Monday Night Raw
Date: June 5, 2023
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re near WWE’s home this week and it’s a big night as Seth Rollins is defending the World Heavyweight Title against Damian Priest. Other than that, we’ll have some more Money In The Bank qualifying matches and more from Imperium and Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going. It has been a party since he won the title but tonight, he has Damian Priest. Judgment Day is good, but they’re not as good as him. Cue Priest and Finn Balor, with Rollins wondering where Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are. Priest brags about how awesome he is so Rollins challenges him to make it one on one tonight, with Judgment Day in the back.

Rollins also brings up how things go badly for Finn Balor when they square off, including a poke to the shoulder, which is a rather cruel line given how badly Balor was hurt in their first match. Anyway, Priest say deal and promises to win the title while Rollins can go down in history with one of the shortest reigns ever. Actually it’s already the longest in the history of the title but that’s not the point Priest is going for.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Becky Lynch vs. Sonya Deville

Chelsea Green is here with Deville, who knocks Becky into the corner to start. Some forearms in the corner and against the rope have Becky in trouble but she’s right back with the Bexploder. A middle rope crossbody gives Becky two but cue Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark to watch. The distraction rollup gets two and we take a break.

Back with Deville hitting a superplex for two, followed by the forearm off. Becky starts slugging back but Green offers a distraction, earning herself a heck of a beating on the floor. Deville goes to help and gets sent into the barricade as well (with some hair extensions coming out). Deville’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets two back inside but Becky has had it with this, setting up the Manhandle Slam for the pin at 11:24.

Rating: C+. The interference was needed to help make this match competitive as Deville has never been a big deal in the singles ranks. Winning the Money in the Bank briefcase is about all that there is left for Becky to do in her career so giving her the win here was the way to go. Green and Deville need something to do, but beating Lynch isn’t it.

We look at the Bloodline split on Smackdown.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn won’t say they told you so about the Bloodline, but you get the idea. Imperium pops up, sending Owens into a rant about how no one said their name. Gunther comes in to say Owens is undisciplined so Owens wants to go to the ring right now.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are ready to party. And wrestle.

Gunther vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. They go right to the slugout to start with Owens hitting him in the face and knocking Gunther into the corner. Gunther is back with a German suplex and we take a break. We come back with Gunther working on a neck crank and hitting a big boot for two. Another big boot sets up a Boston crab but Owens is back up with a failed suplex attempt.

Instead Gunther blasts him with a clothesline, but Owens is back with some clothesline of his own. They trade German suplexes and both of them are down for a breather. Owens knocks him into the corner for the Cannonball and another near fall. Gunther blasts him with the shotgun dropkick but Owens’ fisherman’s buster gets two.

Back up and Gunther takes him to the top for a single underhook superplex, only to have the big splash hit raised knees. Owens’ Swanton hits Gunther for two but Imperium and Zayn get in a fight on the floor. Kaiser comes inside and gets Stunned, allowing Gunther to roll Owens up for the pin at 17:10.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it was a heck of a lot of fun to watch them out there. Gunther can go with anyone and those chops are still great. At the same time, Owens is going to be out there swinging away against anyone and he did thing rather well here. The ending made sense too, as you don’t want Owens taking a clean pin and Gunther rolled him up for a pin rather than hitting him low or something like that. Makes sense, and it suited him well.

Post break, Imperium interrupts Matt Riddle’s interview so Riddle takes Vinci down and hurts his leg before being pulled off. That’s a different Riddle and that’s what he needs to do.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler want competition and Kayden Carter/Katana Chance (both about six inches shorter than the champs) come in to ask about a title shot. The champs laugh but sure.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Rousey and Baszler are defending. Baszler takes Chance into the corner to start and it’s off to Rousey, who wants Carter. That’s exactly what she gets as everything breaks down, with Carter and Chance hitting dives out to the floor. Back in and Rousey works on Chance’s arms but Chance fights up and brings Carter in. Carter hits a low superkick to Baszler and a hanging Pedigree, only to get elbowed in the face. Rousey comes back in but gets caught in the neckbreaker/450 combination (Carter/Chance’s finisher) for two, with Baszler making the save. Baszler has had enough and chokes out Carter to retain at 6:42.

Rating: C+. This was a weird one as you had the newcomers trying to get their start but being up against a couple of monsters in Rousey/Baszler. Carter and Chance did look good in defeat, but having a loss in their main roster debut isn’t the best look. Rousey and Baszler are likely going to be the champs for at least a bit as not only are they dominant, but there is no one out there to give them a serious challenge at the moment. Maybe there is some kind of a big twist coming, but for now, we could be seeing Baszler and Rousey with the titles for a long time.

Bronson Reed isn’t happy that Ricochet is in the Money in the Bank ladder match instead of him. Ricochet said he earned his shot and Reed lost his, but Reed says he was dominating until….and here is Nakamura to interrupt. Reed leaves, saying next time would be different.

Video on Johnny Gargano’s rise through NXT and road here, despite being told he had no place in WWE. This Gargano is more interesting than whatever else he’s been doing lately.

Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Ricochet grabs a headlock to start but gets his leg kicked out. Nakamura kicks him down again but gets knocked off the top and out to the floor in a crash. Ricochet’s big running flip dive connects and Nakamura is down as we take a break. Back with Ricochet knocking Nakamura down and hitting the running shooting star press for two. Nakamura takes him into the corner for Good Vibrations but Kinshasa is countered with the Recoil. Ricochet gets caught up top but here is Bronson Reed to jump Nakamura for the DQ at 8:07.

Rating: C+. They were both talented stars in the ring and got to show themselves off a bit here, but there is only so much you can do in an eight minute match with about four minutes of that being in a break. Throw in that this is the first of the still idiotic “building momentum to Money in the Bank” (because getting a pinfall or submission somehow makes it easier to climb a ladder) matches and they did rather well with a good number of factors making it harder.

Post match the destruction is on, with Ricochet getting crushed with the Tsunami. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!” Reed: Nah.

We look at Maxxine Dupri being chased off by Valhalla last week.

Maxxine Dupri and Chad gable aren’t sure what to do about the Viking Raiders, but Otis seems to have a plan. Dupri is ready to train and has the perfect outfit in her locker.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz wasting no time in bringing out Cody Rhodes. Miz: “You look dashing tonight.” Miz brings up Rhodes challenging Brock Lesnar to a fight anytime, which Miz thinks is rather stupid. Cody: “Mike….” Miz: “In this ring, it’s the Miz. First name The, second name Miz.” Instead, Cody has been told it was brave, not that Miz would know anything about large testicles.

Miz talks about how we love surprises around here, so here are Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. After Ripley shushes Miz (Miz: “Yes ma’am”.), Dominik deals with quite the chorus of booing to get to his point: Cody is a bad father. Dom compared him to Rey Mysterio, but Cody says that Dominik was in jail for about 15 minutes. Cody: “You even have a worse prison tattoo than mine.”

Then Dominik got a public spanking at Wrestlemania. Dominik slaps Cody and then hides behind Ripley when Cody comes after him. Cody drops Miz with a cast shot to blow off some steam. Funny stuff here, and Cody needs something to do until Lesnar gets back. If nothing else, Dominik going against another high level opponent is a good thing, as it tells me WWE has faith in him.

We look back at the opening sequence.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Zoey Stark vs. Natalya

Trish Stratus is here with Stark. Natalya takes her down by the arm to start but Stark fights up and goes after the knee. Stark stomps on said knee as Trish seems to think this is rather intelligent. Some knees to the ribs have Natalya in more trouble but she armdrags her way out. A German suplex drops Stark for two and the Sharpshooter goes on. Stark makes the ropes so Natalya yells at Trish, who kicks her in the knee. The Z36 finishes Natalya at 3:45.

Rating: C. It’s a Natalya match without much time so I think you know what you’re getting here. As has been the case for….oh the last five years or so, Natalya is as smooth of an in-ring worker as you can get and there is very little reason to get interested in anything she is doing. She’s there to put people over and make them look good, which she often does, but the lack of excitement over her being in the ring doesn’t help things whatsoever.

Paul Heyman invites us to hear Jey Uso’s decision this week on Smackdown. This week, Jey will choose to stand by his brother Solo, because he can share a womb with Jimmy, but he’ll never be closer to him than he will be to Roman Reigns.

Indus Sher vs. Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin

Indus Sher jumps them before the bell and lays Cedric out. No match.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest

Rollins is defending and takes Priest down fast to start, meaning we go to a break in less than a minute. Back with Rollins taking him to the floor but being sent into the timekeeper’s area. Rollins dive is punched out of the air, followed by a superkick back inside. We hit the chinlock for a bit, followed by a double arm crank to keep Rollins in trouble. Rollins fights up and hits a few shots, followed by a backbreaker.

The frog splash misses though and Priest kicks Rollins in the head. Rollins knocks him to the floor but the suicide dive is countered into a Downward Spiral onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Rollins hitting the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two. Three straight suicide dives send Priest over the announcers’ table and the frog splash gives Rollins two back inside.

Priest is back up with a headlock driver for the same and a spinning kick to the head catches Rollins on top. A super hurricanrana brings Rollins down for two but he’s back with a Pedigree for the same. They go to the floor and a barricade powerbomb hits Priest, followed by a superkick to cut off an interfering Finn Balor. Priest hits South of Heaven for a slightly delayed two back inside. Rollins is back with a superkick though and the Stomp retains the title at 21:53.

Rating: B. The match was the good stuff you would expect in this spot, but they are hammering in the “workhorse title” concept like something that is hammed in rather quickly and often. Rollins beating Roman Reigns by DQ about a year and a half ago doesn’t make him feel like the other World Champion, but rather trying to make the Intercontinental Title feel like a big deal when Brock Lesnar wasn’t around. I’ll certainly take Rollins having one good match after another, but this “it’s the other World Title” stuff is going to feel lame until Reigns gets beaten, which could take a very long time.

Rollins and Balor have a staredown to end the show. Because Rollins is going to have to defend against him next, because it’s the WORKHORSE TITLE you see.

Overall Rating: B. All in all, this was a rather good Raw, as they took care of some stuff for Money in the Bank with the qualifiers, gave us a pair of very strong matches and didn’t do anything overly stupid. Cody even made fun of his own tattoo to throw in some comedy. This show worked, and I’ll absolutely take it as the offering from one of WWE’s brands for a weekly show.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Sonya Deville – Manhandle Slam
Gunther b. Kevin Owens – Rollup
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Kirifuda Clutch to Carter
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Ricochet via DQ when Bronson Reed interfered
Zoey Stark b. Natalya – Z360
Seth Rollins b. Damian Priest – Stomp

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 29, 2023
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

We’re done with Night Of Champions and that means it is time to deal with the fallout. The show featured a triple main event, including Seth Rollins being crowned as the new World Heavyweight Champion. In addition, Brock Lesnar beat Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso seems to have walked out on the Bloodline. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Night Of Champions.

Here is new World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, coming through the crowd, to open things up. After taking his sweet time to get to the ring, with streamers and a lot of singing, Rollins says it was a long road here. Finally now, Raw has a champion that wants to be here and a champion that is ready for a fight. After some more conducting, here is AJ Styles to interrupt.

Styles talks about how he gave Rollins everything he had and now the fans are saying Rollins deserves it. That’s not how Styles sees it though, because the reality is Rollins earned it. Rollins shakes his hand and here is the Judgment Day to interrupt. The team talks about how they run WWE and know that it’s going to be one of them that takes the title from Rollins. Ripley: “It could even be my Dom Dom!” After Rollins and Styles crack up laughing, a tag match is made for tonight.

Adam Pearce is on the phone and says that yes he gets why the tag match feels like it goes against the Raw and Smackdown being separate but it’s what the fans want to see. Pearce goes over to Rollins and Styles, who are down for the match. Of note: Pearce was talking to someone above him who had to approve the match, which isn’t something he usually has to do.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: The Miz vs. Ricochet

Ricochet starts fast and sends Miz outside, only to have Miz come back with a running hurricanrana (!) and a big boot. With Ricochet on the floor, Miz drops him onto the announcers’ table, followed by a top rope ax handle back inside. We take a break and come back with Miz hitting a springboard (Miz: “I SPRINGBOARDED!”) crossbody to knock Ricochet down for two more. A Codebreaker out of the corner and a DDT get two on Ricochet, who comes back with a kick to the face. The standing Sliced Bread sets up a shooting star press to finish Miz at 8:40.

