Main Event – August 20, 2020: Yeah This

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 20, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s the final show of any series in the Performance Center despite this being the show that needs to be in the place. I would say that I don’t know is going on here but you can pretty much guarantee what you’re going to be seeing. It helps that this is the go home show for Summerslam so they’re going to have a focus at least. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bianca Belair vs. Billie Kay

Peyton Royce is here with Kay. Belair drives her into the corner for an early clean break before taking it to the mat with no real effort. Kay can’t get a single leg as Belair blocks her with straight power and the hiptoss connects. Belair bounces around a bit but Peyton’s distraction lets Kay connect with Shades of Kay for two. We hit the seated abdominal stretch but Belair powers up and takes her into the corner. Belair hits a dropkick into a nip up and she heads up top. After kicking Peyton away and having to dive over a charging Kay, it’s the KOD for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: D+. How many times can Belair beat these two up? It feels like something she does when she’s bored, which is rather often as she doesn’t exactly do anything outside of yelling at the Street Profits. I could go for Belair doing something else on a bigger stage, but for now this is about all she’s going to be asked to do.

From Smackdown.

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

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

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

We look at Seth Rollins and Murphy injuring Dominik Mysterio.

From Raw.

Summerslam rundown.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Murphy

They fight over a lockup to start until Murphy takes him down with an armbar. Carrillo fights up with some chops into a headlock but they start running the ropes. A running hurricanrana takes Murphy to the floor and we take a break. Back with Murphy stomping away in the corner and hitting some forearms to the spine. A kick to the same place gets two and Carrillo is sent outside for a slingshot dropkick.

Back in and Murphy asks where these fans were when Aleister Black and Dominik were hurt. Murphy whips him hard into the corner and the referee even asks Carrillo if he wants to continue. A missed charge lets Carrillo unload in the same corner and a missile dropkick to the back gives Carrillo two. Back up and Murphy blasts him with a running knee for the sudden pin at 10:09.

Rating: C-. Carrillo has fallen pretty far in a hurry and I can’t say I’m all that surprised. Ignoring the fact that Carrillo has basically been replaced by Dominik Mysterio as Rey’s little buddy, there is only so much you can expect from him. He can do things in the ring but has no personality to speak of, so how far could he be expected to go? Murphy is his usual self: talented but stuck as a lackey instead of his own man.

Long video on Retribution.

From Raw.

Here’s Shawn Michaels to show us what happened to Ric Flair again. Shawn talks about how the 31 days Flair spent on his death bed were some of the hardest days of all of our lives (uh….). Without Flair, there would be no Shawn, HHH, Edge, Christian, Big Show or Drew McIntyre (UH…….). Randy Orton is on that list as well and then he had the nerve to take out Flair last week. Shawn doesn’t know how it is going to happen but it is going to happen at Summerslam. Maybe it’s from Sweet Chin Music or the Claymore, but someone is going to give Randy what he deserves. Whatever it is, Orton is going to see it coming.

Shawn goes to leave and there’s the RKO into the Punt. McIntyre runs in to run Orton off and a referee comes out to check on Shawn. Orton comes back and McIntyre beats the heck out of him, including throwing him over the announcers’ table. McIntyre checks on Shawn but Orton comes back in again for the RKO as Shawn can’t get up to end the show. This was as expected, including the over the top praise of Ric Flair, because Shawn and HHH still haven’t officially opened their eternal shrine to him.

Overall Rating: D+. Totally run of the mill Main Event here and that’s not a good thing to say. It’s not a show that has any real life to it and I don’t think that is going to change in the near future. Maybe the Thunderdome aspect can help things, but dang man. You can’t use this place for some character development with maybe a promo or two? Just try to do something with the resources you have. Why is that so much to ask?

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

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Main Event – August 13, 2020: It Isn’t Going To Help

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: August 13, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

We’re coming up on Summerslam and that means we should be in for a lot of big time recaps. I’m not sure what to expect other than that, but it isn’t like we’re going to be seeing anything of note otherwise. Hopefully the show goes along well enough this week, but you never can tell. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Billie Kay vs. Ruby Riott

They’re both here alone. Kay’s headlock doesn’t last long as Riott hammers away, only to get shouldered right back down. That means a cartwheel into the pose from Kay, who is taken down with an STO into a pose from Riott. Serves her right. They go to the apron with Kay hitting a kick to the head, followed by an armbar back inside. Riott is back with a bunch of forearms into a rollup for two but walks into a Regal Cutter for the same. The big boot misses though and Riott hits the Riott Kick for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: D+. Another match which would only be on Main Event, which is better than having it on Raw. At least Riott gets a win here, as it isn’t likely to happen outside of very special occasions on the important shows. I’m not sure why WWE is so obsessed with keeping her at the bottom of the totem pole but she has been there long enough already.

Video on Raw Underground.

Long video on Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman.

And now, the Fiend. After his entrance and a break, we see Alexa Bliss sitting in front of him and looking scared. Fiend goes to the corner and crawls over to her, with Bliss rubbing his face. Strowman’s voice comes up to pull the Fiend away and he pops up on the screen. Strowman says this wasn’t going to work because all he cares about is destroying the Fiend. He tried to fight it but gave into the evil within and is fulfilling his destiny. Strowman is the thing that nightmares are made of and he is the monster. Fiend can have whatever he wants because at Summerslam, he is facing the monster. Strowman says let him in.

As usual, Strowman cannot talk to save his life and might as well be reading off the cue cards. I’m not sure if this was the end of the Bliss aspect of the story, but if that is the case, it feels like another case of setting something up and then changing their mind AGAIN, possibly because it could have been interesting and that cannot happen.

We open with Samoa Joe in the ring for a contract signing. Seth Rollins comes out with Murphy, followed by Dominik, because they really do think this is what we should use to keep the fans’ interest early. Dominik comes out with a kendo stick and Rollins laughs him off for treating this like a joke. Joe doesn’t think much of Rollins treating this as a joke and asks why Rollins is acting like this. Why did he take out Rey Mysterio’s eye, have Murphy take out Aleister Black’s eye, and think about going for Joe’s eye last week?

Rollins threatens Joe and says that he himself is the only one with no choice in this whole thing. He goes into a rant about everything he has done around here with everyone not thinking anything of his efforts. All he is doing is for the greater good and when is it going to be enough? Dominik says it never will be because Rollins’ greater good is for himself. Rollins calls him ungrateful because everything Dominik is doing is because of him.

Dominik is ready to go, so Rollins says Dominik wouldn’t last ten seconds against him in a regular wrestling match. That’s why Rollins is going to do him a favor: Dominik can bring his kendo stick at Summerslam. Or any weapon he wants for that matter, so there are no excuses. Rollins and Dominik both sign, with Rollins being rather pleased.

Seth Rollins vs. Humberto Carrillo

Rollins grabs an armbar to start and sends Carrillo to the apron. Carrillo comes back in with a sunset flip and hammers away in the corner, only to get crotched on top. The belly to back superplex is broken up but Murphy’s distraction means no moonsault. Dominik kendo sticks Murphy though and Rollins gets the boots up to block the moonsault. A superkick sets up a powerbomb into the Stomp to finish Carrillo at 3:03.

Rating: D+. The match was decent enough but the lack of interest in anything they’re doing here hurts things a lot. There is only so much that can be done with such an uninteresting story and hopefully they make a change. It seems that they’re teasing Samoa Joe getting involved somehow, and that’s probably as good of a move as they can make. Dominik isn’t ready for this and that becomes ore obvious every week.

