts off a bunch of Mandy’s hair too while screaming about wanting to ruin Mandy’s life. Sonya grabs some electric clippers but referees come in for the save.

After a quick chat from commentary on what we just saw, Heavy Machinery comes in to check on Mandy. Miz and Morrison come int o ask where the adults are because Mandy now looks like a soccer mom. Miz: “Rest asheered, we will take care of this.” Morrison: “Don’t cut it short.” Otis glares them off.

We recap Bayley vs. Nikki Cross, which included Bayley beating her at Extreme Rules and injuring her ribs.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

Bayley is defending and Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss are the seconds. Cross starts fast by knocking Bayley around and hitting a monkey flip. The Purge is broken up so Nikki slams her head first into the mat over and over. Bayley is back with a shot in the ropes but Nikki sends her outside in a crash as we take a break. We come back with Bayley running Nikki over and sending her into the buckle. A belly to back suplex drops Nikki on her head for two but a shot to the throat gets her out of trouble.

There’s a tornado DDT for two on Bayley and a reverse DDT onto the apron has her in more trouble. Back in and Nikki gets two off a Regal Cutter but Bayley snaps her throat first across the rope. Bayley goes over to the announcers’ table to mock Nikki’s dance for reasons of general cockiness, allowing Nikki to take her down by the leg. A dropkick through the ropes takes Sasha down and they fight over some rollups for two each. Bayley pops back up and hits the bulldog driver to retain at 10:30.

Rating: C+. They were just starting to cook and then Bayley finished her in a hurry to retain. It didn’t last long but they had me believing they might pull the surprise for a bit. That’s hard to do given how dominant Bayley has been but they need to have someone give her a real challenge because you can only do these same things over and over so many times.

Post match Bayley and Banks leave and the copyright comes up but we stay with Bliss trying to help Nikki up. Nikki says no and shoves her down before leaving on her own. Cue the Fiend of all people to kneel next to Bliss and hold out his hand, which she looks at while shaking her head. Fiend Mandible Claws Bliss to end the show. If we have to do this one more time, that’s a different enough way to go to make it more interesting.

Overall Rating: C. This was a show where they were trying hard and coming close to making it work but then something cut it off. Whether it was Corbin or the Naomi vs. Evans match or reminding us that Hardy is an alcoholic every few segments, this show had a lot of speed bumps and couldn’t overcome all of them. The good stuff was good though, with some solid matches and the potential of Big E. getting his singles push (just don’t have him beat Morrison next week and burn off more of his solo time) being highlights. I liked the show, but I could have liked it a lot more without the issues.

Results

AJ Styles b. Gran Metalik – Calf Crusher

King Corbin b. Drew Gulak – End of Days

Big E. b. The Miz – Stretch Muffler

Naomi b. Lacey Evans – Backslide

Bayley b. Nikki Cross – Bulldog driver

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 24, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re finally done with Extreme Rules and less than a month away from Summerslam. That means it’s time to start getting ready for one of the bigger shows of the year, but first we need to have a bar fight between Sheamus and Jeff Hardy, as one of the more questionable feuds of the year continues. Let’s get to it.

Here is Extreme Rules if you need a recap.

Jeff Hardy says he is an alcoholic and is ready to face Sheamus in his newfound enemy: a bar.

Sheamus is ready to give Jeff a headache, but it’s from a Brogue kick instead of a hangover.

JBL knows what a bar fight is like and says the emotions are running higher than the blood alcohol content in an APA poker game. Points for actually managing to make this even more cringe worthy.

Here are Bayley and Sasha Banks to gloat. Sasha talks about what it means to be great but the definition needs to be changed to the two of them. After Bayley yells at some fans, Banks declares an end to the Women’s Revolution. It started with them and it’s ending with them, because they are starting a new era. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be them, but here are Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss to interrupt.

Cross rants about how sick she is of the two of them so Bayley asks if she took her rabies medicine. Even Bliss thinks it’s too much right now but Cross wants a Women’s Title shot tonight. Bayley says fine, but Cross has to face Bliss, with the winner getting the title shot next week. Cross says they have to do this and shoves Bliss down, although not out of anger.

Nikki Cross vs. Alexa Bliss

The winner gets a shot at Bayley next week so Bayley and Banks are on commentary. Cross comes in with taped ribs thanks to the ring shot on Sunday, which Banks turns into a plug for WWE Shop. Bliss gets shoved down to start but Cross can’t hit a tornado DDT. They get annoyed at each other, even as Bliss can’t hit her own DDT. Cross gets more fired up and forearms away, setting up a bulldog for two.

Bliss dropkicks her tot he floor but misses the charge and gets caught in the ring skirt. A kick to the face gets Bliss out of trouble, so Bayley and Banks shout “GET HER! GET HER!” That earns them a double knockdown and we take a break. Back with Bliss dropkicking her out to the floor as Cole and Graves laugh at the knockdown before the commercial. Bayley challenges Cole for Summerslam as Bliss kicks away at the bad ribs and drives them into the barricade to put Cross down outside.