Rating: C+. Miz was trying some different stuff here, to the point where it almost felt like he was trying to show off a bit. There’s nothing wrong with mixing it up a bit and Miz bragging about what he was doing fit in perfectly. At the same time, Ricochet going forward is the right call, as you need someone to do a bunch of flips from the ladders.

We look at Zoey Stark helping Trish Stratus beat Becky Lynch at Night Of Champions.

Here is Trish to soak in some THANK YOU TRISH chants, but they mean nothing to her coming from you people. Trish talks about how she told us she would win and says this is what you do when you are the best ever. Now Becky can go away for a bit and let the real stars shine through. Trish is proud of someone who wanted to help her and reminds her of herself from years ago.

Cue Zoey Stark to says he is here to be behind someone as legendary as Trish. They bring up the bruise on Trish’s chin, with Trish threatening Becky Lynch if she shows up. Cue Becky, who says let’s do it again, with Trish sending Zoey after her. That doesn’t work and Becky gets in to hammer on Trish, at least until Zoey cuts it off. The Z360 knocks Becky silly and they put a THANK YOU TRISH shirt up against her in the corner. Solid heel heat here and the feud will have some legs going forward.

Indus Sher vs. Javier Bernal/???

Jinder Mahal is here with Indus Sher (including Veer, who slips off the apron as they get in), who jump them before the bell. Bernal gets sent into the corner and the bell rings, with Veer kicking him in the head. It’s off to the unnamed one, who is tossed into Bernal, setting up a legdrop/side slam combination for the pin at 1:14.

We look back at Jimmy Uso turning on Roman Reigns at Night Of Champions, seemingly leaving the Bloodline. Jey Uso’s future remains to be determined.

Here are Kevin Owens (in an Usos shirt) and Sami Zayn for a chat. Sami is so happy about winning, by which he means ruining Roman Reigns’ life. He has nothing to say about Roman but here is Imperium to interrupt. Ludvig Kaiser brags about Gunther but Owens snaps, shouting about what Kaiser’s problem is. Sami says there is an unwritten rule that Imperium’s name wasn’t mentioned so they shouldn’t be out here.

They have a match later with “American Alpha” but Sami brings up the two of them and Riddle beating Imperium. Kaiser calls Riddle an embarrassment but Owens is tired of hearing from Slender Man (Kaiser) and “the one with the ears” but they never hear from baldy (meaning Giovanni Vinci. That’s not cool with Kaiser, who is cut off by the Alpha Academy and one heck of a SHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUSH. Owens wants to hear the other thing, giving us a big THANK YOU. And now we’re ready to go.

Video on Katana Chance/Kayden Carter, who like to party.

Alpha Academy vs. Imperium

Maxxine Dupri and Gunther are here too, while Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are on commentary. Gable is taken into the corner but comes out with a flying headscissors and a headlock takeover/flying headscissors combination. Cue Valhalla to chase Dupri off (and scare Owens to death), with the distraction letting Imperium take over with the double dropkick to Gable in the corner.

Gable armdrags his way to freedom and kicks Vinci away, setting up the diving tag to Otis. The Caterpillar hits Kaiser, with Vinci making the save and low bridging Otis to the floor. It’s back to Gable, who gets caught with a spinebuster. The Imperial Bomb is enough to finish Gable at 5:15.

Rating: C. This was the usual completely watchable Academy match while Imperium continues to establish themselves around here. That can take some time to do but what matters is WWE actually has an accomplished team who can be elevated that quickly. Other than that, the Valhalla interference was kind of amusing due to Owens’ reaction, so it was kind of hard to get bothered here.

Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez are ready for their match when Damage Ctrl comes in to mock them. Rodriguez points out that Bayley is the only member of the team who hasn’t won gold since they got together, so it’s time for her to look in the mirror. After they lose of course.

Video on Candice LeRae, who wears fairy wings because of the fairy tale her life has become.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Damage Ctrl vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

For the vacant titles. Rodriguez powers Bayley around to start until an elbow to the face cuts her off. Bayley tags in Green, who really doesn’t want to be involved. Green gets thrown into Baszler and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Rodriguez coming in to clean house until Rousey gets the tag.

Rousey takes Rodriguez down into the armbreaker but Bayley makes the save with a top rope elbow. Green tags herself in and sends Rodriguez into the post, setting up I’m Prettier to Rodriguez. A running knee gives Deville two but it’s Sky coming in for the running knees in the corner.

Shotzi makes the save and hits a heck of a suicide dive on Bayley. Rodriguez tags Shotzi in and it’s a Tower Of Doom, with Rousey taking the worst of it. The top rope backsplash is pulled into the armbreaker though and Shotzi immediately taps to make Rousey/Baszler champions at 11:35.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how much of a surprise that it was to have Rousey and Baszler win the titles but that is what should have happened. They have long since felt like the most dominant team around and they probably would have won the titles earlier if not for Rousey’s injury. Sometimes you need to go with the logical move and that is what they did here.

Dolph Ziggler vs. JD McDonagh

Ziggler takes him into the corner to start but McDonagh sends him throat first into the rope. They head outside with McDonagh sending him into the steps. It’s enough of a beating that McDonagh is disqualified at 1:13.

Post match the beatdown stays on Ziggler until referees break it up.

Here is Cody Rhodes, with his arm in a sling, to talk about the Brock Lesnar match. Cody’s contemporaries talk about how he shouldn’t have fought Lesnar but he did it anyway. No he didn’t tap out, because that isn’t the kind of man he wants to be. Rhodes talks about John Cena saying Never Give Up, which hurts a lot when you’re stuck in a Kimura for three straight minutes.

He wants to talk to Lesnar, but since Lesnar isn’t here, he’ll have to talk to the camera. Rhodes issues an open challenge to fight Lesnar anywhere anytime, and even lists off the cities where he’ll be soon. He also wants this to be the last time that he lists off all of Lesnar’s accomplishments but says that while Lesnar is Beast enough to break his arm, he isn’t man enough to make Rhodes tap out. Lesnar is afraid of him, and that’s your mic drop.

Matt Riddle wants to win Money in the Bank but Gunther interrupts. Gunther wishes him good luck because he wants Riddle to be able to cash in on him. It would be fun to beat and humiliate Riddle.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler are happy with their win, because they are here to hurt people. Loyalty is everything and now they are the champions.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed

Nakamura manages to knock him outside to start but Reed is back in with a big shoulder. The rolling splash crushes Nakamura but he’s right back with the kicks. The sliding German suplex is blocked though and Reed kicks him in the face. A legsweep on the apron takes Reed down though and there’s the running knee to the face.

We take a break and come back with Reed running him over again for two and there’s a backsplash to crush Nakamura again. Back up and Reed misses a charge, allowing Nakamura to hit the running knee. Reed is back with a powerslam but the Tsunami misses. Nakamura knocks him to the apron and knees him down, followed by Kinshasa for the pin back inside at 9:48.

Rating: B-. This was a hard hitting match with Nakamura striking away for all he was worth to slay the monster. I’m rather surprised that Reed, who has been presented as a beast in recent weeks, lost to Nakamura, who has been around to put people over more than anything else. Good match here, with quite the surprise result.

Judgment Day is proud of Rhea Ripley for winning at Night Of Champions, but they won’t say which two of them will be in tonight’s tag match (they’re all in gear, including Rhea).

Memorial Day video.

AJ Styles/Seth Rollins vs. Judgment Day

It’s Dominik Mysterio/Damian Priest for the team….or not as Finn Balor jumps Styles, with Dominik going to the floor. Rollins slips away and runs to the floor, where he puts his arm around Rhea for some rather nice annoyance. Back in and Priest elbows Rollins down and we hit the armbar. Rollins kicks him off and brings Styles in to clean house, including a running forearm in the corner.

Dominik breaks up the Phenomenal Forearm though and Priest knocks Styles over the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Styles trying to fight out of trouble but getting sent outside instead. Rollins gets into it with Ripley on the floor, leaving Styles to Pele his way out of trouble. The tag brings in Rollins, who small packages Balor for two but is quickly knocked down for the same.

Priest comes back in and is superplexed, only to come back with the Falcon Arrow. Balor misses the Coup de Grace though and gets superkicked, heaving Balor and Rollins down. Everything breaks down and Rollins and Balor go over the announcers’ table. The Phenomenal Forearm doesn’t work as Priest backs up (that’s so simply brilliant) and the Razor’s Edge plants Styles. Rollins cuts Priest off though and the diving tag brings in Rollins for the Stomp to finish Priest at 13:09.

Rating: B. Nice main event tag match here, even if nothing of note really happened. They had some time to work though and the stuff with Ripley getting involved and feeling almost on equal footing with the men was a nice touch. It wasn’t a classic, but it was a rather good match and better than a lot of what you see on Raw on a regular basis.

Overall Rating: B-. They kept things moving here and got some stuff ready for Money in the Bank, but a lot of this felt like a bit of a holding pattern after Night Of Champions. McDonagh looked like a monster though and we have some new champions, so they did advance enough stuff. It’s not a great show, but it’s also good enough that you wouldn’t have been miserable. I’ll take that more often than not.

Results
Ricochet b. The Miz – Shooting star press
Indus Sher b. Javier Bernal/??? – Side slam/middle rope legdrop combination to ???
Imperium b. Alpha Academy – Imperial Bomb to Gable
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Raquel Rodriguez/Shotzi, Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville and Damage Ctrl – Cross armbreaker to Shotzi
Dolph Ziggler b. JD McDonagh via DQ when McDonagh sent him into the steps
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Bronson Reed – Kinshasa
AJ Styles/Seth Rollins b. Judgment Day – Stomp to Priest

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

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AND

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

Night Of Champions 2023
Date: May 27, 2023
Location: Jeddah Super Dome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re in Saudi Arabia again and this time around the focus is on championships. That should give us some interesting possibilities as more than one title could change hands here. The show features a triple main event, with the new World Heavyweight Champion set to be crowned. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, narrated by HHH, talks about how important it is to be a champion and how it can change your life.

Video on the World Heavyweight Championship, which has been brought back to give Raw its own World Title. Seth Rollins and AJ Styles both want the title and want the other at their best.

World Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins

For the inaugural title and they’re starting big here. They take their time to start with Styles sending him to the apron but it’s too early for the Phenomenal Forearm. Styles rolls out of a headlock but Rollins is right back with a kick to the head to take over. Back up and Styles drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Rollins is back with a Downward Spiral into the middle turnbuckle.

Styles is right back with a suplex into the corner and the Phenomenal Blitz. The middle rope moonsault into a reverse DDT plants Rollins again but he’s right back up with a buckle bomb. The frog splash gives Rollins two but the Pedigree is reversed into an enziguri. With nothing else working, Styles loads up the super Styles Clash but Rollins slips out to avoid quite a bit of pain.

Instead, Rollins puts him on top for a reverse superplex into a reverse sitout suplex for two. The Phoenix splash misses and they fight to the apron, where Styles hits a brainbuster to knock Rollins silly. Back in and Styles tries the Phenomenal Forearm (instead of covering) but Rollins breaks it up and sends him back to the floor. The suicide dive hits Styles but Rollins comes up favoring his knee.

Back in again and Styles grabs the Calf Crusher but Rollins grabs a choke for the escape. Styles kicks away until he has to duck the Pele. Rollins’ Pedigree is countered into one from Styles for two as Styles is bleeding a bit from the head. The Phenomenal Forearm is superkicked out of the air but the knee gives out on the Stomp attempt. The knee is fine enough to hit a Pedigree, followed by the Stomp to give Rollins the pin and the title at 20:37.

Rating: B. This was a different kind of match as there was no personal issue and they were just out there fighting for the title. It worked well as the two are both incredibly talented and know how to work the main event style match. The knee injury was a nice way to go and gave the match some drama, but it was hard to imagine Styles having a real chance here. Rather awesome opener though and Rollins is the best choice possible for the first champion.

We recap Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch. Stratus turned on Becky as she took issue with her for not being thankful enough. It has turned into something of a battle of the generations, with Trish saying Becky should be grateful to her and Becky saying she has surpassed Trish.

Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch

Becky doesn’t wait long and charges at Trish as the fight heads outside. Trish gets in a shot of her own and takes over, including a kick to the ribs back inside. After Trish thanks herself a bit, Trish snaps off a tornado DDT for two. The reverse chinlock goes on for a bit before Trish hammers away. A neckbreaker gives Trish two but Becky fires up and starts striking away.