Post match Rollins and Mysterio beat Dominik down, including a series of hard kendo stick shots. Rollins even takes the shirt off so the shots can hurt more. Murphy and Rollins tie him into the ropes with Rollins saying HI DAD over and over. With Dominik still helpless, Rollins has Murphy grab some more kendo sticks and now Murphy gets in his own shots. The double beating continues with Murphy saying that Dominik is a WWE Superstar now. This was a heck of a brutal beatdown with Dominik being destroyed and I do want to see him get back up and fight. Just find something else to say about him other than he’s Rey’s son.

Angel Garza vs. Titus O’Neil

Titus powers him around to start and shrugs off the chops. A big chop has Garza in trouble and it’s already time to go to the floor. Back up and Garza manages a kick to the head, only to get slammed down. Titus clotheslines him outside and we take a break. Back with Garza choking on the ropes and TAKING OFF HIS PANTS, setting up the STF.

That sends Titus bailing to the ropes (as it should) so Garza superkicks him into a sleeper. Titus powers up and throws him down, followed by the running splash in the corner. Garza is right back with a pair of superkicks and the basement dropkick square in the jaw finishes Titus at 11:11.

Rating: D. I often wonder how Titus still has a job, but then you read a story or two about his charity work and wonder how WWE ever got along without him. No his matches aren’t good, but he comes off as one of the greatest human beings ever in wrestling and it can do WWE a lot of good to keep him on the payroll. Oh and Garza was here too.

Quick look at Asuka beating Bayley on Raw.

Video on Retribution.

And then to Raw, just after Randy Orton beat Kevin Owens.

Post match Flair poses with Orton, who wants a microphone. Orton asks Flair to hang on a second and we take a break. Back with Orton saying he loves Flair after all these years, but he shouldn’t have been in this match with Owens. Of course he cares about Flair, but they will not be together any longer. Flair is a liability to him these days and that can no longer be the case. About eighteen years ago, Flair bailed Orton out of trouble in Peoria, Illinois and Orton thinks that he did it because he wanted Orton to be the son that he never had.

Flair starts crying and Orton talks down to him over having a pacemaker and going into a coma last week. Is this the best that Flair can be? Flair says that he’s not the same man he was before but there are some things that Orton wants to hear. Of course Flair wants to be in the spotlight. He’s 71 years old and he’s on Raw. Flair wants to be there with Orton when he wins his 14^th, 15^th, 16^th and 17^th World Title. He doesn’t want to see Orton beat John Cena’s record, because it’s his record.

Orton knows what it’s like to be where Flair was because Orton’s dad did it for years. Flair knows Orton is the greatest of all time and as soon as he got out of intensive care for 31 days and out of a coma for 12 of them, all he wanted to do was tell the people he cared about that he loved them. All he is now is Charlotte’s dad so he wants to have a good time with Orton.

They hug, but Orton hits him low and leaves Flair laying. Orton looks down at him, goes to the corner, waits for the lights to flicker, and then hits the Punt (with the lights off so we don’t see the contact in a clever way around it) to end Flair. Orton whispers something to Flair and here’s Drew McIntyre to chase Orton off, shouting “EVEN HIM???” Medics and Adam Pearce come out to tend to Flair.

Overall Rating: D. They’re trying to make me care about Main Event and I really just don’t care. It isn’t a good build to the pay per view and I don’t see how much better it could actually get much better in the little time that they have left. The rest of the show was your usual Main Event fair, but given how bad the build has been to Summerslam, nothing was saving this one.

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

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Monday Night Raw – August 10, 2020: The Best Raw In At Least A Week

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 10, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

For the first time in a very long while, some interesting stuff actually took place last week. That would include both Raw Underground and the debut of Retribution, but the problem with any WWE story is that at some point it has to go somewhere, and that’s where they get lost. I’m not sure what to expect here and that scares me. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Kamala.

Opening sequence.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Seth Rollins vs. Humberto Carrillo

Post match Rollins and Murphy beat Dominik down, including a series of hard kendo stick shots. Rollins even takes the shirt off so the shots can hurt more. Murphy and Rollins tie him into the ropes with Rollins saying HI DAD over and over. With Dominik still helpless, Rollins has Murphy grab some more kendo sticks and now Murphy gets in his own shots. The double beating continues with Murphy saying that Dominik is a WWE Superstar now. This was a heck of a brutal beatdown with Dominik being destroyed and I do want to see him get back up and fight. Just find something else to say about him other than he’s Rey’s son.

Post break, commentary is rather serious about what we just saw.

Video on Retribution’s attacks last week.

Andrade vs. Angelo Dawkins

Before the match, Zelina insists that she had nothing to do with Montez Ford being poisoned. Why would she mess with the most important night of her team’s career? The Street Profits can have the smoke, because Angel Garza and Andrade want the Tag Team Titles. The lights go out again during Dawkins’ entrance because Retribution is around somewhere tonight. Dawkins jumps him from behind to start but Andrade gets in such a hard right hand that Dawkins loses his headband.

Back up and Dawkins hits a dropkick to send him outside, where Andrade sweeps the leg to send Dawkins face first into the apron. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Dawkins fights back with the clotheslines and the jumping spinning elbow. Andrade sends him into the corner again though and it’s the running knees for two. Back up and Andrade gets punched out of the air for no count as Vega has the referee. Cue Bianca Belair to pull Vega off the apron though and the spinebuster gives Dawkins the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C-. I was surprised by Dawkins winning here but it’s not like Andrade has been anything but a tag guy in recent months. The poisoning thing is interesting, but I’m hoping that they don’t go with some outsider and just have Vega be the person behind it. Go with what makes sense instead of the surprise in this one.

Bianca Belair vs. Zelina Vega

Joined in progress with Vega being driven into the corner and then muscled over with a snap suplex. Vega pulls her into a triangle choke but Belair powers out and hammers away in the corner. A poke to the eye gets Vega out of trouble again and she hits Belair in the face for a bonus. There are the running knees in the corner for two but Belair has had enough of Vega and tries the KOD.

That earns her some elbows to the face though and Vega headscissors her throat first into the middle rope. A crossbody is countered into a gorilla press drop though and Belair is annoyed again. Belair unloads on her with forearms to the back and throws Vega down with ease. Vega avoids a charge into the post and pounds away, only to get powerbombed out of the corner. The KOD is enough to finish Vega at 6:13.

Rating: D+. This was a scrappy one as Belair was pounding away on Vega as much as she could but Vega wasn’t quite enough of a threat to her. There is only so much that you can do here and Belair was only in limited danger. Again: go with what makes sense instead of something screwy and it’s that much better.

Post match Belair says she and Ford like to keep their careers separate, but Belair had to do something to stand up for her husband. Dawkins says Ford isn’t missing Summerslam and they’re bringing the ruckus and the red cups.

Here is the Hurt Business for the VIP Lounge. MVP says this is a more serious episode and talks about being the man who told you so. Last week, you had weird things going on with the lights going out in his match. He is a seasoned professional and a world class athlete but he can’t win titles in unsafe working conditions.

Cue Apollo Crews, to say MVP is always complaining and making excuses. MVP says Crews was the one who missed Extreme Rules because he had a bad neck. Crews says that he can make bad decisions because he’s a bad man. At Summerslam, the only lights that are going out are MVP’s. Crews charges the ring and throws the couch to the floor to clear the ring.