Back in and some knees to the ribs give Bliss two before she cranks on the arm with a knee in the ribs. It’s off to a seated abdominal stretch so Cole can list off all of Bliss’ accomplishments. They really need to stop doing that as so many people have won so many titles that they lose all meaning every time you hear them.

Cross fights up but the tornado DDT is countered into a sunset bomb for two. Back up and Cross grabs a Regal Cutter for two more, followed by a reverse DDT for the same. Cross misses the high crossbody though and the ribs are banged up again. The referee goes to check on her so Cross insists she can keep going, which means a small package to finish Bliss at 14:55.

Rating: C. This was good enough and they’re planting the seeds for a Bliss/Cross split. That’s possibly their backdoor out of next week, though I’m not sure where that leaves Bayley for Summerslam. The ribs stuff was good here though, and Bayley and Banks are really entertaining on commentary, as you can tell how well they get along. It’s certainly better than Nikki screaming every chance she gets.

Post break Nikki is excited when a dejected Bliss comes in to congratulate her. Bliss says it’s time to focus on becoming the new Women’s Champion next week.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House, which starts with a package on the Swamp Fight. Bray, standing next to the Fiend lantern, says that was fun because Braun Strowman came back home. Some of you are probably worried that Braun is now trapped in the swamp, but don’t worry, because it has been certified organic. The lantern starts talking to him but Bray says its job is done for now. No he can’t let the lantern out again, because he had his chance. Now it’s his turn, because he has been unleashed. We cut to the Fiend and that’s it.

We look back at AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle from last week.

Matt Riddle vs. Tony Nese

Riddle goes straight to the rolling gutwrench suplexes into the Broton for one. Nese knocks him down and hits a Lionsault for two, followed by a bodyscissors to keep Riddle in trouble. Back up and Nese has to knee his way out of the Bro Derek, meaning Riddle settles for a t-bone suplex. Now the Bro Derek can connect for the pin at 2:03. Nice back on track win for Riddle.

Post match Riddle calls out King Corbin to fight him right now. Cue Corbin to say the request is denied because Riddle doesn’t belong in the kingdom. Riddle still has the new car smell but after that wears off, he’s just a frat boy who looks like he just rolled out of bed. That’s why Corbin has put out a king’s ransom on his head. Riddle says Corbin has it all wrong because Corbin is the next guest on the Bro Show. Nese tries to jump Riddle and gets kicked in the head.

Miz and John Morrison try to think of hashtags to get themselves some extra attention, with Morrison’s getting rather long.

JBL talks about what a bar fight means and talks about Jeff Hardy’s career. Jeff wins tonight.

Here are Miz and Morrison for MizTV. They have been talking with a team of trend forecasters to find out what is going to trend in the future. That’s why Morrison’s jacket has a MoreMorrison hashtag sign in his shirt. He’ll be sick if that doesn’t trend. How sick you ask? Four Seth Rollins vomiting sick. With that out of the way, here is Naomi as their guest. Last week she may have lost, but Naomideservesbetter was trending after her match. Naomi thanks the fans for having her back, with Miz talking about how she went viral for returning at the Royal Rumble this year too. Miz: “But you didn’t win that match either.”

Why aren’t people talking about Lacey Evans? Naomi says the two of them are making her sick. Miz and Morrison: “How sick?” That would be five Seth Rollins vomiting sick, which Miz warns will prevent her from trending. Naomi talks about everything she puts in the ring every time and that’s why the fans are behind her.

Miz didn’t expect this kind of a confrontation, so here’s Lacey Evans as a surprise guest. Lacey thinks Naomi’s hashtag was trending out of pity and calls her washed up. Naomi shoves Lacey as she does her lipstick, meaning the fight is on with Lacey bailing. I can go with Naomi getting a push, but because of karaoke, makeup and hashtags?

We look at Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura winning the Tag Team Titles on Sunday.

Big E. is outside of the trainer’s room when Kofi Kingston comes out. He’s holding his ribs and limping because there is some bad news: he is going to be out about six weeks. Big E. promises they will get the Tag Team Titles back but Kofi wants Big E. to go do something on his own while the rest of the team is on the shelf. Kofi: “I put your meat on my meat man.” They hug and Big E. seems touched.

Gran Metalik vs. Lince Dorado vs. Shorty G. vs. Drew Gulak

One fall to a finish and the winner gets an Intercontinental Title shot against AJ Styles (on commentary). Gable and Gulak are sent outside in a hurry but the Lucha House Party fight doesn’t break out as Gulak breaks things up. Metalik hurricanranas Gulak to the floor before dodging a German suplex attempt from Gable. The rope walk dropkick gets two on gable with Gulak making a save. Dorado comes in and hammers away in Gulak in the corner as AJ says he wants to face the one who gets beaten up the worst. AJ: “It just makes sense right?”