Becky’s legdrop to the back of the neck gets two but Trish gets in another shot to cut her off. A not so great Stratusphere connects, only to have Stratusfaction broken up. Becky hits Diamond Dust into a middle rope legdrop but Trish breaks up the Manhandle Slam. The Boston crab out of the corner doesn’t work so well and Trish scores with the Chick Kick for two.

The Disarm-Her goes on but Trish is too close to the ropes. Becky manages the Manhandle Slam but those pesky ropes get Trish out of trouble again. Trish sends her outside and cue Zoey Stark of all people with a Z360. Back in and Stratusfaction connects to finish for Trish at 14:48.

Rating: B-. The ending was a smart way to keep the story going, as Becky can now beat up Stark (who gets thrown straight into a big story) before getting to fight Trish again. The match was good too, save for a short stretch where things did not exactly go so well. Trish is still incredibly polished all things considered and it was a completely fine match which should keep the story going for awhile to come.

Video on Mustafa Ali visiting Mecca.

Intercontinental Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Gunther

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending. Ali kicks away at the leg to start but has to fight out of an early sleeper. Some running dropkicks stagger Gunther, who is right back with a slam. The pace slows as Gunther chops and pounds Ali down, setting up the Boston crab. Ali gets out and is sent out to the apron, where Gunther kicks him out to the floor.

Back in and Gunther chops away but Ali fires off some desperation shots of his own. Gunther catches him up top but gets knocked down, setting up a 450 for a near fall. A hard clothesline gives Gunther two so he tells Ali he doesn’t belong. The powerbomb is countered into a kick to the head and the tornado DDT plants Gunther. The 450 misses though and Gunther dropkicks him into the corner. That’s enough to set up the powerbomb to retain at 8:30.

Rating: C+. This was exactly how it should have gone, as Gunther dominated, Ali made a nice comeback and then got beaten down by the force that is Gunther. I’m not sure if anyone believed that Ali had a chance coming in here and that is all it needed to be. Gunther is going to lose the title one day but it is going to be in a huge spot, which wasn’t the case here. Perfectly fine way to go, even if there was no doubt about the result.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens recap their issues with the Bloodline. Owens gets all fired up and is ready to go.

WWE did Make A Wish in Saudi Arabia.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match with Bianca Belair defending against Asuka. Belair survived Asuka going all evil and misting her at Wrestlemania, so now we’re doing it again.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka

Belair is defending and gets taken down to start. Asuka hammers away but Belair reverses and slugs right back. Some stomps to the face keep Belair in trouble but a dropkick puts Asuka on the apron. The handspring kick to the head sends Asuka outside, where she sends Belair into the steps. Back in and Asuka kicks her in the face before driving a boot into Belair’s head.

More stomping has Belair in trouble and Asuka grabs an armbar to mixed it up a bit. Belair fights back up and hits a running Blockbuster for a double knockdown. The comeback is on including the standing moonsault but Asuka kicks her off the top. A missile dropkick gives Asuka two and we hit the Fujiwara armbar. With that broken up, Belair plants her with a spinebuster for two.

The Asuka Lock is broken up and they trade rollups for two each. They head outside with Asuka being sent into the steps, allowing Belair to hammer away back inside. The KOD is countered into a cross armbreaker but Belair rolls out and powerbombs her down. Asuka bails to the ropes and sprays the mist on her own fingers. Back in and Asuka rubs the mist in Belair’s face, setting up the kick to the head to make Asuka champion at 14:50.

Rating: C+. They had to do this one as there was nothing left for Belair to accomplish. She had been champion for over a year and had cleaned out the division, so it was time for some kind of a change. If nothing else, you don’t have Asuka built up as this new heel and then beat her twice, so she more or less had to win here. The title scene needed some fresh blood and Asuka certainly applies.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya

Ripley, with Dominik Mysterio, is defending. An early Dominik distraction lets Ripley jump her to start and they’re quickly on the floor. Ripley sends her face first into the announcers’ table and then the steps as the beating is on early. Riptide retains the title at 1:04. Ok that worked, as Ripley running over Natalya is a much better fit than having them go fifteen minutes.

Seth Rollins is very pleased with his win and is ready for whatever is next.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes. Lesnar attacked Rhodes for still unexplained reasons (him being Brock Lesnar might have something to do with it) and laid him out. Rhodes then beat Lesnar at Backlash so Lesnar broke Rhodes’ arm before their rematch here.

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Cody is coming in with a broken arm. They go a bit tentative to start until Lesnar starts snapping off the belly to belly suplexes. Cody manages to knock him outside though and there’s the suicide dive. Back in and a top rope ax handle hits Lesnar, followed by a pair of Cross Rhodes. A third is countered into the Kimura though and Rhodes is in big trouble. Rhodes stacks him up for two but can’t get out.

Lesnar rolls him over and is sitting on Rhodes, who can’t make the rope. The referee raises Cody’s arm but he’s still in, only to have Lesnar pull him closer to the middle. Somehow Cody turns it around and makes the rope, leaving Lesnar stunned. Another Cross Rhodes gets another two and they’re both spent. Cody hits him with the cast but gets pulled into the F5 for two. The Kimura goes on again and Cody passes out at 9:36.

Rating: B. This was all about storytelling and it worked very well as a result. What mattered here was keeping Cody strong but not going too far. There was almost no way you could have him survive again here as he came in injured against a ticked off Lesnar. Cody looked strong in defeat (and didn’t tap), but he had to lose here. The trilogy match should be good, especially if one of them is champion by the time it rolls around.

We recap Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa for the Tag Team Titles. Owens and Zayn are defending, but more than that they are trying to take the Bloodline apart once and for all. The Bloodline is starting to crumble and the Usos are not happy that they aren’t getting this shot. Instead Reigns is trying to show them how it is done and that should make for an interesting match.

Tag Team Titles: Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Zayn/Owens are defending and Paul Heyman/Sami (the latter in Arabic) handle the introductions. Owens and Reigns start but it’s off to Zayn before anything happens. More staring ensues as the fans are very hyped for all of this. Reigns tags Sikoa in and we get our first contact about three minutes in. Zayn sends him into the corner and hits a few chops, which doesn’t leave Reigns pleased.

An elbow to the face is more to Reigns’ liking so it’s off to Owens. Some chops rock Sikoa but it’s back to Zayn off the blind tag for a drop toehold. Reigns comes in for a cheap shot to Owens ad then quickly heads back to the floor. Back in and Sikoa drops a headbutt on Zayn before it’s back to Reigns as the pace slows. Zayn chops away but gets dropped with a single shot. Reigns: “You think you’re the Nature Boy now?”

After Owens chases off an invading Sikoa, Reigns slowly pounds Zayn down again. Sikoa comes back in and we hit the nerve hold. They head outside again with Sikoa getting taken down but being fine enough to cut Zayn off before the tag. A tornado DDT is enough to drop Sikoa, allowing the double tag to Owens and Reigns. Owens cleans house and knocks Reigns outside for a backsplash but Sikoa cuts him off again.

Reigns hits a clothesline but walks into a sitout powerbomb. Owens’ frog splash hits for two but he can’t follow up. The Stunner is broken up and the Superman Punch gives Reigns two. Another Stunner connects but Reigns bounces off the ropes and hits a spear before falling down. The double tag brings in Zayn to hammer on Sikoa, setting up the big flip dive to drops Sikoa on the floor. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two back inside but the Helluva Kick is cut off with a superkick.

Zayn is fine enough to suplex him into the corner so the Helluva Kick can connect, with Reigns making the save. Reigns hammers away and loads up the spear but takes the referee out by mistake. Owens is back in to jump Reigns and they head outside for a whip into the steps. Cue the Usos (not supposed to be here) go jump Owens and a pair of superkicks rock Zayn….but the double superkick hits Sikoa.

Reigns sees what happened and is REALLY not pleased. Reigns yells at the Usos….and Jimmy finally superkicks him. Jey screams at Jimmy, who superkicks Reigns again. Jimmy says that it’s him and Jey now, leaving Jey looking very perplexed. Jey goes towards Reigns but Jimmy gets him out before he can do anything. Sikoa is back up but it’s a Stunner into the Helluva Kick for three (from a second referee) to retain the titles at 26:27.

Rating: B+. This was an interesting mix as it was a very good match but the storytelling was glorious. Jimmy FINALLY snapping and turning on Reigns after the months of abuse takes things in a new direction and we could be in for something very good in the near future. I’ve heard people talk about how Jey should be the one to take the title from Reigns. I’m not there yet, but it’s not sounding as crazy these days, which is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a good while. Awesome main event here, and things are going to get bigger as we keep going.

Reigns doesn’t know what to do to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The middle portion is a big weak, but the three main events were one hit after another. What matters here is they have set the stage for some big stuff going forward and now we get to see where things go as we head into the summer. The Bloodline is imploding, Rollins is champion, and Lesnar vs. Rhodes III is likely on the horizon. Another rather good show here, as WWE is on quite the roll at the moment.

Results
Seth Rollins b. AJ Styles – Stomp
Trish Stratus b. Becky Lynch – Stratusfaction
Gunther b. Mustafa Ali – Powerbomb
Asuka b. Bianca Belair – Kick to the head
Rhea Ripley b. Natalya – Riptide
Brock Lesnar b. Cody Rhodes via referee stoppage

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

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It’s time to head back to Saudi Arabia and in this case that means we are going to be in for a pretty big show. This time around the focus is on titles, but there are going to be some non-title matches that are going to be pretty high up on the card. WWE is advertising this as a triple main event and it does fit the billing. Let’s get to it.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Natalya

We’re going to start off with a bit of a weird one here as Ripley is the most on fire stars in WWE today and is getting one crazy reaction after another. That is a sign that she is going to be on top of the division for a long time now and now we are going to be seeing her second major title defense. At the same time, she is facing Natalya, who has been around for so long that it is a little hard to get interested in the match.

I started with this one because it feels like the most obvious result on the entire show, which will be Ripley retaining the title. It would not surprise me whatsoever if Ripley is still champion at this time next year, so having her beat Natalya here makes a lot of sense. What matters here is giving Ripley a different kind of opponent and while the match should be quite good on the technical side, the result isn’t quite in doubt.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair(c) vs. Asuka

This is a Wrestlemania rematch and I’m really not sure where to go. On one hand, Belair has held the title longer than anyone not named Moolah, meaning there isn’t anything left for her to accomplish with her title reign. At the same time, I’m not sure I can imagine her actually losing here, as it doesn’t feel like a moment that is big enough for the reign to end. On the third hand, it’s hard to imagine Asuka losing twice in a row in this kind of a big spot.

I’ll go with….I’ll take Belair, but I don’t have the most confidence in it. I’m not sure how much good it does to have Asuka do the big heel turn and then lose, but it just doesn’t feel like Belair is set to lose here. The good thing is the rematch’s build has been better than the first, and now we should be in for a better match as things might not have to be as rushed. Belair wins and I’m at last 50% sure that will be the case.

Intercontinental Tile: Gunther(c) vs. Mustafa Ali

Ok so when I said Ripley vs. Natalya is the most obvious result, I had kind of forgotten about this one entirely. There is almost no reason to believe that Ali is going to win the title here and WWE hasn’t exactly hidden that reality. Gunther is on the verge of becoming one of the biggest heels in the company and Ali has never even won a big match. I’d like to believe that there is some drama here, but I just can’t do it.

In the biggest “of course he does” for the show, Gunther wins here and does so after Ali’s comeback isn’t exactly the most dramatic. What matters is having Gunther on the show and looking dominant, as he is going to be doing it for a long time. Just let Ali get in some of his flips and dives before getting beaten, as it is just about the only way to go with the situation that they have here. Gunther wins, hands down.

Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus

Now this one has some more drama to it, as I could see the feud continuing for several more months or I could see this already being the big blowoff. The important thing about this story is that Stratus’ heel run has been quite good and she isn’t just “I’m Trish Stratus” and moving on. She has something to what she is saying and now I want to see how the match is going to go.

I’ll take Stratus here, as I could see this going to a rematch down the line. There will likely be some shenanigans in the end and Stratus will get to brag about her win for a good while. Lynch is at her best when she is focused and has someone to go after, which is what she can do if she wants revenge on Stratus all over again. This should be a big fight feeling and I’m wanting to see how it goes, but for now we’ll say Stratus wins to keep it going.