Apollo Crews vs. Shelton Benjamin

Non-title and joined in progress with Shelton driving him into the corner, only to have Crews flip forward and hit the dropkick. Benjamin throws Crews outside though and gets in a knee to the ribs as the referee keeps a close eye on the MVP and Lashley. Back in and we hit the chinlock until Crews fights up and hits a crossbody. Crews drives him into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs and the Stinger Splash for a bonus. The Toss Powerbomb doesn’t work so Crews settles for a powerslam into the standing moonsault. Crews gets back up but Lashley offers a distraction, allowing Shelton to grab a rollup for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C-. The athleticism was good, which shouldn’t be a surprise given who was in there, but it doesn’t quite make for a great match. This still seems to be building towards Crews vs. Lashley, though I’m not sure when we are actually getting there. Shelton not losing for a change is nice, though I’m still not thrilled with a champion losing again.

Post match Lashley goes after Crews with the full nelson but MVP calls him off because that would take him out of the title match again. Crews gets in a quick shot and runs off.

We go outside where Retribution throws a cinder block through a window with the WWE logo.

Mickie James is back and says she has gold on her mind. Lana and Natalya, in matching outfits, come in to say Mickie can’t be the face of the division without a Tik Tok. Natalya says she has won more than anyone else and that makes her the best of all time. Natalya and Lana: “HASHTAG BOAT!” Mickie says Natalya should know better and tells Lana that boats sink. Mickie leaves and the two of them call her rude. The new outfit didn’t help Natalya’s charisma.

Video on Raw Underground.

Ivar is flirting with a blonde when Erik, Ricochet and Cedric Alexander come up. The blonde says not to yell at Ivar because he’s cute. Not so much with Erik. How many times can they do that same joke? Ricochet and Cedric crack up.

We look at the beating of Dominik again.

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet/Viking Raiders vs. Akira Tozawa/Ninjas

Ricochet kicks a Ninja in the face to start and it’s a middle rope double stomp to the back into a Downward Spiral. Another Ninja gets kneed in the face and it’s off to Ivar for the knee to the ribs. Another one to the face rocks the Ninja but the third Ninja, who seems to be R-Truth in disguise, won’t get in. Tozawa yells at him and the other Ninja gets the Viking Experience for the pin at 1:10.

Post match it’s Truth and he rolls Tozawa up for the pin and the title.

Drew McIntyre promises to beat Randy Orton at Summerslam and make it clear that Evolution has passed him by. If Kevin Owens beats Orton tonight, he and Drew will be having a long talk.

Liv Morgan vs. Peyton Royce

Before the match, the IIconics accuse the Riott Squad of wanting to stab each other in the back. Morgan takes Peyton down to start and hammers away before they head outside. The brawl continues for a bit until Morgan sends it back inside for two off a rollup. Peyton gets kicked into the corner but Riott deals with an interfering Royce. That’s enough for Royce to get in a cheap shot and finish Morgan with the Deju Vu at 2:06.

Post match the Squad doesn’t see eye to eye again.

We recap Sasha Banks vs. Shayna Baszler with Bayley and Asuka causing the no contest.

Shane McMahon is ready for Raw Underground.

It’s time for Raw Underground, with Cal Bloom vs. Riddick Moss. They fight in the ring and then brawl to the floor, with Moss sending him into a bunch of poles. Back inside and Moss slugs away again, eventually dropping Bloom with a shot to the head for the win. Good for them if this is a way to boost someone like that. The dancing girls are notably absent this week.

Asuka vs. Bayley

Non-title, Sasha Banks is with Bayley, and if Asuka wins, she gets the Raw Women’s Title shot against Banks at Summerslam. Asuka starts fast and hits the hip attack in the corner. Bayley catches her on top though and a sliding elbow gets two. Back up and a lot of shouting lets Asuka get two off a backslide, followed by a kick to the face. The lights flicker some more and it’s Asuka up first with a running shoulder into a release German suplex.

The hip attack gets two on Bayley and she gets tied up in the corner for a running stomp. That’s enough to send Bayley outside and we take a break, coming back to Bayley getting stomped down again. Bayley pulls her down into a kneebar of all things though and kicks away at the leg for a bonus. The referee gets distracted by yelling at Bayley, allowing Banks to ram the leg into the apron to give Bayley two. Asuka is right back up to pull her into a grounded Octopus and then a cross armbreaker.

Bayley stacks her up for two and then pulls Asuka into an Indian Deathlock of all things. Banks goes to taunt Asuka with the title, causing Asuka to reverse into a kneebar. That’s reversed as well and Asuka hits a running knee attack for two more. Asuka puts her on top but Bayley knocks her down, setting up the top rope elbow for another near fall. A sunset bomb sends Asuka into the corner but Bayley stops to mock Kairi Sane, only to get pulled into the Asuka Lock for the tap and the title shot at 15:05.

Rating: B. There is something interesting about Asuka being Bayley’s Kryptonite as Bayley has never beaten her in a singles match. What we got here was another good, hard hitting, back and forth match with two women beating the heck out of each other. I’m not sure how surprising the result was, but they had a good time getting there.

Back at Raw Underground, Arturo Ruas destroys an unknown.

Post break, Dabba-Kato destroys another unnamed victim, with a testicular claw included. Post match, Shayna Baszler gets up to get in the massive Kato’s….well chest actually but Shane breaks it up. Shayna goes to the ground and starts beating up a woman but a blonde makes the save. Shayna beats her up too, then does it again to a second blonde, who did show some submission skills. All three of them go after Shayna at once but she beats them all down with throws and strikes. The first blonde gets Kirifuda Clutched to give Shayna the win.

Retribution has turned over someone’s car and beat on it a little bit more.

Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

Ric Flair is here with Orton. Owens gets headlocked to start but they fight outside in a hurry. Orton pokes him in the eye, only to be sent face first into the announcers’ table. Back in and Owens stomps away before shouting a WOO at Flair. The Stunner doesn’t work so Owens goes with the superkick instead, setting up the Cannonball. Owens seems to bang up his shoulder on the landing, even as Orton bails to the floor. That’s fine with Owens, as he hits another Cannonball against the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Owens hammering away some more and throwing in a strut (with another WOO). Orton gets knocked outside but sends Owens’ bad arm into the steps and then the barricade. Back in and Orton rakes the boot over Owens’ face and drops a knee. The chinlock, with a rake to the eye, goes on but Owens is back up in a hurry. Owens hits a clothesline into the backsplash but Orton knocks him down again and puts him on top. Orton gets knocked off the top and the Swanton connects for two. The Stunner is blocked though and it’s the RKO to finish Owens at 13:16.

Rating: B-. That’s the kind of win that can give Orton a nice boost. Owens is a former World Champion so a win over him means something, while losing to Orton is hardly a major defeat. It helps that it was a pretty good match too, with Owens getting in quite a bit of offense.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it’s because things were such a mess last week, but this was WAY better than what they have been doing in recent weeks. Above all else, it felt like they have a series of targets in mind and focused on every single one of them in a row. The show wasn’t all over the place for a change and you can see what they are going for. The closing segment was quite good and the show worked as a whole. There was nothing outstanding and the wrestling wasn’t the best, but there was a focus here and that has been sorely missing from the show over the last few….well probably years. Good stuff.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Humberto Carrillo – Stomp

Angelo Dawkins b. Andrade – Spinebuster

Bianca Belair b. Zelina Vega – KOD

Shelton Benjamin b. Apollo Crews – Rollup

Peyton Royce b. Liv Morgan – Deja Vu

Cedric Alexander/Ricochet/Viking Raiders b. Akira Tozawa/Ninjas – Viking Experience to Ninja

Asuka b. Bayley – Asuka Lock

Randy Orton b. Kevin Owens – RKO

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

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Main Event – July 23, 2020: Don’t Remind Me

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 23, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: MVP, Tom Phillips

It’s time for the weekly recap show of all of the events that don’t have the kind of audience to warrant a recap in the first place. WWE at least has Summerslam to set up in the next few weeks, but after that I’m not sure what they are going to be able to do. Hopefully things can be fine enough for an hour here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bianca Belair vs. Jessi Kamea

Belair powers her into the corner without much effort to start and tells Jessi to bring it on. A quick flip over Jessi sets up a running shoulder to put her down and we hit the cravate. Jessi’s dropkick doesn’t have much effect so Belair fires off shoulders in the corner. There’s a splash to the back but Jessi drives her into the corner. That’s fine with Belair, who sends her into the corner again and hits the KOD for the pin at 4:31.