Dorado suicide dives onto Gulak and Gable sends Metalik outside. A huge Gable moonsault wipes out everyone and we take a break. Back with Gable and Gulak going into a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. Metalik comes back in and gets double teamed down but Gulak and Gable argue over who gets to stomp. The arguing lets Metalik hit a handspring elbow to take both of them down and it’s Dorado coming back in to chop away.

Metalik breaks up Dorado’s cover though and the argument is on, only to have Gable jump Metalik with a suplex. There’s one for Dorado as well and Gable is fired up. Gulak takes a third and a hard belly to back suplex gets two on Metalik. Back up and Gable gets caught in the Gulock but he climbs the ropes to reverse into an ankle lock. The grapevine makes it even worse but Dorado makes the save with a top rope splash for two. Dorado goes up again, earning himself a crotching from Gulak. Gable takes them both down though and Metalik walks the ropes for the top rope elbow and the pin on Gable at 11:47.

Rating: C+. They kept the action going here and that’s the best thing they could have done. That being said, they picked Metalik to get the title shot? Actually…..why not? One of the biggest criticisms about WWE is they can be predictable so Metalik winning here is quite the twist. He won’t win the title or anything, but points for trying something new.

Post match AJ gets in the ring and slaps Metalik in the face, earning himself a tornado DDT. Metalik holds up the title.

Video on Otis and Mandy Rose’s romance.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro are happy with their titles but they are sad about not putting Big E. through a table. It would have made a bigger splat you see. Even with Kofi being out of action, it isn’t Big E.’s time. They salute and promise to make all of the Smackdown teams go splat.

Long video on Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus.

Next week: AJ Styles defends against Gran Metalik and Nikki Cross gets another shot at Alexa Bliss.

Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy

They’re in a local bar and Sheamus arrives first, meaning he can order a drink. Jeff arrives and asks for a cup as he sits down next to Sheamus. His brother had to delete his career and Jeff had to save his own. Rehab made him better but Sheamus says no one cares about Jeff anymore. Jeff asks if Sheamus is still the bar and says he is connected to everything. Like the window, the TV and this bar. Sheamus: “I’m the bar!” Sheamus is ready to fight so Sheamus throws a drink in his face and it’s on.

That means Sheamus gets the better of it in a hurry and hits the ten forearms over the bar. Sheamus wants a top shelf drink but the distraction lets Jeff run down the bar and dive onto him. There’s a whip into some barrels and Jeff steals the basketballs from a machine and pelts Sheamus with them. They fight into the back with Jeff having a barrel knocked out of his hands. Sheamus sends him into some walls and they head into the bathroom, with Jeff’s face going into a urinal.

Jeff one ups him by throwing Sheamus into a stall and crawling out, leaving Sheamus to scream about Hardy. Sheamus goes looking for him but gets laddered in the chest. Jeff dives off the bar again but gets rammed into the wall for his efforts. Now it’s Jeff being thrown over a set of drums and we take a break. Back with Sheamus Brogue kicking a drum and being sent into a table. The Twisting Stunner rocks Sheamus and Jeff grabs the ladder.

The bartender, the same one from the toast, jumps Jeff from behind though, earning himself a powerbomb through a table. Sheamus breaks a chair over Hardy’s back, puts his hat over Jeff’s face, and says sweet dreams. Sheamus has a drink and calls over the referee, but now Jeff’s face is painted and his eyeballs have some kind of a film over them. He gets up and hits Sheamus with a glass before climbing the ladder. The Swanton hits Sheamus for the pin at 13:14.

Rating: C. It was a good enough brawl but good grief enough with the supernatural stuff. Hardy going into some trance and suddenly having paint on his face took me way out of this as they were having a good and almost realistic fight for a long time. But then oh wait never mind because we need to tell some story or have Jeff be some weird creature. He can’t just fight up because he wants to prove people wrong and come back against the odds for the win. No no, the solution is to be smart instead, because that hasn’t gotten WWE in trouble lately whatsoever.

Overall Rating: C. Your individual taste may vary here as they seem to have a plan for Summerslam (that’s good) but some of the choices are a little out there (that’s usually bad). The action was good enough and the main event felt like a step forward for Hardy, but dang I don’t need to see anything cinematic for a LONG time to come. They do seem to be going in a few fresh directions though and right now, that is a good idea. Granted baseball’s big return is going to ravage this in the ratings anyway, but points for planting some seeds.

Results

Nikki Cross b. Alexa Bliss – Small package

Matt Riddle b. Tony Nese – Bro Derek

Gran Metalik b. Lince Dorado, Shorty G. and Drew Gulak – Rope walk elbow to Shorty G.

Jeff Hardy b. Sheamus – Swanton off a ladder

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:

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