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes

It’s a rematch from Backlash where Rhodes won on little more than a fluke. This time though Rhodes is coming in with a broken arm and Lesnar is already ticked off at him. That isn’t going to go well for Rhodes, but at the end of the day, he is in over his head. In theory that should cause a big problem for him with the match and that is likely going to be the case here with Lesnar.

For the life of me I can’t imagine Rhodes winning here, as he squeaked by in the first match when he had both arms. There comes a point where the odds are stacked so high against someone that they have to lose and that is the case with Rhodes. Let Lesnar get his win back and get us to the big rematch down the line, which could be taking place under some different circumstances.

World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles

This is either for the inaugural or restored title, depending on which lineage you prefer. It’s an interesting build as Rollins has been treated as a much bigger deal, despite Styles being a legend in his own right. The good thing is these two should be in for a great match due to pure talent alone, but they don’t have any kind of personal issue as we come into the match. That means it’s just about the title, which is probably what it should be.

I’ll go with what feels like the much more likely decision here and take Rollins to win the title. Unless there are some kind of major shenanigans (and there might be), there is little reason to believe that Styles is going to win here. Rollins has been treated as a focal point in recent weeks while Styles has been treated as the guy facing Rollins for the title. Go with the logical choice here, as Rollins is a great choice to carry the title at first. Granted Styles would do just fine as well, but I don’t think he will here.

Tag Team Titles: Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens(c) vs. Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa

Here we have the big storyline match as the Bloodline is beginning to implode around them. Reigns isn’t happy with the Usos losing to Zayn and Owens (over and over) and is going to do it on his own (well with Sikoa but you get the idea). Zayn and Owens have been needling the team for months now and their plan seems to have almost worked. Retaining the titles here would be a big step closer and that gets us to the big result.

I don’t see any reason for Reigns and Sikoa to win here, especially if the Usos just happen to show up and cost them the match. Reigns and Sikoa winning the titles would feel like a step in a very different direction and it would only make sense for them to lose to the Usos, which puts us close to where we were before Wrestlemania. Owens and Zayn keep the belts here, likely with some shenanigans.

Overall Thoughts

The best thing about the recent Saudi Arabia shows is that they feel like WWE’s major monthly show which just happen to be taking place elsewhere. Aside from maybe Styles vs. Rollins, this feels like a card that could take place at any major event. I like what we could be seeing here as WWE has made the show feel big, but now they have to deliver on what they have set up.

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 15, 2023
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are less than two weeks away from Night Of Champions and the main event (in theory) is set with Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles for the inaugural World Heavyweight Championship. Other than that, we have a different form of the Bloodline coming after Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who might have something to say about it this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the opening chat (after a clip of the announcement that they will defend against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa). Zayn is fired up about the match because it is their chance to check Reigns for good. Reigns is pushing the Bloodline way too hard and everything is falling apart. Now Reigns being champion for 1,000 days isn’t enough because he wants the Tag Team Titles too. Well HE CAN’T HAVE THEM, but Zayn and Owens can have an interruption at the hands of the Judgment Day.

Owens doesn’t care what they have to say because he wants to fight, but Zayn says we should hear them out. Zayn: “Gentlemen and Dom.” The team gets in the ring to talk and Finn Balor says they’ll be waiting on the titles after Night Of Champions. Rhea Ripley laughs at the idea but Dominik Mysterio is booed out of the building. The fight starts fast with Zayn clearing the ring with the save. Dominik’s heat continues to be amazing and it is just awesome to see the fans loathe him like this.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz

Nakamura sends him into the corner to start but runs into the general vicinity of Miz’s boot. Another boot doesn’t connect either (though Nakamura goes down anyway), only to have Nakamura kick him down for the apron knee. Miz neckbreakers him across the rope though and we take a break.

Back with Nakamura’s kicks being blocked so he kicks Miz in the head instead. The running knee in the corner sets up a cross armbreaker but Miz stacks him up for two. Miz’s short DDT gets two so Nakamura kicks him in the head again for the same. The sliding German suplex looks to set up Kinshasa but Miz bails to the apron. The distraction lets Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale for two, only to walk into Kinshasa for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: B-. This was one of the better Miz matches in a bit as he was hanging in there with Nakamura, and mostly clean at that. Nakamura needed the win after coming up short last week, so at least he is getting somewhere. WWE needs to reestablish things a bit with the new roster and this should be held set the lineup a bit.

Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville aren’t happy that Liv Morgan is hurt, meaning their Women’s Tag Team Title match is off for tonight. Raquel Rodriguez is willing to beat up Green tonight, with Green sounding a bit nervous, even as she yells.

We get a video on Seth Rollins, going all the way back to his NXT days.

Corey Graves sits down with Rollins, who talks about winning the first NXT Title in a tournament. He became a force for change, which included turning on Roman Reigns to break up the Shield. More on this later.

Here is Imperium, with Gunther standing on the announcers’ table. Gunther has been the most dominant Intercontinental Champion of the modern era and now he will continue his reign on Raw. For now though, no one has been named as his next challenger for this prestigious championship (WHY DOES NO ONE ELSE PRAISE THEIR TITLES LIKE HIM???). That will be solved soon, and he will defeat them at Night Of Champions.

Battle Royal

Ricochet, Bronson Reed, Erik, Ivar, Johnny Gargano, Akira Tozawa, Elias, Humberto, Angel, Apollo Crews, Von Wagner, Dolph Ziggler, Xyon Quinn, Cedric Alexander, JD Drake, Dexter Lumis, Mansoor, Mace, Riddick Moss, Baron Corbin, Otis, Riddle, Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, Mustafa Ali

For the Intercontinental Title shot at Night Of Champions and I believe that’s everyone. Corbin, in shorts, dumps Tozawa to start and is immediately clotheslined out by Lumis. The Models get rid of Lumis and are tossed out by the Alpha Academy, followed by McDonagh headbutting Humberto out. Ziggler kicks McDonagh out but gets eliminated by Wagner (that an upset). McDonagh goes after Ziggler on the floor and we take a break.

Back with the Vikings tossing out Benjamin and Quinn, plus Benjamin. The Academy and the Vikings have a standoff with Erik being sent to the apron. Gable is suplexed to the apron with him but hangs on and can’t quite German suplex Erik out. The knee knocks Gable silly (but not out), allowing Otis to dump Erik. Ivar knocks Gable out but Reed tosses Ivar and Otis at the same time.

We’re down to eight (Reed, Riddle, Ricochet, Moss, Gargano, Elias, Crews and Ali) with everyone else going after Reed. With that not working, Gargano snaps off a hurricanrana to Ali, who is right back with the rolling neckbreaker. The slingshot spear hits Ali but Ricochet crushes Gargano with a running shooting star press. Moss fall away slams Gargano but walks into Reed’s Samoan drop. Crews Blockbusters (or kind of flip dives into) Reed, only to get kneed in the face by Elias.

Crews gets rid of Elias but gets eliminated by Reed, leaving us with six. Reed Rock Bottoms Gargano onto Ricochet but Riddle is there with the strikes. The Floating Bro finally drops Reed but Moss hits a heck of a shoulders to knock Riddle down. Not that it matters as Riddle dumps Moss, followed by a hurricanrana to get rid of Gargano.

Gunther sends the rest of Imperium after Riddle and that’s enough for Reed to knock him out. Ricochet knees Reed in the face and dropkicks him….not quite out, as Ali has to help but they only get Reed to the apron. A triangle dropkick staggers Reed again but another one is countered into a fireman’s carry. That leaves Ali to dropkick both Reed and Ricochet out for the win at 12:28.

Rating: B-. This got WAY better after the break and Ali vs. Gunther could be quite the nice title match at Night Of Champions. Reed continued to look like a monster here and Riddle felt like one of the biggest stars around. Ali winning is a nice choice and he should be fine as a fresh challenger for Gunther. Good stuff here overall, and multiple people got a nice showcase.

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat. Becky talks about how she has been going through a lot lately but in this business you put on your best face and keep going. She got some help from two legends in Trish Stratus and Lita, the latter of whom was great. Becky and Lita won the Women’s Tag Team Titles and she even let Trish get close to them. She didn’t see what was really going on, because Trish was just here to help herself like the backstabbing egomaniac that she really is.

Becky is out there to say Thank You Trish…..for turning on a light that had been off for many, many months. Trish called Becky’s daughter stupid and that gave all of the badness in her head a face and a name and a target. Trish wants to be #1 again but Becky has had it, been it, done it and has it. She’s going to kick Trish’s head in at Night Of Champions. That’s sooner than I was expecting the match but this felt more like old school Becky, which is always a good thing.

Rhea Ripley is seen watching in the back and doesn’t seem impressed with Becky. When asked about Natalya, Ripley says Natalya needs to stay out of her way. Natalya comes in to say this is about Ripley attacking an already beaten Dana Brooke. Ripley deserves respect but she isn’t allowing it for anyone else. That doesn’t work for Ripley, who knows Natalya wasn’t there for Brooke last week. If Natalya ever interrupts her again, it will be the end of her legendary career.

Mustafa Ali is very proud of his win when he runs into the Alpha Academy. They should try being more positive, but Ali keeps going and runs into Imperium. Gunther says Ali is the rightful challenger to what is rightfully Gunther’s, but we get a good luck handshake anyway. Ali feels sorry for Gunther having to go halfway around the world, just to lose his title. Gunther smiles at him and seems to like Ali’s moxie.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods

Rhea Ripley is here with Mysterio, who is again booed out of the building for trying to talk about Woods being all alone. Woods says he’s alone right now, but unlike Mysterio, he’s a grown man who can fight on his own without needing permission to speak from Mami. Woods hammers away to start and hits the running dropkick to the back for two. Back up and Dominik actually wins a test of strength, at least until Woods sweeps the leg to escape. They head outside, with Rhea getting between the two of them to quite the reaction.

We take a break and come back with Woods hammering away but getting knocked down for a fast two. Woods fights back up with the Honor Roll for two but Dominik grabs some Amigos. The frog splash only hits raised knees though and Woods hits a gorilla press gutbuster for two more (as Ripley is looking nervous). Ripley breaks up the Limit Breaker so Woods dives onto Dominik on the floor instead. A Ripley cheap shot takes Woods down though and Dominik rolls him up for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. The Dominik push continues to work well, as he is just good enough in the ring to get by but Ripley is perfect as his heater. There are a few places Dominik could go and that should make things interesting for him in the future. Woods isn’t likely to win anything important on his own but he’ll be fine when Kofi Kingston gets back.

Video on JD McDonagh.

McDonagh is leaving and says he attacked Dolph Ziggler to teach him a lesson: never bet against an ace.

Indus Sher vs. ???/Trey Thompson

Jinder Mahal is here with Sher. The non-Thompson is knocked silly with a shot to the face to start and it’s quickly off to Thompson. A big jumping elbow and a hard whip into the corner sets up the old Smoking Gunns’ Sidewinder of all things for the pin on Thompson at 1:51. Impressive squash, though “we’re big foreign heels” doesn’t have the longest shelf life.

Post match Mahal seems to promise more violence. After a replay, Mahal grabs a headset to say Sher runs this show. Then he grabs the mic to say the same thing in another language.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are in the back when Imperium comes in. Gunther isn’t happy with their disrespect and a six man is set for next week.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Cody gets right to the point and tells the story of the scorpion and the frog (scorpion doesn’t trust the frog, the frog eventually agrees to take him across the river, scorpion stings him in the middle, ensuring they’re both going to do, just because stinging is his nature). It is Brock Lesnar’s nature to hunt, but how is Lesnar’s face feeling?

Cody is ready to face him at Night of Champions, even though the reality is Lesnar is better than 99.9% of the Superstars he faces. What seems to have Lesnar upset is that he was defeated, meaning he might not be the biggest game on Raw anymore. Maybe Lesnar isn’t the big thing around here these days and it’s time to say next. He’s ready for Night Of Champions. Cody leaves, and signs some autographs on the way out in a great touch that isn’t used often enough.

Zoey Stark is kind of mean to Nikki Cross and gets a match with Candice LeRae as a result. Cross looks….annoyed?

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Chelsea Green

Sonya Deville is here with Green. Rodriguez hits a big boot at the bell but a Deville distraction lets Green send her face first into the buckle. A basement dropkick cuts Rodriguez off again but she powers Green up into a reverse Alabama Slam onto the top rope. The clothesline comeback is on and the Texana Bomb finishes Green at 3:43.