Rating: D+. What were you expecting from this one? They did their thing for a few minutes and Belair won with her finisher. That’s all you’re going to get out of a match like this and Belair continues to be way too talented for this show. Jessi has been around a few times now and this is about as far as she has gotten so far. I can’t say I’m surprised.

We get some quick promos from AJ Styles and Matt Riddle before their Intercontinental Title match.

From Smackdown.

Intercontinental Title: Matt Riddle vs. AJ Styles

Styles is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Riddle blocks an early Irish whip attempt and hits the rolling gutwrench suplexes to put AJ on the floor. A running knee puts AJ down again so he rips off the announcers’ table, only to get kicked in the head. We take a break and come back with AJ still in trouble as commentary thinks he’s off his game tonight.

AJ manages a belly to back faceplant to drop Riddle though and it’s time for the forearms in the corner. Some shots to the leg have Riddle in trouble and we hit the chinlock. Riddle powers up and drives him into the corner, setting up the running backsplash. The Bro To Sleep into the Final Flash connects for two and we take another break.

Back again with AJ hitting a clothesline out of the corner but Riddle strikes away without much trouble. Riddle charges into a superkick though but AJ can’t hit the Styles Clash. Instead Riddle hits a ripcord knee to the face, only to miss the Floating Bro. A brainbuster gives AJ two but he has to fight out of the Bro Derek. They strike it out with AJ reversing a Pele into the Calf Crusher. Riddle reverses that into a Bromission attempt but can’t quite get it on. Instead, AJ reverses into a cradle for the clean pin at 18:07.

Rating: B. I’m not wild on the 50/50 booking, though losing a clean fall to AJ Styles is far from some career killer. Riddle has gotten a good start to his run on Smackdown, but I’m worried about the double hit of losing here and then having to feud with Corbin for weeks on end. I know he had frostbite on his feet, but that isn’t the kind of heat he needs.

Post match AJ shakes Riddle’s hand but here’s Corbin from behind to beat Riddle down.

We look at Bayley trying to cheat Asuka out of the Raw Women’s Title at Extreme Rules.

From Raw.

Here are Bayley and Sasha Banks for a chat. Banks says she has this and explains her version of what happened last night. Asuka intentionally tried to blind the referee with the mist and Bayley just borrowed his shirt. Bayley did it because she’s a role model and now they have all the gold. A celebratory dance breaks out but here are Asuka and Kairi Sane.

Sasha was not ready for Asuka last night and the title is still hers. Banks says come get it so here they come. Hold on though as Stephanie McMahon pops up on screen to say Banks isn’t the Raw Women’s Champion. The title is on the line next week and Sasha can lose via pinfall, submission, countout, DQ, or with Bayley interfering. I’m assuming that counts for Asuka as well, but since Stephanie didn’t say it, it isn’t gospel.

Bayley vs. Kairi Sane

Non-title. Sane slugs away to start but Bayley comes back with some shots of her own. That earns her a hip attack to the floor, only to have Bayley come back in and stomp away in the corner. The chinlock doesn’t last long on Sane so Bayley snaps off a suplex for two. Sane drapes her on the top rope though and hits a top rope double stomp to the back, sending Bayley outside in a heap.

We take a break and come back with Bayley unloading in the corner. This is so fascinating that we cut to the back for an interview with Shayna Baszler, who says her interest in the match is like a shark seeing prey. Back to full screen with Sane reversing a suplex into a DDT for a breather. The Sliding D connects but Bayley grabs an armbar over the ropes in the corner.

Sane sweeps the leg and goes up top for an Alberto double stomp into a near fall. The spinning backfist into the Interceptor drops Bayley again but the Insane Elbow misses. Another Interceptor is cut off with a knee to the face. Bayley drops her with a suplex but misses her own top rope elbow. The Bayley to Belly is loaded up instead but Sane reverses into a rollup for the pin at 15:38.

Rating: B-. Given all of the rumors of Sane leaving WWE soon, this is quite the surprising result. That being said, it can also offer to shake things up a bit. I can’t imagine Sane taking the title from Bayley or anything like that, but it is a good idea to give Bayley something to do while they figure out her next big challenger. Good match too, with the surprise ending helping things.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler from Extreme Rules.

Riddick Moss vs. Humberto Carrillo

Moss powers him around to start and then cranks on Carrillo’s arm. A headlock gets Carrillo out of trouble for a bit so Moss blasts him with a shoulder. Back up and Carrillo hits a running dropkick to send Moss outside, only to have the suicide dive countered with a drive into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Moss hitting a backbreaker into a fall away slam. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Carrillo fights up for an enziguri. A standing moonsault sets up a crossbody for two on Moss. Carrillo hits a sunset flip for two more but Moss is right back with the neckbreaker for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C-. Main Event continues to be one of the most confusing shows I can remember. Carrillo is still part of a fairly big story on Raw but here he is losing to Riddick Moss (again) on Main Event. That doesn’t even make bad sense, and it is another good example of how much of a mess WWE is these days.

We look back at Eye For An Eye.

Videos on Big Show and Randy Orton’s careers.

From Raw.

Big Show vs. Randy Orton

Unsanctioned so anything goes. Show knocks him into the corner in a hurry and hammers away at the arm. The spear sends Orton outside but cue Angel Garza and Andrade to jump Show. They whip him into the steps but the Viking Raiders run out to break up the Punt attempt as we take a break. Back with an unset table in the ring and Orton kicking at the leg. Show hits a chokeslam for two but the threat of the KO Punch sends Orton outside.

Back in and Show knocks him down again, this time putting Orton on the table. A Vader Bomb only hits table though, allowing Orton to hit the RKO for two. Orton isn’t happy, so he blasts Show in the back with some chair shots, leaving the referee to discard the pieces of the broken table. Another chair shot to the back sets up a top rope hanging DDT and a second RKO finishes Show at 13:45.

Rating: C. That’s all you could have expected it to be and that’s fine. Orton got in there and wrecked Show, which was exactly what he should have done. Show is expendable and Orton is probably about to headline Summerslam. What more can you expect from a match that was designed to accomplish one single goal?

Orton Punts Show to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: D+. WWE is just such a mess right now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. That’s a major problem and Main Event is a good illustration of the whole thing. The original matches either aren’t good or don’t jive with the main roster booking (If Moss can beat Carrillo, why can’t he get on Raw?) and the recaps just show you how bad things are at the moment. Run of the mill Main Event here, which doesn’t say much.

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

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Monday Night Raw – July 27, 2020: Every Single Minute

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 27, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We’re less than a month away from Summerslam and that means things need to start picking up. You can see a lot of what they have in mind from here, but there are still a few things that need to be ironed out. Hopefully some of those things are set up tonight, as the wheels need to start turning. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers welcome us to the show and tell us what we have coming up.

Here’s Randy Orton to get things going and we see some clips of what he did to take care of Big Show last week. Orton knows he has had a great career and we hear about his history, including the Legend Killer and Evolution. This business has some greats like the Rock and Steve Austin, but neither of them are anything compared to him.

Now he needs something else though, which means becoming WWE Champion again. Drew McIntyre may be WWE Champion, but their resumes don’t quite line up. McIntyre doesn’t know how much trouble he is in now because Orton gets what he wants. Orton wants the title shot at Summerslam and Drew isn’t seeing the RKO coming.

Here’s the returning Nia Jax to say she gets what Orton meant. She wants to be Raw Women’s Champion, but cue Shayna Baszler to say not so fast. The brawl is on with referees breaking it up as we take a break.

Viking Raiders vs. Ricochet/Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

The winners get the Street Profits at Summerslam so the Profits are here to introduce everyone. Garza and Andrade clear the ring to start and Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS, which he throws straight at Dawkins. Joined in progress with Ricochet jumping over Ivar as Garza and Andrade chill on the floor with Zelina Vega. An enziguri into a headscissors takes Ivar down so Erik comes in instead.

Actually scratch that as the Raiders throw Garza inside and then beat up Andrade on the floor. This includes Erik slamming Ivar onto him while Ricochet and Alexander chop Garza in the corner. Back in and the German suplex/springboard clothesline hits Garza but Ricochet dropkicks Ivar. Andrade is back in to jump Erik from behind and it’s a double team on Erik. Ricochet goes for the cover to break up the alliance, allowing Ivar to come in and clean house. A splash (Ford: “The Love Splash!” Tom: “The Love Splash?” Ford: “THE LOVE SPLASH!”) connects and the Raiders clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Andrade hitting his running knees in the corner to crush Erik for two. Everything breaks down and Andrade hits the spinning elbow to Ivar. Erik knees Andrade in the face but the dive is cut off by Garza’s kick to the head. Ivar goes up top to cannonball onto Ricochet, Alexander and Erik by mistake. Back in and the Wing Clipper hits Alexander for the pin and the title shot at 15:02.

Rating: C. The action was good, though I’m not a fan of having the Profits beat a team one week and then having the same team getting a title shot the next week. That being said, who else is there to get the show? The division is basically three teams at the moment and while Ricochet and Alexander are a team, they aren’t in a position to get that kind of a shot. It’s annoying, but they didn’t have another option.

Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax

The brawl is on and they go straight to the floor for the countout at 48 seconds.

Post match the referees try to break it up with both of them beating up a referee in the process.

Video on Eye For An Eye.

Murphy looks upset and Seth Rollins asks if he’s with him. Murphy is worried about Dominick Mysterio showing up tonight. Rollins hopes so because people like Dominick can’t get out of their own way. The greater good will move forward and tonight will be different.

Here are Rollins and Murphy for a chat. Rollins brags about beating Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black on back to back nights but something is preventing him from being happy. That would be Dominick, who is here tonight to confront him. This is a recurring theme as every time the Greater Good (sounds like they have a group name) tries to do something, someone steps in their way.

Kevin Owens had a broken ankle, Mysterio lost an eye, and now Black has an injured arm. That’s why Rollins wants to talk it out with Dominick so they can do it the right way. Cue Dominick to very slowly get in the ring with Rollins talking about how he understands how Dominick is feeling. If Dominick needs any guidance or help…and Dominick takes him down. Murphy is right back though and Dominick is sent outside for a whip into the barricade. Dominick is sent into the announcers’ table as well and Rollins looks at the steps.

Rollins takes too much time though and here’s Aleister Black to jump the Greater Good. The arm is sent into the apron though and Rollins whips him into the barricade. The Stomp plants Black on the floor and Rollins looks at the steps. He asks Murphy if he is in this so Murphy grabs Black and puts Black’s eye into the steps, as referees….just look at him. Dominick comes back with a kendo stick for the save. That was the best fire Dominick has ever shown but it might not be the best idea to have that happen just after the eye angle.

R-Truth comes up to Mustafa Ali in the back because Ali is going to be on the MVP Lounge. Ali isn’t going after the 24/7 Title, which is a good thing because Truth wants his baby back.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP running down non-Hurt Business people. Last week, MVP saw someone come back from a seven month absence and he’s this week’s guest. Cue Mustafa Ali, who is very happy to have helped put the Hurt Business out of business last week. He is happy that he is back in WWE and on Raw, where he can become a champion. And he means a REAL champion, which doesn’t sit well with MVP.

That could happen, but MVP thinks it depends on Ali making the right decision. Ali doesn’t like the sound of that because he can think for himself. MVP says that sounds like what Apollo Crews said and now he is at home on the couch. So what is Ali’s decision? Cue R-Truth to go after Benjamin for two but the Hurt Business chases him off.

Mustafa Ali vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley draws a line on the mat and tells him to come get it and then shoves Ali down without much trouble. A big toss across the ring sets up a running shoulder to the ribs in the corner and Ali is in trouble early. There’s the faceplant and Lashley stomps him down in the corner. Now it’s a delayed vertical suplex for two but here’s Akira Tozawa to go after Benjamin as well. MVP and Benjamin beat up the Ninjas and Lashley gets in on things as well, including a crazy hard head first ram into the post. Ali gets in a shot from behind though and we take a break.

Back with Ali in trouble again as Lashley breaks up a springboard attempt and knocks him to the floor. That means some trash talk from MVP, plus an elevated Flatliner back inside. Ali slips away from the spinning Dominator though and the middle rope tornado DDT connects. The 450 misses and Lashley gets the full nelson for the tap at 11:31.

Rating: C-. Well so much for Ali being something important around here. This was 90% squash with Ali getting destroyed for most of the match until he hit a tornado DDT and that was it. This was almost depressing in a lot of ways as I was hoping to see Ali be a bigger deal, but then this happened.

Dolph Ziggler says he’s going to Summerslam after he beats Drew McIntyre tonight.

Long video on Sasha Banks vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title.

Raw Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Asuka, with Kairi Sane, is defending and can lose the title via countout, DQ or interference. Banks has Bayley here with her and before the match, Sasha talks about how there is no bigger bully than Stephanie McMahon. That’s because they run the whole company because they’re role models who stand against injustice. That’s why Bayley interfered at Extreme Rules and counted the pin on Asuka. Bayley: “Any role model would have done the same thing.” Before the bell, Sane chases Bayley off and we take a break.

Back with the Big Match Intros, followed by Asuka kicking away in the corner to start fast. The Shining Wizard gets two but Asuka can’t get a Fujiwara armbar. A Backstabber out of the corner gives Banks two and the half crab goes on. Banks lets that go and starts working on the leg until Asuka kicks her out to the floor. That’s enough for Banks as she tries to leave, but it’s the old Eddie Guerrero trick of throwing the belt to Asuka and falling down, but Banks doesn’t get the timing right and the referee doesn’t buy it. Asuka kicks her in the head instead and we take a break.

Back with Banks working on the leg again but Asuka fights up and strikes away. A knee to the face sends Banks to the apron but the knee is too hut to follow up. Banks is back with a kick to the head and the Meteora gets two. We’re right back to the half crab but Asuka grabs a kneebar instead. That’s switched into an ankle lock to keeps Banks in trouble until she rolls Asuka into the corner. A top rope Meteora is countered into a Codebreaker to put them both down again.