Rating: C. That’s a bit of a weird way to go for Green, who has been angling for a Tag Team Title shot. I’m fine with not having Rodriguez lose, but there was an easy way to have her get pinned due to the numbers game, which can be evened out when Liv Morgan is back. For now though, it could have been worse and they got out rather quickly so it could have been a lot worse.

Post match Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler appear and jump Rodriguez, promising to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Imperium shakes hands with Paul Heyman, who calls Roman Reigns.

We get the second half of the Seth Rollins interview, with Rollins talking about being a visionary and reinventing himself. This is the best part of his career and he’s not sure why. Maybe it is the hard work, but for the first time, the fans got behind him and connected with him. That changed him and now it is time to give us a World Champion who is here for everyone. As for Roman Reigns….more next week.

Video on Apollo Crews. He runs a lot.

Judgment Day vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Non-title. Balor and Zayn start things off rather slowly until Zayn snaps off some armdrags. Priest comes in to slug away but Owens comes in to punch him in the face. An enziguri staggers Priest, who misses a charge to the floor. Balor is sent outside as well, so here are Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio to uneven things up as we take a break.

Back with Zayn in trouble but managing to send Balor into the corner. That’s enough for the hot tag to Owens, who gets to clean house on everyone but Ripley. The cannonball hits Priest for two so Ripley and Dominik interfere. They’re a bit slow though and get ejected, allowing Owens to superkick Priest down. Cue Xavier Woods to go after Dominik and they fight to the back, leaving Priest to roll Owens up….as Paul Heyman comes out.

We take another break and come back with Owens in trouble, including a middle rope legdrop/backbreaker combination. Owens knocks Priest off the ropes though and nails a Swanton for a double knockdown. The hot tag brings in Zayn and takes Balor down to hammer away. The Michinoku Driver gives Zayn two and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same.

Cue Imperium for a distraction, allowing Balor to hit 1916 for two. Owens comes back in (without a tag) to Stun Priest, leaving Zayn to suplex Balor into the corner. The Helluva Kick connects but Imperium offers a distraction. Owens takes them out so Priest chokeslams Owens onto the apron. Zayn hits the big flip dive onto Priest but Gunther breaks up another Helluva Kick. Balor’s shotgun dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace for the pin at 20:58.

Rating: B. This one had some vibes of a Paul Heyman produced match and it worked out well, with so many moving parts and pieces that all seemed to fit together. Heyman working with Imperium makes for some interesting future returns, but for now it was a good enough way to keep Owens and Zayn looking strong on the way to Night Of Champions. Solid main event here, and a good enough way to protect the champs, as Heyman is trying to get inside their heads again (shouldn’t be hard with Zayn) before the title match.

Heyman is rather pleased and appears to call Roman Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There was quite a bit going on with this show and it’s kind of hard to keep track of everything. I liked having wrestlers appearing throughout the show, as having them disappear once their main match/segment of the night never made a ton of sense. Other than that, we had the Rousey/Baszler return and some stuff set up for Night Of Champions. What matters here is that the show still felt like it was structured despite coming off as a bit chaotic, which is more of a sign of the new WWE regime than the “classic” McMahon stuff.

Results
Shinsuke Nakamura b. The Miz – Kinshasa
Mustafa Ali won a battle royal last eliminating Bronson Reed and Ricochet
Dominik Mysterio b. Xavier Woods – Rollup
Indus Sher b. ???/Trey Thompson – Side slam/middle rope legdrop combination to Thompson
Raquel Rodriguez b. Chelsea Green – Texana Bomb
Judgment Day b. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn – Coup de Grace to Zayn

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

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: April 21, 2023
Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re getting closer to Backlash and now some more of the card needs to be set up. That can be easier said than done as WWE does like to take its time to set up some of its shows. The good thing is that a lot of the show is all but officially announced so we could see something added this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Judgment Day vs. Santos Escobar/Rey Mysterio

Finn Balor/Damien Priest for the team. Rey snaps off a hurricanrana to Balor to start but a Lionsault hits raised knees. Priest comes in to deck Rey before it’s back to Balor. The chinlock is countered into a sitout bulldog, allowing Rey to bring Escobar back in to clean house. Rey misses the sliding splash on the floor though and Balor decks Escobar as we take a break.

Back with Priest kicking Escobar in the face for two and grabbing the chinlock. With that broken up, Escobar fights out of the corner and it’s back to Rey to pick the pace way up. Rey hits the 619 to Balor to set up Escobar’s top rope splash but Priest is legal. That lets Priest come in with South of Heaven for the pin at 12:51.

Rating: C+. While this seems to be building towards the Bad Bunny/Mysterio vs. Judgment Day match at Backlash, it would be nice if Escobar didn’t have to be sacrificed so much on the way there. The Bunny match is what matters, but they couldn’t sacrifice the other two who aren’t doing anything else? On a more positive note, it was nice to keep Dominik out of this one for a change, as just mixing things up helps a bit.

Post match Priest says he’s looking forward to Bad Bunny returning on Raw.

We look back at Solo Sikoa taking out Matt Riddle last week. Tonight, they do it again, No DQ.

Zelina Vega comes in to see Adam Pearce and asks for the Smackdown Women’s Title match at Backlash. Vega says she’s the only Puerto Rican woman on the roster and needs the match. Pearce will talk to various people about it.

We look back at the return of Shinsuke Nakamura last week.

Karrion Kross talks about taking things away from people, saying Nakamura’s honor is next.

Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders

Valhalla is here with the Vikings. Ivar powers Strowman into the corner to start but Strowman does it right back to him. Erik comes in for the double teaming but Strowman clears them away and hands it off to Ricochet. Strowman launches Ricochet….a foot or short of where he was aiming, meaning it’s a bit of a nasty crash as we take a break.

Back with Ricochet fighting out of a chinlock and flipping out of a suplex. That’s enough for the diving tag off to Strowman, who busts out a dropkick of all things. The Strowman Express runs over the Vikings but doesn’t seem to scare Valhalla. The distraction lets Ivar run Strowman over and a top rope splash gives Ivar two. Ricochet comes back in and picks the pace way up as everything breaks down. Ricochet’s Swanton off of Strowman’s shoulders finishes Ivar at 10:18.

Rating: B-. Ricochet and Strowman are a good small/big man team and there will always be room for something like that, but I’m still not sure why the Vikings have been reduced to jobber status. They’re big, they are former champions and they never seem to win anything important. You need a team like that, but the Vikings are the best options for that role?

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez want to retain their Tag Team Titles and get some revenge.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

Morgan and Rodriguez are defending and get threatened with a drink to Morgan’s face (as she got on Raw) before the bell. Morgan dropkicks Deville down at the bell and it’s off to Rodriguez. A waistlock throw drops Green, who manages to knock Rodriguez to the floor. The dive is pulled out of the air but Deville hits a running knee from the apron to cut Rodriguez down.

Back in and Green takes over on Morgan, including Deville getting in some nefarious cheating behind the referee’s back. That doesn’t work for Morgan, who gets over to Rodriguez for the tag and house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Morgan dropkicks Green down but Rodriguez is sent outside. That lets Morgan throw a drink in Green’s face, allowing Morgan to get an (assisted) rollup to retain at 6:09.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see something of a feud, or at least a story, for the titles but this is hardly anything groundbreaking. The problem with the division has always been a lack of depth and that is the case again, but at least they are having matches on the shows and trying to do something. It’s a long road though, and that is likely going to be the case for a good while to come.

Matt Riddle swears revenge on Solo Sikoa tonight.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Xavier Woods

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending but the other two are sent to the back. Woods tries to strike away to start but gets dropped by a chop as we take an early break. Back with Gunther striking him down for two and snapping off a suplex to cut off a comeback bid. A bit too much trash talking lets Woods slug away and actually knock Gunther down.

Woods tries to go up top but gets chopped hard, only to knock Gunther back down again. The top rope legdrop gives Woods two, followed by a wheelbarrow faceplant for the same. Woods gets two more off a crucifix bomb but Gunther sleepers him out of nowhere to retain at 10:35.

Rating: B-. This was another match where there wasn’t a ton of drama about the result, but at least Woods got in some nice offense and gave the fans something to cheer for here and there. Instead, the match was more about having Gunther out there to abuse someone with those chops and add another title defense to his already incredible list.

We look back at Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defeating the Usos to win the Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania. The rematch is next week.

Backlash rundown, including Seth Rollins vs. Omos and Austin Theory defending the US Title against Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed. Those are a bit random but I’m at least somewhat intrigued by both.

Here are the Usos for a chat. They’re not sure how they’re feeling about their Wrestlemania loss but they’ll get the titles back next week. They talk about what a big match it is and dedicate the win to Roman Reigns and introduce Solo Sikoa for the main event.

Solo Sikoa vs. Matt Riddle

No DQ and Riddle jumps Sikoa from behind to start. A clothesline out of the corner cuts Riddle off though and an elbow to the jaw cuts him off again. Riddle’s triangle choke in the corner just earns Riddle a powerbomb and it’s time for some weapons. Riddle manages a kick to the head for a breather and the kendo sticks rock Sikoa for a change. A Broton on the floor hits Sikoa and we take a break.

Back with Sikoa hitting the Samoan drop for two and wrapping the chair around Riddle’s neck in the corner. The running Umaga Attack is cut off though and Riddle slugs away with a chair. A knee to the chair to Sikoa’s face gets two and a high collar suplex through some open chairs gives Riddle two more.

The Penalty Kick from the apron is broken up and Sikoa throws him over the announcers’ table. Riddle won’t let him turn the table over on him though and turns it on Sikoa instead. Cue the Usos to go after Riddle but he clears them out, only to get Rock Bottomed on the apron. Back in and the Samoan Spike finishes Riddle at 14:05.

Rating: C+. It was a hard hitting brawl but this is the kind of thing that felt like it would have fit in as a B level house show main event. Riddle hasn’t exactly looked great since his return, though that might be more Sikoa being treated as a bigger star. Sikoa isn’t going to be a top star, but he can be a heck of an enforcer/monster and that seems to be where he is heading.

The Usos 1D Riddle through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show had enough good action but it wasn’t the most interesting week. Other than some surprise matches being set up for Backlash, it felt like a show that didn’t change much of anything. I’m not sure how much of this really changed anything, and that’s not a good thing to see happen. That being said, the Draft starts next week and that’s a huge reset button, so this show wasn’t going to mean much of anything in the first place.

Results
Judgment Day b. Santos Escobar/Rey Mysterio – South of Heaven to Escobar
Ricochet/Braun Strowman b. Viking Raiders – Swanton to Ivar
Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan b. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville – Rollup to Green
Gunther b. Xavier Woods – Sleeper
Solo Sikoa b. Matt Riddle – Samoan Spike

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

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AND

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Wrestlemania XXXIX Night Two
Date: April 2, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
America The Beautiful: Jimmie Allen

It’s time to finish the story with the second half of Wrestlemania. That should mean a lot of good things but egads they have a lot to live up to after last night’s great show. The card is stacked again but the big deal is going to be the main event, with Roman Reigns defending the World Title against Cody Rhodes. When a match inside the Cell feels secondary, it’s quite the lineup. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

Jimmie Allen sings America the Beautiful.

Kevin Hart handles the intro again, talking about how in Hollywood, if the first one is a success, a bigger sequel is following. That’s what we’re getting tonight, and the card is stacked.

Miz and Snoop Dogg are in the ring to welcome us to the show, with Miz recapping Night One and giving us a nondescript preview of tonight.

Omos vs. Brock Lesnar

Omos throws him around to start and then does it again for a bonus. A bearhug goes on and Lesnar isn’t sure what to do here. Lesnar fights out and tries to get something going but gets bearhugged again. A chokeslam gives Omos two but he misses a charge in the corner. Lesnar manages the first German suplex (the crowd approves) and the second one looks better. The F5 is loaded up but Brock’s back gives out. The chokebomb is blocked as well though and the F5 finishes Omos at 4:51.

Rating: C+. They kept this short and that is what they should have done. Omos is not going to be able to be out there very long before things get bad so get your stuff in, pop the crowd, head out. That’s all it needed to be and they made it work here, with a match that might not have been good, but it was fun, which is the best they could hope to do.

Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Morgan gets knocked around to start and Natalya adds a basement dropkick. A running hurricanrana gets Morgan out of trouble and it’s Rodriguez coming in for a splash in the corner. Green comes in with a missile dropkick but Shotzi comes in for a hip attack. Baszler breaks up the cover and throws her outside to Rousey but a triple powerbomb plants Baszler inside.

Everything breaks down and Green is left to pose…until Rodriguez is waiting on her. Instead of fighting, Green would rather dive onto the pile, followed by Rodriguez powerbombing Morgan onto everyone. Back in and Green and Deville take Rodriguez down but Natalya helps Shotzi with a double standing Sliced Bread. The Hart Attack hits Deville for two with Green making the save. Natalya’s double Sharpshooter is broken up and Liv hits Shotzi with the Oblivion but Baszler (who has taken a boot off and seems to be limping) breaks it up. Rousey gets the armbar to finish Shotzi at 8:18.

Rating: C. This was a thing that happened and there isn’t much else to say about it. Rousey and Baszler were barely factors (likely due to injuries), leaving the other six to run through their stuff. As usual, the teams have no history together so you more or less just have random things going on until the finish. It was energetic, but this didn’t look like a good idea when it was announced and it didn’t get much better.

Bobby Lashley, with the Andre the Giant battle royal trophy, is here.

UpUpDownDown previews the Intercontinental Title match.

We recap the Intercontinental Title match. Gunther is the unstoppable champion while Sheamus and McIntyre want to fight each other and to be the champion. Big fight is on.

Intercontinental Title: Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and Titus O’Neil is on commentary. Gunther tells the other two to fight before they all start hitting each other rather hard. McIntyre is knocked to the floor and Gunther gets to chop Sheamus hard against the ropes. The Boston crab goes on Sheamus but McIntyre comes in for the chop off. McIntyre actually knocks Gunther into the corner but Sheamus is back up to fight both of them.

With nothing else working, Gunther gets tied in the ropes for the forearms from McIntyre and the chops from Sheamus until they fall to the floor. Back in and Sheamus hits 29 forearms to McIntyre’s chest (McIntyre fell down on #30) as the fans are VERY pleased here. Gunther blasts Sheamus with a clothesline for two but McIntyre hits a top rope shot to Gunther’s head. Sheamus gets knocked to the floor and Gunther’s powerbomb gets two on McIntyre.

Gunther goes up but Sheamus catches him with the super White Noise and the Celtic Cross gets two. McIntyre is back in to break up the Texas Cloverleaf so Sheamus knees both of them down. The Brogue Kick hits Gunther for two with McIntyre breaking up the pin. McIntyre isn’t done and hits the big flip dive to drop Sheamus (Cole: “Titus, I guarantee you have never done that!” Titus: “AND I NEVER WILL!”).

Back in and the Claymore is countered with the Brogue Kick for two (as the fans keep losing their minds on everything). The second Claymore drops Sheamus for two more and everyone is down. With Gunther on the floor, Sheamus and McIntyre slug it out until Sheamus hits another Brogue but Gunther comes off the top with a splash to break it up. Gunther powerbombs Sheamus onto McIntyre and then powerbombs McIntyre to retain at 16:36.

Rating: A-. I love a match where they don’t even pretend it is going to be anything but what it is. This was advertised as three big, strong men beating the fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s exactly what we got here and it was some awesome violence as Gunther racks up another huge title defense. Great stuff here and the next match is in trouble.

We recap Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title. Belair has held the title for a year and become a big star but now Asuka is a lot scarier and wants the title back.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

Belair is defending. Asuka comes to the ring with a bunch of women in masks while Belair has a bunch of children from a charity who dance on stage before she comes out (cool). Belair strikes away to start and takes her into the corner, where Asuka shoves her away without much trouble. Some spinning strikes have Belair in trouble but she can get away before the Asuka Lock can go on.

They go out to the floor where Belair manages a sitout powerbomb (yeowch) but misses a charge into the post back inside. The ankle lock keeps Belair in trouble and a middle rope dropkick gives Asuka two. Belair gets in a shot on the apron and manages an apron superplex for two more. They trade rollups for two each until Asuka’s Codebreaker is blocked.

Belair hits a running Blockbuster into a handspring moonsault for two. Asuka knees her in the face but Belair is back with a running shoulder for another double knockdown. They go into the corner and a Codebreaker gives Asuka two. Belair manages a kind of Glam Slam onto the turnbuckle for two and ducks the mist. The KOD is countered into a cross armbreaker but Belair muscles her up into the KOD to retain at 15:55.

Rating: B. This was another good one, which is all the more impressive after such a lame buildup. The match itself being a success wasn’t really in question as they are too talented to have a bad one, but it went a bit better than I was expecting. Belair is running out of challengers though and outside of Charlotte, they’re going to have to try someone new sooner than later.

Miz and Snoop Dogg announce tonight’s attendance: 81,395 and a two night total of 161,892. With that out of the way, Miz is mad at Snoop Dogg for screwing up last night and getting him into a match. Snoop isn’t having this and brings out someone else. Cue SHANE MCMAHON (he looks blown up from the ramp) and let’s do this.

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Shane punches away….and then gets hurt on a leapfrog. The referee checks on him and says this is a no go, so Snoop decks Miz and hits a People’s Elbow for the win at 2:12. If that was a work, it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years. If that was real, (minus Shane’s injury), it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years.

We recap Edge vs. Finn Balor inside the Cell. They’ve been feuding for months since Balor kicked Edge out of Judgment Day, so now it’s time for the final showdown. We get all of the evil/demonic stuff for the build and the Demon is all but guaranteed.

We get a quick trailer for the Devil’s Exorcist movie.

Russell Crowe, the star of said movie, talks about how demons can cause problems.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

In the Cell (No longer red!) and Edge comes out to the Brood entrance (featuring a Slayer song instead of the Brood theme) with a Titantron that says BROOD EDGE (that’s up there with “the JBL persona has never entered the Royal Rumble”). Balor is indeed the Demon again and the entrance loses a bit without the darkness everywhere. Edge punches him in the face to start for no effect so it’s time for the weapons to come in.

We get some colored chairs and kendo sticks, with the latter going over Balor’s back. Balor is tied up in the Cell with the sticks as Edge grabs a table. That takes too long as Balor gets out and sends him into the steps. Back in and Edge hits a quick Impaler but Balor takes him back outside. The beating stays on, including a shotgun dropkick to send Edge through the table against the Cell wall.

With nothing else working, Edge manages a Killswitch and then throws a ladder into Balor’s face. We now pause for the trainers to come in and check on a cut (with the camera staying away from Balor). Edge uses the time to grab all of the weapons he can find until Balor is ready to go again. Balor sends him into the ladder and hits a quick Coup de Grace for two so they climb a ladder in the corner.

A super Impaler brings Edge back down so let’s grab another table. Balor knocks him onto it though and unloads with the chair, only to climb the Cell onto a well placed platform. The Coup de Grace only hits table so Edge hits a spear for two. With that not working, Edge unloads with chair shots and hits the Conchairto for the pin at 18:08.

Rating: B. This was a weird one, with the match just kind of ending rather than building up to something. It felt like they were trying to have Edge be pushed so far and reach a level that Balor can’t touch but it just felt like the match stopped out of nowhere. It’s also weird to see Edge win if he’s probably leaving again, but that might mean giving Balor a big win and that doesn’t happen anymore. The match was violent (because it was a TLC match inside the Cell, as tends to be the case far too often anymore) but it hit a wall and didn’t get any further.

We recap the Hall of Fame ceremony.

The Hall of Fame Class is presented:

Stacy Keibler (yeah sure)
Andy Kaufman (about as perfect of a celebrity as you can get)
Great Muta (absolutely)
Tim White (great choice for the Warrior Award)
Rey Mysterio (perfect choice for a headliner and well deserved)

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. Roman has been World Champion for over two and a half years and seems unstoppable. Rhodes is here to win the title for his father Dusty and complete his story. This is the most serious threat Reigns has faced in a long, long time and he could be in trouble.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Rhodes is challenging and hugs his family before handing his weightlifting belt to….AEW’s Negative One (unmasked) in the front row. Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa are here with Reigns and we’re ready to go after some rather long entrances (including Reigns demanding acknowledgment). They fight over a lockup to start with Cody getting a headlock (so Heyman can roll his eyes at the CODY chants). A right hand sends Reigns outside for some advice from Heyman (“You’re the relevant one. Now SMASH HIM!”).

Back in and Reigns hits some corner clotheslines but walks into a dropkick so Cody can start working on the arm. The Disaster Kick is countered into the powerbomb for two and Reigns snaps off some suplexes. They head outside and Reigns knocks him up the ramp so the fight can keep going. Cody gets the better of things as they fight back to ringside but Sikoa gets in a chair to the ribs. The referee didn’t see it so Reigns hits the apron dropkick to take over again.

Cody fights up again but Sikoa grabs a boot, allowing Reigns to nail a clothesline. They go to the floor again and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. Reigns’ powerbomb is countered into a backdrop and Reigns is in trouble again. Back in and Cody hammers away with the Cody Cutter getting two. Reigns heads outside again and there’s the suicide dive. On the way back in, Sikoa gets in a belt shot to the back, which the referee hears for an ejection.

Reigns grabs the belt but gets superkicked into Cross Rhodes for a close two. Back up and Reigns catches Cody from behind, setting up a release Rock Bottom for two more. The Superman Punch is countered into the Pedigree for two more and Cody is looking stunned. Reigns’ spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and the Figure Four goes on (complete with WOO).

Reigns makes the ropes so Cody goes to the apron (Cody: “Fight Cody.”) and they slug it out. Cody misses something off the top and gets speared down for two. Reigns is so frustrated that he unloads with forearms and grabs the guillotine. The arm comes up so Reigns grabs the bodyscissors to really cinch it in. Cody manages to slip his head out and hammers away but the referee gets bumped. Reigns hits a Superman Punch and Cody hits a clothesline to put them both down.

It’s Cody up first and the Cross Rhodes is loaded up but cue the Usos for the double superkick. The 1D drops Cody again but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (through the crowd for some reason) for the save. The Stunner into the Helluva Kick drops Reigns and the teams fight off, leaving Cody to get a very delayed two. They slug it out until Reigns misses the Superman Punch and Cody hits the Flip Flop and Fly into the Bionic Elbow. Cross Rhodes and Cross Rhodes connect but Heyman offers a distraction so Sikoa can come back in with the Samoan Spike. Reigns hits the spear to retain at 34:37.

Rating: B+. It felt like a major showdown here and the reactions from the crowd were great. The back and forth action was outstanding and I wasn’t sure how it was going until the ending. At the same time though…..wow that is a heck of a way to go, as Reigns doesn’t really have anyone left to face. It felt like a Wrestlemania main event and a huge fight, but egads that is a bold choice for the future. Cody was protected, but it’s going to take some time to come back from this kind of a loss.

A lot of posing and pyro but no Dusty Finish wraps us up.

The highlight package takes us out.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s another great show and I think I liked the action a bit more overall here as even the weakest match on the show was completely fine. The ending was the big surprise and I have no idea where they go from here. There was a lot of fun to be found here and the Intercontinental Title match was great, followed by some other very good stuff. What matters is that it felt like a Wrestlemania and that is one of the hardest things to pull off in all of wrestling. Heck of a show again and absolutely worth seeing.

Overall Overall Rating: A. It’s an all timer over two nights and what makes it even more impressive is that they made the already huge card actually work. That extra pressure makes it even harder but they did it here, with some of the best stuff WWE has done in years. The worst thing over two nights is a watchable six woman tag and the best stuff is some all time quality.

The bigger thing here is the emotion though, as it felt like the biggest show they have presented in years. This show was built up for a long time and then they made the whole thing work. I was invested in so much of this and it gave off the feelings that you’re supposed to get with something this big. Check out all of this, as both nights flew by in a great way.

Results
Brock Lesnar b. Omos – F5
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez and Natalya/Shotzi – Armbar to Shotzi
Gunther b. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus – Powerbomb to McIntyre
Bianca Belair b. Asuka – KOD
Snoop Dogg b. Miz – People’s Elbow
Edge b. Finn Balor – Conchairto
Roman Reigns b. Cody Rhodes – Spear

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

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

AND

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

We’re still in Los Angeles for the second half of Wrestlemania after what was a (pick your own adjective based on however the show, which hasn’t happened yet, was once you’ve seen it after this is posted) night, it should be easy/difficult to top. This is the night where we finally get Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the World Title and that should be quite the showdown. The rest of the show looks good too so maybe we’re in for something. Let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka

We’ll get one of the weaker entries out of the way to start. This is a match that is likely going to be very good due to the talent involved but the build has been lacking to put it mildly. There isn’t much of a reason for these two to be fighting and Belair being scared of Asuka isn’t so interesting. Asuka can more than carry her end, but she needs a little more than this so far.