Asuka kicks the knee out again and gets two off a release German suplex. The hip attack gets the same but Banks gets in a shot of her own. The frog splash gives Banks two and the Bank Statement goes on. Asuka slips out but can’t get the Asuka Lock as Banks sends her outside instead.

Banks drops the bad knee onto the announcers’ table for nine, with the dive back inside ruining Banks’ posing. Asuka’s rollup is countered into the Bank Statement, which is reversed into the ankle lock. Asuka hits a middle rope dropkick but we see Bayley beating up Kairi Sane in the back. The distracted Asuka still hits a German suplex as Bayley beats the heck out of Sane. Bayley rams Sane into the steel wall over and over and Asuka finally goes to the back for the save, giving Banks the title via countout at 19:30.

Rating: B. They set this up well and I can go for Banks winning the title here, as it could set up something big at Summerslam. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Banks and Bayley getting a major rocket push as WWE tries to fill in the void left by Becky and Charlotte leaving. Good match too, as you would expect from these two without the stupid shenanigans.

Post break, Bayley and Banks are VERY excited and dance around in celebration. Asuka comes out of the trainer’s room and screams a lot.

Video on Regis Philbin, who passed away over the weekend.

Humberto Carrillo vs. Buddy Murphy

Carrillo goes straight at him to start and chops away in the corner, followed by a springboard back elbow. A springboard kick to the face sends Murphy outside for a suicide dive but Murphy shoves him off the ropes for a crash into the barricade. Back in and we hit the chinlock but Carrillo is right back up with a kick to the head. An enziguri sends Murphy into the corner and a missile dropkick to the back of the head gets two. Back up and Carrillo heads up top, only to dive into the jumping knee. Murphy’s Law is good for the pin at 6:36.

Rating: C+. These two having a good match is hardly a surprise, though I’m not sure how wise it was to have Murphy do the evil stuff to Black and then come out for a regular match later in the show. That’s part of having such a limited crew at the moment though and that is causing issue after issue. More Murphy is a good thing though so I’m rather pleased.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for the main event, but first he needs to address Randy Orton. The title match is set for Summerslam, and while Orton has promised Drew won’t see the RKO coming, Orton will sure see the Claymore coming. With that out of the way, here’s Ziggler for the stipulation. Drew liked Ziggler’s thinking at Extreme Rules for the Extreme Rules match, so tonight they’ll do it again, with Drew being able to get extreme too.

Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title and Extreme Rules. Drew goes outside to get a chair so Ziggler superkicks him without much trouble. Ziggler sends him into the post and Plexiglas but Drew is back with an elbow to the face. A lawn dart sends Ziggler hard into the Plexiglas and it’s time for the kendo stick. The Russian legsweep with the kendo stick sends Ziggler into the Plexiglas again and Drew wraps the stick around Ziggler’s mouth.

They head back inside with a bunch of chairs and a table coming with them. Ziggler can’t get a chair so McIntyre cracks him over the back with one instead. A low blow gets Ziggler out of trouble and he finds a second kendo stick to unload on McIntyre. Ziggler does everything McIntyre did to him but McIntyre takes the stick away.

Ziggler is placed on the apron, where his dive is caught for a big drive through the barricade as we take a break. Back with Drew hitting a top rope ax handle but not being able to hit the Future Shock. Instead Ziggler goes up but gets top rope superplexed right back down. The Zig Zag gives McIntyre two more so Ziggler grabs a chair, only to get Claymored through the table to give McIntyre the pin at 14:31.

Rating: B-. This was fine enough, though the lack of the title being on the line kind of took away the interest and that’s not the best idea given the way the TV numbers are going at the moment. McIntyre and Ziggler have chemistry together, but they can only do so much when you’re counting down to the pin. They have already been close enough to this place earlier this month, so seeing the match again wasn’t quite the draw.

Post match Drew holds up the title, earning every bit of the not so surprising RKO from Orton to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The two big matches carried the show and they had to do just that, as this week felt every second of the three hours and a lot more than that. As usual, it felt like they crammed weeks worth of material into a single week, which they kind of have to do because it’s time for Summerslam. I like the title change and Orton vs. McIntyre was inevitable (in a good way) but they need to find a way to make the show feel faster. I’m not sure if that is possible though, and that’s a big reason why the audience is leaving.

Results

Andrade/Angel Garza b. Viking Raiders and Ricochet/Cedric Alexander – Wing Clipper to Alexander

Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler went to a double countout

Bobby Lashley b. Mustafa Ali – Full nelson

Sasha Banks b. Asuka via countout

Murphy b. Humberto Carrillo – Murphy’s Law

Drew McIntyre b. Dolph Ziggler – Claymore through a table

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

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

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

Main Event – July 2, 2020: The Sad Reminder

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: July 2, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, MVP

I’m a bit behind on this show but that’s interesting in a way. If nothing else, it shows just how fast the main shows come and go, because I can barely remember a single thing about what has happened in recent weeks. They just come and go with almost nothing sticking for any kind of time, and that’s not good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tom and MVP welcome us to the show and talk about how much we have learned from the Undertaker due to the Last Ride.

Long Undertaker tribute.

From Raw.

We open with Bayley and Sasha Banks brawling with Asuka in the ring as Samoa Joe is standing next to the contract table. Referees come out and break it up so Joe can do the introduction. The brawl is on again with Joe begging referees to get them apart. With the women separated, Joe introduces Dolph Ziggler as we’re doing both signings at the same time. Ziggler handles Drew McIntyre’s introduction and we’re finally settled down and ready to go. We’ll start with the men, with Ziggler talking about ending McIntyre’s nineteen year journey as McIntyre looks rather serious. Both of them sign with Drew saying it’s official.

McIntyre calls those serious words from Ziggler and talks about how they used to be family. As family, McIntyre is going to let him pick the stipulation for the title match. Asuka cuts him off by shouting in Japanese and signs her own contract. Banks promises to become Two Belts Banks and stamps her own signature on the contract. The brawl is on with Ziggler trying a superkick but McIntyre pulls it out of the air. The threat of a Claymore sends Ziggler bailing, along with Bayley and Sasha. Book the mixed tag for later.

From Raw again.

Here are Rollins and Murphy for the message. We see a recap of the issues with Rollins vs. Mysterio/Dominick, including Humberto Carrillo and Aleister Black nearly taking out Rollins’ eye last week. Back in the arena, Rollins talks about the duty that Mysterio has to his son. The problem is that Rey hasn’t been, ahem, seeing things clearly. Rollins talks about how he gave Rey a chance to get out with honor but Mysterio refuses to leave. They are bound by fate and as fate would have it, Mysterio is meant to be a sacrifice for the greater good of Raw.

Rollins is going to tear him down piece by piece, but here are Mysterio and Dominick on the screen. Rey says that there will be no forgiveness for Rollins no matter what. Mysterio loves Dominick, but now he has to do something even worse to Rollins. It’s an eye for an eye and it won’t be fate, because it’s going to be by design. Dominick can forgive Rey, but he’ll never forgive Rey, which will be ordained by fate. Rollins: “Oh bravo.” Cue Carrillo and Black and it seems that we have another match being booked on the fly.

Post break, Rollins and Murphy are still on the floor to yell at Carrillo and Black. Carrillo says Rollins will never be the man Mysterio is. Black knows evil when he sees it and promises to make Rollins atone for it. Rollins says this ends now and we’re ready to go.

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black vs. Seth Rollins/Murphy

Black kicks away at Murphy to start and scares Rollins off the apron. The distraction lets Murphy kick Black to the floor and Rollins stomps away next to the barricade. Back in and Rollins whips Black hard into the corner, setting up Murphy’s reverse chinlock. Black fights up with a shot to the head and it’s a hot tag to Carrillo, who has to chase Rollins to the floor. That lets Murphy get in a cheap shot but Carrillo enziguris him without much trouble.

A middle rope crossbody connects and Rollins comes back in, only to be sent outside. Another enziguri sets up the missile dropkick to Murphy and Rollins has to save Murphy from the 619. Carrillo hits the big springboard dive to the floor and we take a break. Back with Carrillo getting in a shot to Rollins for a breather. The diving tag brings in Black to beat up Murphy and moonsault onto both of them. Murphy counters Black Mass into a rollup so Black knees him in the face.

Carrillo comes back in for a 619 to Murphy for two with Rollins diving in for the save. Rollins dives onto Black and Murphy hits a running knee for two on Carrillo with Black making a save of his own. The Cheeky Nandos kick hits Carrillo and it’s a powerbomb/jumping knee to the face combination….for two. If you’re going to debut a big spot like that, don’t have it be for a near fall. Black and Murphy head to the floor, leaving Rollins to Stomp Carrillo for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced match and it’s nice to see Rollins win something for a change. That’s been part of the problem with this rather lacking story: Rollins hasn’t really done anything other than taking out Mysterio. He loses most of his big matches and the promos feel like something that has been done in every indy promotion in the world at one time or another. It’s not horrible, but I can’t find any interest in the whole thing.

Post match the brawl stays on with Carrillo taking the steps to the face, with Rollins putting Mysterio’s mask on him. Black has to save Carrillo’s eye from the steps so Rollins gives Carrillo the Stomp onto the steps instead.

Bianca Belair vs. Billie Kay

Peyton Royce is here with Billie. They lock up to start and Kay completely fails at driving her into the corner. Belair powers her up onto the top without much trouble and then pulls Billie back to the middle. A standing moonsault gives Belair two but Billie is back with Eat Defeat for two as we take a break.

Back with Billie working on the arm and putting on a seated armbar. A rollup gives Billie two and she goes right back to the arm. Belair powers her up with a slam into a dropkick as the confidence starts rolling again. A Peyton distraction fails and it’s the KOD to finish Billie at 9:49.

Rating: C. Better than I was expecting here as they had something with the arm injury and Belair having to fight through adversity and survive to win in the end. Not a bad match at all as the IIconics are getting a lot stronger chance to showcase themselves. Belair on the other hand is lucky to make Main Event these days and I really don’t get the logic.

From Smackdown.

Here’s Braun Strowman to talk about Bray Wyatt making him afraid. One night they were sitting in the swamp when Bray saw a snake coming out of the water. Strowman wanted to stomp it but Bray said that was his friend. Bray got face to face with the snake and it bit him, so Bray laughed. It was then that Braun knew he was facing something evil, so he started doing the devil’s work. And he loved every second of it.

We get one of the old Wyatt feed interruptions before Strowman talks about how he still has some of that evil inside him. Braun can’t keep living like this so let’s go back to the swamp. He’s either coming out of this a broken man or knowing that he beat evil. Then he can feed Bray to the alligators in the swamp. Bray’s laughter is heard and Strowman laughs with him.

There’s your cinematic match and there is also your latest Strowman segment that doesn’t make me want to watch him defend the title. I don’t want to see them in the swamp, I don’t want to see them fighting each other and I don’t really want to see Strowman. What is the big appeal here? “Hey, now look where we’re having a match!” Maybe find someone interesting enough that you don’t need to do all these bonuses?

From Raw again.

Drew McIntyre/Asuka vs. Sasha Banks/Dolph Ziggler

Bayley sits in on commentary as the guys start. McIntyre powers him around early on and chops away in the corner as Asuka is very pleased. A quick Fameasser doesn’t even give Ziggler one and it’s off to the women (Bayley: “MAIN EVENT TIME!”). Asuka shoves her around to start but Sasha avoids a charge. That means the threat of the Asuka Lock but the guys come in, allowing Banks to slip out. A spinning elbow to the face drops Banks to the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Ziggler rolling him up for two and hitting the delayed DDT. For some reason Ziggler tags Banks in and Asuka gets to come in as McIntyre is still banged up. Asuka hits a running knee to the face for two on Banks but Bayley offers a distraction. That lets Banks hit a Meteora off the apron (though she seemed to overshoot it) to knock Asuka silly. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Banks hits the double knees in the corner for two more.

Asuka gets in some knees of her own and it’s a double tag to bring the men back in. McIntyre hits the top rope shot to Ziggler’s head but Banks tags herself in. Banks yells at McIntyre, who punches Ziggler off the apron as the yelling ensues. Asuka comes in to kick Banks in the head for two but Banks reverses into a rollup for two. The Bank Statement is countered into the Asuka Lock but Banks flips back onto her for the pin at 14:04.

Rating: C. Just a main event tag match here and they did a good job of making Sasha feel like more of a threat. It’s better to go there than having McIntyre take a fall as they’ve done a great job of making him seem like the most important person on the show. This was one where you could probably guess how the match was going to go and that’s not a bad thing.

Overall Rating: D+. Just a show here and it doesn’t exactly make me want to see Extreme Rules any more than I did before. It’s just a dead pay per view and there isn’t much that makes me want to see anything they have to offer. That’s a really bad sign and while some of the wrestling will be fine, the build has hardly gone all that well. Not a very good show here, but that’s usually the case for July.

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – June 8, 2020: Charlotte Sandwich

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 8, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s the go home show for Backlash so expect to hear a lot of about the best match ever. Christian is here to interview Edge, but even more importantly, we have a Decathlon between the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. Things like that convince me that WWE hates us at times. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Asuka for a match vs. Charlotte but hang on as here are Bayley and Sasha Banks to interrupt. They brag about winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles, allowing them to go wherever they want. Asuka yells in Japanese so here’s Charlotte to tell them to pick up the pace. Charlotte says she needs to beat Asuka, but here are the IIconics to say they’re going to win the titles again on Sunday. Asuka yells some more and Charlotte agrees. It doesn’t matter how many titles Bayley and Sasha win because Charlotte will always see them as garbage. The fight is on and it’s Charlotte and Asuka clearing the ring.

Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. IIconics vs. Charlotte/Asuka

Non-title. Sasha headlocks Peyton down to start but the Meteora is countered into a rollup for two. They both try dropkicks at the same time, meaning it’s a standoff. Asuka and Charlotte are knocked off the apron and it’s Bayley coming in to send Peyton into the corner. There’s a knee to the ribs for two but Peyton gets over to Billie for the tag. Bayley shouts a lot so Billie pulls her down by the hair and knees her in the face.

Charlotte tags herself in and sends Bayley into the corner. There won’t be a tag to Asuka, with Charlotte opting to chop Bayley in the corner instead. Bayley avoids a charge in the corner and drives Charlotte over for the tag to Sasha. The champs stomp away until Charlotte knocks them both down (of course) and brings in Asuka.

House is cleaned in a hurry with the flying hip attack to Banks and a bulldog/clothesline combination to the IIconics. Charlotte mockingly applauds as we take a break. Back with the IIconics cleaning house until it’s off to Charlotte to take them out. Asuka tags herself in and kicks away at Billie, only to have Charlotte tag herself back in, ordering Asuka out of her ring. Chopping abounds but Asuka tags herself in again to Asuka Lock Kay for the tap at 10:42.