I’ll take….I guess Asuka here, as Belair has held the title for a year now and really needs to drop the thing so someone else can get a chance. Asuka’s new persona is only so different than her last but she is more than good enough to be the champion, even if it is just for a little while. There is a good chance that Belair keeps the title again, but she probably shouldn’t after a year of being champion.

Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

This is the women’s showcase match, which is still one of the weirder ideas that WWE has had in a good while. The teams are mostly inexperienced or brand new, with Rousey and Baszler being the only regular team. Then again last year’s Women’s Tag Team Titles went about the same way, meaning I don’t have much reason for this to be very interesting here again.

I’ll take Rodriguez and Morgan to win as they would likely be the crowd favorites. The only other option (which might make the most sense) is Rousey/Baszler, who need to be going after the Women’s Tag Team Titles sooner than later. This comes off as a way to get a bunch of people on the card without having a battle royal and while it might accomplish the goal, it isn’t feeling interesting. But yeah, I’ll go with Rodriguez and Morgan to win.

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

Somehow this is the best thing they could get together for Lesnar (including making him happy, which can’t be easy) and I’m not exactly feeling it. I’m almost scared to see what is going to happen when these two are given any kind of time together, as Omos hasn’t shown the ability to be a ring general. That leaves Lesnar, who might be more likely to turn Omos into a really big sandwich.

That being said, I’ll go with Lesnar winning here in a short match. You can’t ask them to go long (not without expecting quite a bit of disaster) so we’ll go with Lesnar winning with the big impressive F5. This is a match that isn’t going to much to do so keeping it quick and impactful is the right idea. Omos winning makes sense if Lesnar is leaving, but for now I’ll take Lesnar, who will almost absolutely be back someday.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther(c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

This is the kind of match that is going to be all about hitting each other really hard. That is how to get the fans up again because it is easy to get behind the idea of three people trying to survive and leave as champion. It’s a good formula and these three can make it work. If they make it work here, we could be in for a showdown, but the question is who leaves with the title.

I don’t think I can imagine Gunther losing the title yet, even if he doesn’t get pinned, so I’ll say he retains here. Sheamus and McIntyre are going to beat the fire out of each other and it’s going to be a blast, but what matters here is three big men doing their power stuff until one of them can’t get up. This should be a lot of fun and the story is there too, so just make it work.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

What are we now, nine months into this feud? I get why it takes time but it would be nice to have things pick up a bit. Either way, what matters here is that this is in the Cell (which is apparently no longer red) and Balor is going to be the Demon. The match has certainly been built up long enough and while it might not be the hottest feud anymore, we should be in for a good one.

In theory this should be Balor winning because he’ll likely be around more often, though Edge has a tendency to win his big matches more often than not. I’ll go with Balor as he really needs the win, but it’s a prediction likely to go wrong. There is likely going to be a ton of interference from Judgment Day and Beth Phoenix, but at least everything has been set up fairly well.

Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Cody Rhodes

There are times when the Wrestlemania main event feels like the biggest match they could come up with at the time, but there are also occasions when the Wrestlemania main event feels like the most important match anywhere. The latter is true this year, as WWE has turned taking down the Bloodline into the biggest story in wrestling. Rhodes wants the title for his family’s legacy, but also to take out the Bloodline’s heart. Now can he do it?

There is a real argument for Reigns retaining here, as he is the biggest star in wrestling by a mile and the longest reigning champion in about thirty five years. If you pull the trigger on Rhodes right now, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. At the same time, if Rhodes loses here, what exactly is he supposed to do next? I’ll go with Rhodes, just because I don’t know what they do if he loses.

Overall Thoughts

Much like last night, this feels like a Wrestlemania worthy card. I want to see what happens with this show and Reigns vs. Rhodes is the biggest match that I can imagine right now. WWE has done a great job of setting things up and now they have the potential to execute it just as well. I love having that feeling of grandeur back again and if they can make it all work, we’ll be in for a heck of a night.

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

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Happy Birthday Pop.

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 27, 2023
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s the go home Raw before Wrestlemania and that means it is time to get the final push for a lot of this show’s weekend matches. In addition, we’ll have Cody Rhodes facing Solo Sikoa before his final showdown with Roman Reigns on Smackdown. We might get one or two more additions to the card but there isn’t much left to do. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is the Miz to get things going. He is fired up to be here and promises to get to the bottom of a very personal feud. This brings out Trish Stratus, Lita and Becky Lynch for a chat. Becky accuses Miz of having small testicles, with Miz saying his wife disagrees. Becky: “It must be comforting to know that Maryse didn’t get around much before you were married.” Lynch talks about how she respect these two but Miz asks Lita and Trish what it’s like to be Becky’s backup. Lita says she feels like a champion but here is Damage Ctrl to interrupt.

Bayley accuses Lita of meaning something 20 years ago but Trish says that title says she means something now. Bayley talks about how being in the ring with these two would be a dream 20 years ago. Now though, it’s still a dream for people who can’t accomplish anything. They want the titles back, which sends Becky into a rant about how many times Damage Ctrl loses, they keep coming back. The triple staredown ensues.

Becky Lynch vs. Iyo Sky

Lynch starts fast with a suplex to send Sky outside. With Damage Ctrl having a meeting, Becky grabs Bayley by the hair to bring her back in. Sky hits a running dropkick to take over but Becky is back with a running forearm for a double knockdown. With Sky on the floor, Lynch hits a baseball slide, followed by a forearm off the apron.

Back in and a layout reverse DDT gets two on Sky as we take a break. We come back with Lynch getting two off a suplex but Sky catches her on top. That means an Asai moonsault can drop Lynch on the floor for two back inside as the fans approve. Over The Moonsault misses though and the Manhandle Slam finishes Sky at 11:50.

Rating: B-. This was another good example of what happens when you have two talented stars going in there and getting to do their thing. Lynch is able to wrestle a good match when she is given the chance and Sky really can make the high flying work as well as probably any woman in the division. Good match here, and the six woman tag could have a lot of potential.

We look back at Cody Rhodes predicting that the Bloodline would turn on Roman Reigns.

Video on Asuka, with various Hall of Famers and legends talking about how awesome she really is.

We recap Logan Paul knocking out Seth Rollins last week. Then in the back, Paul stole the mic and shouted about getting to do it again at Wrestlemania.

Seth Rollins….is interrupted by Mustafa Ali, who wants Rollins to be more positive. Rollins laughs at the Positive Ali idea and the result is a match later tonight.

Seth Rollins vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali forearms him in the face to start and Rollins seems annoyed. A clothesline turns Ali inside out and the stomping is on in the corner. Ali gets tied in the corner for a running stomp, followed by the regular version to give Rollins the pin at 2:07. The stomp in the corner looked painful.

Post match Rollins says if he can’t beat Logan Paul at Wrestlemania, he’s the joke. The match is on Paul’s anniversary and Rollins wants to take him out, so sing that song!

Earlier today Baron Corbin was asking Adam Pearce what was going on with his losses when Chelsea Green interrupted. She wants to know why she isn’t in the Women’s Showcase at Wrestlemania. Pearce says she doesn’t have a partner, but here is Sonya Deville to say Pearce is just jealous that she didn’t do as well as she did in this role. That’s enough or Pearce, who puts them in a qualifying match for the showcase. Corbin is still there and asks “seriously?” but Pearce leaves.

It’s time for a weigh-in between Omos (with MVP) and Brock Lesnar. Before Lesnar comes out, MVP talks about how Lesnar has done great things at Wrestlemania, including beating people like Kurt Angle, Goldberg, Roman Reigns and even…..the Undertaker. Unlike those men though, Lesnar cannot suplex or F5 Omos. With that, Omos weighs in at 410lbs. Cue Lesnar, who goes right after Omos and even picks up the scale, only to get kicked in the face. That’s enough for Lesnar to bail outside and look a bit scared. This was pretty quick but they got the point across.

Video on Charlotte being awesome over the years.

Finn Balor talks about Edge wanting to be inside the Cell with him and says there is nothing more dangerous than a caged demon.

Street Profits/Braun Strowman/Ricochet vs. Alpha Academy/Viking Raiders

Valhalla is here with the Raiders. Dawkins takes Gable down to start but has to slip out of the ankle lock. Strowman comes in to clean house on the villains until Ford (with his own double bicep pose) comes in for some armdrags. Everything breaks down and we get the Ivar vs. Strowman vs. Otis showdown. Otis plants an invading Ford and the Academy stands tall as we take a break.

Back with Erik chinlocking Ford and handing it off to Otis, as Maxxine Dupri is watching in the back. Maxxine likes the Otis shirt coming off for a running elbow (with Otis telling her he’s here). An enziguri gets Ford out of trouble and it’s Dawkins coming back in to clean house. Strowman comes in to do the train around the ring. Ricochet Swantons off of Strowman’s shoulders to hit Erik, followed by Ford (who tagged in) diving OVER Strowman with the frog splash for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: C+. The ending looked great as Ricochet did his crazy flip and then Ford made it look even better. This was probably a lot more interesting than the showcase is going to be, as I still can’t believe there isn’t even a title shot on the line. For now though, this was a good match with a better finish so maybe they’ll surprise me at Wrestlemania.

Cody Rhodes finds it interesting that he has to face the Bloodline’s enforcer this week. The question has been if he has earned it and Cody says he has always earned it. Tonight he beats Solo Sikoa, and at Wrestlemania, it’s Roman Reigns.

This week’s parody trailer: the Bloodline are Goodfellas. At least that matches up.

Video on Bianca Belair coming up the ranks and becoming a major star. Belair really is one of the only women who has come up with no wrestling background and become part of the top group.

Earlier today, Austin theory was in the empty arena and talked about how John Cena allegedly humiliated him on the microphone a few weeks ago. The only thing Cena can’t see is the future, because Theory is a star. It doesn’t matter if Theory is in an empty ring or in a sold out stadium, because he’ll show Cena what a star really is. Good stuff here, but Theory needs to win in a pretty dominant fashion on Saturday.

Stacy Keibler is going into the Hall of Fame.

Wrestlemania Showcase Qualifying Match: Sonya Deville/Chelsea Green vs. Michin/Candice LeRae

Michin gets taken into the wrong corner to start so Deville and green can take turns hammering on her. A double neckbreaker gets Michin out of trouble as everything breaks down. A quick Unprettier gives Green the pin on Yim at 2:57.

Paul Heyman gives a Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes version of the 23rd Psalm before saying Rhodes isn’t ready. Yes he needs to face Solo Sikoa tonight because Roman Reigns has been guided from being the Big Dog to the Tribal Chief. Rhode isn’t ready for Sunday but needs to be ready to take a beating tonight and then another from Reigns. Be ready for pain, and to acknowledge the Tribal Chief.

Here are Dominik Mysterio and Damien Priest (who have been standing in the ring since before a break and Heyman’s interview) with Dominik talking about what a horrible father Rey Mysterio really is. We see Rey punching Dominik and agreeing to face Dominik at Wrestlemania. He should have told his mother to shut up a long time ago and wishes Eddie Guerrero was his real father.

Damien Priest vs. Rey Mysterio

Dominik Mysterio is here with Priest and we’re joined in progress (19 minutes after Priest’s music started to play) with Rey taking Priest down. Priest plants him with a lifting Downward Spiral for two but misses a big boot. The 619 is broken up with a heck of a clothesline but Rey super hurricanranas him down. Now the 619 can connect but Dominik crotches Rey on top for the DQ at 3:10.

Rating: C. This was about having Dominik screw over Rey before they fight at Wrestlemania so there wasn’t much to expect from the match itself. They did as much as they could with the time they had so this was good enough to fulfill its purpose. Other than that, can we please find something for Priest to do? Or at least a feud of his own? It has been a long time now for him.

Post match the beatdown is on but Legado del Fantasma runs in for the save.

Video on Andre the giant, who has a battle royal named after him on Friday.

The Good Brothers and Johnny Gargano are in the Andre battle royal and go to do something else. Rick Boogs is excited about being in and Elias promises to win. Dexter Lumis and Bronson Reed both scare Elias, as does Bobby Lashley.

We look at the Usos jumping Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on Smackdown.

Owens and Zayn talk about how this is going to be the biggest Tag Team Title match of all time. They have to win because the Bloodline has to be stopped.

Gunther vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title and Imperium is here with Gunther. Ziggler hits a dropkick and the jumping DDT but Gunther gets him in the corner for the boot choke as we take a break. Back with Ziggler getting two off a Fameasser but getting chopped HARD out of the air. A German suplex and the powerbomb set up the Last Symphony to finish Ziggler at 5:43. Not enough shown to rate but Ziggler got in some offense before getting crushed by the monster that is Gunther.

Post match Gunther promises the same thing for Drew McIntyre and Sheamus.

Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

Paul Heyman is here with Sikoa. A dropkick hits Sikoa to start but he snaps off a Samoan drop for a breather. They head outside with Sikoa being whipped into the steps but he suplexes Rhodes back inside. That’s enough to send Cody outside, where Sikoa can drop him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break. The swinging Rock Bottom onto the table has Cody in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Cody fighting out of a nerve hold but getting clotheslined in the corner. Cod jumps over him in the corner and snaps off the powerslam, followed by the Disaster Kick. The Cody Cutter connects and Cross Rhodes drops Sikoa again for a rather delayed two, with Sikoa getting a foot on the rope.

A moonsault misses for Cody but the Samoan Spike misses. Cody grabs another Cody Cutter but here are the Usos (with music), allowing Sikoa to hit a superkick. Spinning Solo gets two (Heyman is surprised) but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to brawl with the Usos. Another Samoan Spike is countered into Cross Rhodes to finish Sikoa at 12:53.

Rating: B-. Rhodes winning to shake Heyman (and presumably Reigns) up is a smart move and I don’t think Sikoa is going to be ruined by having his first loss be to someone who very well could be World Champion next week. This was the best way to end Raw, as Rhodes only has Reigns left in front of him. We’ll get a showdown on Friday and a match on Sunday, so nice job on setting things up.

A serious looking Heyman pulls out his phone to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m sure there are going to be a lot of complaints about this show not being the most exciting or the highest quality and those are pretty fair. At the same time though, this is one of the few shows of the year that isn’t about what takes place between the bells. This show is all about getting things ready for Wrestlemania and it went fairly well, with a few good matches thrown in. Good enough show, but none of it is going to matter once the bell rings on Saturday.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Iyo Sky – Manhandle Slam
Seth Rollins b. Mustafa Ali – Stomp
Street Profits/Braun Strowman/Ricochet b. Alpha Academy/Viking Raiders – Frog splash to Erik
Sonya Deville/Chelsea Green b. Michin/Candice LeRae – Unprettier to Green
Rey Mysterio b. Damien Priest via DQ when Dominik Mysterio interfered
Gunther b. Dolph Ziggler – Last Symphony
Cody Rhodes b. Solo Sikoa – Cross Rhodes

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

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

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: March 17, 2023
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We are just over two weeks away from Wrestlemania and that means things are serious around here. Tonight is going to be about finding a new #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title as Sheamus faces Drew McIntyre. Other than that, there is a good chance that we hear from Cody Rhodes again. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. Rhodes asks what we want to talk about and suggests Wrestlemania. He respects Roman Reigns and is looking forward to seeing him in this ring on Raw. He’s looking forward to seeing him at Wrestlemania as well, where he will be Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. Rhodes doesn’t want to talk about someone though, because he would rather talk to someone. So Kevin Owens, come on out here.

Cue Owens, with Rhodes saying he respects him….but there is someone else we need here. Rhodes requests and receives Sami Zayn, leaving us with a rather tense staredown with Rhodes in the middle. Rhodes talks about how he told WWE good luck in their future endeavors and needed someone to watch his back. Owens introduced him to some people who helped him reach his goals and that is a favor he can never repay.

The fans want them to HUG IT OUT and Zayn talks about the horrible things he and Owens have done to each other. Somehow though, they’ve always found a way to get back on the same page and Zayn doesn’t get why this time is different. If there is something Owens needs to get off his chest, DO IT! If Owens needs to scream at him or hit him in the face, DO IT, so they can get back together again. Owens asks Rhodes if he got what he wanted so he can leave.

Cody: “What I want?” Rhodes says everyone wants the same thing, with Zayn talking about them taking down the Bloodline. Owens has heard all of that before but why would he fight for someone who doesn’t want to be his friend? Zayn is stunned and Owens thanks Rhodes before walking away. They’re taking their time with this and the moment when Owens finally saves Zayn is going to be great.

Post break, Owens is getting in his car when Zayn cuts him off. Zayn says they’re friends, they’ll always be friends, and they’re brothers. If Owens never wants to talk to him again, that’s fine, but Zayn loves him. Owens goes to leave, quickly looks back at Zayn, and drives away, clearly moved by that in some way.

Zelina Vega/Santos Escobar vs. Rhea Ripley/Dominik Mysterio

Escobar forearms Dominik down to start, with Dominik having to bail to the ropes. Ripley comes in but gets her boot to the ribs caught. Vega comes in for a top rope seated senton into a hurricanrana driver to send Ripley outside. A middle rope moonsault takes her down again and we take a break.

Back with Escobar hitting a loud dropkick on Dominik and adding a standing legdrop for two. Ripley gets in a cheap shot though and a double crossbody leaves both of them down. Vega comes back in as everything breaks down, with Rhea getting dropped by a kick. Ripley sends Vega outside and grabs a powerbomb to set up a Tower of Doom on the men. A Vega knee to the face rocks Ripley but she’s right back with Riptide to finish Vega at 7:07.

Rating: C+. Vega got a lot of shine here but there is no way she was going to be a major threat to a monster like Ripley. Escobar continues to be protected and I’m curious to see what he can do when he gets away from the Mysterios. It was a good use of all four though and there is some potential to be seen.

Post match Dominik gets the mic and says his Hall of Fame father was a deadbeat. Cue Rey Mysterio on the Titantron and we take a break. Back with Rey coming to the ring and Dominik saying his father is finally here for once. Dominik wanted Rey around all kinds of times but he is just a scared excuse for a father. He is about to call Rey a piece of s….but Rey cuts him off.

Rey asks if Dominik wants the truth because yeah, he has missed all kinds of things. No matter what though, Dominik was still his world. He sacrificed a lot of things so his family could have the best life they could imagine. No matter what Dominik did to get in trouble, the Mysterio name bailed him out. Rey gets emotional as he brings up going into the Hall of Fame….and he wants Dominik standing next to him on the stage. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!”

Rey says that maybe it’s too late for that, because his greatest regret is what Dominik has become. He doesn’t like some punk kid calling him out so he’d be glad to beat Dominik up at Wrestlemania. But he won’t because it would be a disgrace as a father. Rey will not fight him now, ever, or at Wrestlemania. Dominik calls Rey out as he walks away, calling him a scared, scared little man. Rey leaves, but looks very upset. Much like the opening segment, they’re teasing the big moment and kind of need to just make the match already.

There will be two four way tag team showcase matches at Wrestlemania and we are going to have qualifying matches starting now.

Wrestlemania Qualifying Match: Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Emma/Tegan Nox

Liv throws Rodriguez into Nox in the corner to start but gets taken into the wrong corner. The double teaming is on but Liv gets over to Raquel for the house cleaning. The fall away slam and spinning Vader Bomb hit Emma, followed by a Codebreaker from Liv to Nox. Liv and Nox fight to the floor so it’s the Texana Bomb into Oblivion to finish Emma at 3:43.

Rating: C. So we’re having a four way tag match with possibly thrown together teams at Wrestlemania? And the battle royals were seen as worse ideas? Are they fighting for anything? Maybe a title shot? I would hope so, as otherwise this is going to be up there with the worthlessness of Dino Bravo vs. Texas Tornado matches of Wrestlemanias gone by.

We look back at Charlotte and Rhea Ripley yelling at each other last week.

Here is Charlotte (in a mostly there bright yellow body suit) to say that when she was growing up, it was Rhodes as a challenger and Flair as a champion. Charlotte has always gone into Wrestlemania as a challenger or the champion, but Rhea Ripley can never get there because she isn’t a Charlotte level star.

Cue Ripley (with Dominik) to say that she did choose Charlotte. Ripley walks through the locker room, everyone turns away in fear. She is dangerous and bloody good at what she does, which makes everyone feel her….except Charlotte. That ticks Ripley off and it makes her NEED the Women’s Title. Ripley promises to make Charlotte fear her and Dominik talks trash, allowing Ripley to drop Charlotte with a shot. Dominik and Ripley leave but Charlotte cuts them off and the fight is on, with security not being able to hold them back. They fight over the barricade and are FINALLY separated after a rather energized brawl.

Sami Zayn talks about how two people who he has considered his brother have left him. It’s time he thought about things.

Xavier Woods vs. LA Knight

This is the result of Knight mocking Woods for playing WWE2K23 earlier. Knight pounds away to start as Barrett says Knight has the shoes of a champion. Woods is right back with a middle rope missile dropkick but Knight runs him over. That’s fine with Woods, who grabs Backwoods for the pin at 2:22.

Great Muta is going into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

LA Knight runs into Rey Mysterio, signing autographs, in the back. If Rey won’t fight Dominik Mysterio, Knight certainly will. Rey hits him and speaks Spanish, with Knight wondering what he said.

We recap Gunther and Sheamus co-winning last week’s #1 contenders match, meaning tonight it’s one on one for the Wrestlemania Intercontinental Title shot.

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

The winner gets Gunther, watching from ringside with Imperium, for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania. They shove each other around to start as Wade Barrett gets Gunther a headset for a quick interview. Gunther is having none of this lack of preparedness in the interview and drops it as McIntyre hits a Michinoku Driver for two. Sheamus fires off some knees but gets sent into the corner. McIntyre charges into a raised boot but catches Sheamus on top. The huge superplex leaves them both down and we take a break.

Back with McIntyre hitting a neckbreaker and nipping up as Sheamus is in trouble. The Claymore is cut off by a hard knee though and they’re both down again. They both hit big boots for another double knockdown….and Gunther gets inside. Gunther asks which one it’s going to be but Imperium jumps both of them from behind for the double DQ at 11:44.

Rating: B-. I think you know where this is going and there is a good chance that was the case when the match was announced. Gunther and Imperium seem to be the latest group to not remember history, meaning the triple threat is likely coming. For now though, I can take these two powerhouses beating each other up for ten minutes to set up them beating up Gunther at Wrestlemania.

Post match the beatdown is on but Adam Pearce pops up on screen to announce the triple threat title match at Wrestlemania, because Gunther clearly didn’t mean it when he said he wanted one challenger.

Here is Jey Uso for a showdown with Sami Zayn. Cue Zayn to ask how Jey wants to do this. Jey says he didn’t like or trust Zayn since day one. Eventually, everyone started to like him though, including Roman Reigns himself, but Jey never bought it. Then the one time he finally let his guard down, Zayn betrayed him. Jey knew that Zayn was a fake Uce, but Sami accuses Jey of taking Reigns’ abuse. The reality is Jey is mad at himself and wanted to hit Reigns with the chair.

The brawl is on, with Jimmy Uso running in for the beatdown on Zayn. Cue Kevin Owens through and the Usos are quickly wrecked despite Zayn still being down. The Usos are gone and Zayn and Owens have the big reunion…..as Cody Rhodes is watching in the back. There’s your big moment, as the team to go after the Bloodline at Wrestlemania is officially united.

Overall Rating: B. Like many Wrestlemania season TV shows, this wasn’t about the wrestling at all, but rather everything that was going on around it. You had the long awaited Owens/Zayn reunion, Rey Mysterio finally starting to stand up to Dominik, and a pretty awesome Charlotte/Rhea Ripley brawl. That was the focus of the show, with Sheamus vs. McIntyre getting their Wrestlemania match as a result. The wrestling, which was ok to good, wasn’t the point here and that’s how the final shows before Wrestlemania should go.

Results
Dominik Mysterio/Rhea Ripley b. Zelina Vega/Santos Escobar – Riptide to Vega
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez b. Emma/Tegan Nox – Oblivion to Emma
Xavier Woods b. LA Knight – Backwoods
Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre went to a double disqualification when Imperium interfered

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

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

AND

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