Rating: C. You could see where this was going the second Banks and Bayley came out because Charlotte must be involved in everything. Odds are she’s either going to be added to the Raw Women’s Title match or Charlotte and Asuka will be added to the triple threat title match. Really, you might as well just add her to both because we need her star power everywhere, or so WWE certainly seems to believe.

Post match Charlotte lays out Asuka and holds up the title. So the new Tag Team Champions (including Bayley, who has been SmackDown Women’s Champion for eight months) are afterthoughts for another Charlotte title feud. Great.

We recap Seth Rollins hosting Rey Mysterio’s retirement ceremony last week, with Dominick Mysterio looking ready to fight for his dad. Later that night, Aleister Black beat Rollins but got beaten down after the match.

Rey Mysterio joins us for a chat from his house but hang on because Rollins comes out to join commentary. Back from a break with Rey talking about seeing his doctor this morning and now he’s coming for Rollins. Seth says Rey needs to understand the power of words and all the lies that he is spreading. Rey could have walked away a hero but he needs to spread this misinformation. He had the chance to walk away a legend so now Rollins is inviting Rey and Dominick to come to Raw next week. Rey knows this is just because he’s not cleared and yells in Spanish. Cue Black to jump Rollins as we cut to a break.

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black vs. Murphy/Austin Theory

Carrillo starts fast with the high angle springboard armdrag to put Theory on the apron. He’s right back in for the double tag to Murphy and Black, with the latter firing off the kicks. Murphy’s Law is countered into a rollup for one and Black adds a springboard moonsault for two. Everything breaks down and Carrillo hits a loud suicide dive onto Theory. Murphy goes up top and gets his head kicked in by Black the pin at 2:20.

Post match here’s Seth Rollins in a Mysterio mask to Mysterio’s music (which is completely different than last week when Nia Jax did the same thing in an Asuka mask) so the trio can beat down Carrillo and Black. Carrillo is sent to the floor and Black gets planted by Murphy’s Law. The Stomp leaves Black laying again.

Randy Orton is ready for Edge to be on the Peep Show.

Here’s Christian for the Peep Show with Edge. After Edge sits down, Christian says Edge is running on fumes and couldn’t pull off the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever in his prime. They’re best friends so they have to be honest with each other. Edge talks about how difficult it is to have this kind of a burden put on him. This is a different Edge though and isn’t the same guy who had to calm Christian down before all of their tag matches. It’s an Edge firing on every cylinder, even though he doesn’t know how many cylinders he has left.

Christian says he’s hearing excuses and he wants to know what Edge was expecting when he came back? Flash a smile and hit some spears before he goes home? Edge’s biggest fan was his mom, who is going to be there for this one too. Christian calls him Adam as Edge’s lip is quivering and that’s what Christian was looking for.

Edge put Orton down at Wrestlemania because he has the anti-venom and we believe in him. We think you can have the greatest match ever, and here’s Orton on the screen to interrupt. Orton is tired of hearing about this and is ready to take away every ounce of GRIT that Edge has. This Sunday, in the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever, the redemption of Edge is over. Edge: “No it’s not.” And he leaves.

That was one of the dumbest segments I can remember in a good while and sums up the problem with this entire setup. In the entire Edge and Christian segment, there was not one mention or reference to Edge winning the match. The whole point was having a great match and if Edge won, that was just a bonus. As a fan, why should I care if Edge can have a great match? I should be caring about who wins and loses, not how many stars a match is going to get. It’s one thing for a wrestling fan to think that way but for a wrestling company to be presenting that as the story? That’s a really bad sign.

MVP, in a Shad Gaspard shirt, is ready for Bobby Lashley to be in the VIP Lounge this week but R-Truth interrupts him. As Truth tries to hide in a crate, MVP asks what he is thinking by interrupting him. Cue Bobby Lashley to full nelson Truth and leave him laying.

We recap the Viking Raiders vs. Street Profits. In everything other than wrestling of course.

It’s time for the Decathlon, with five events picked per side. It’s a bunch of rapid fire competitions so here’s the short version:

The Profits won a 1600 meter dash to start, the Raiders won archery (when Dawkins shot a guy in the foot), the Profits won the flip cup (so Ivar broke the table), the Raiders won sword fighting when Ford forfeited, the Profits won the hurdles (resulting in an argument over whether you’re supposed to run through or jump over the hurdles), the Raiders won stick fighting, the Profits won a dance off (with Ford dancing to Sexy Boy and Ivar to Fandango’s theme), the Profits won the shot put, the Raiders won turkey leg eating and the Raiders won the pole vault, meaning it’s a 5-5 tie. My head hurts again.

Here’s Apollo Crews for a chat. He’s ready to defend the US Title against the winner of the following match.

Kevin Owens vs. Andrade vs. Angel Garza

Owens jumps the other two on the way to the ring and the fight is on in a hurry before the bell. We come back from a break with Owens being double teamed and the argument over who gets to pin him. Garza stops to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS, allowing Owens to roll Andrade up for two. Owens fights out of another double team but gets his throat snapped across the rope. A dropkick to the back of the head stops Owens again and it’s Andrade cranking on both arms. The chinlock goes on and Garza grabs the leg at the same time. Joe: “That’s the most violent Pilates session I’ve ever seen.”

A double suplex gives Andrade two but the fight is on when Garza makes the save. Zelina tries to break up the fight on the floor but she gets knocked down as we take a break. Back with Owens breaking up a superplex attempt from Garza and hitting the Swanton for two. Andrade jumps on Owens’ back so he drops down onto Garza for the crash. The Cannonball hits Garza but misses Andrade, who hits the running knees in the corner to both of them.

Garza superkicks Andrade but gets superkicked by Owens, setting up the frog splash for two on Andrade. Garza’s missile dropkick puts Owens down so it’s a strike off between Garza and Andrade. The two of them head outside, leaving Owens to hit a big running flip dive. Back in and Garza dropkicks Owens in the leg and grabs a leglock. The rope is grabbed and Owens hits the Stunner, only to have Andrade come in and steal the pin at 12:49.

Rating: C+. I was surprised by the ending and while I don’t exactly care to see Apollo vs. Andrade again, it wasn’t the way I expected the match to go. Just getting Crews a title defense on pay per view is a good idea, though I’m not sure if he is going to be retaining. This story isn’t all that interesting, but it’s better than having the title sit on the shelf for months at a time.

We look back at the opening segment and match.

Charlotte says she didn’t lose the NXT Women’s Title last night and she doesn’t like Asuka stealing her moment. Asuka dances in with the title, singing about being a champion. Charlotte asks if she takes anything seriously and gets slapped down.

Zelina is mad at Andrade and Garza.

Kurt Angle joins us to read cue cards (you can see his eyes going back and forth) to talk about how important chemistry is to a great match. He picks Edge to win on Sunday.

Drew McIntyre is thinking about joining the Vikings and invites them to a celebration after the show tonight. There will be meat and turkey legs, but Erik tells Ivar to focus.

Here’s MVP for the VIP Lounge. He talks about his guest being great and having the most devastating finishing move in WWE so here’s Drew McIntyre. Drew talks about them being friends, even though MVP might have had something to do with last week’s full nelson. MVP says they’re not friends and that Bobby Lashley is the real guest. See, MVP is here to make Lashley reach his potential as World Champion. Drew asks about all of MVP’s World Titles and offers to count down to the Claymore but Lashley runs in. Cue the Viking Raiders for a scheduled tag match, with the Street Profits joining them.

Viking Raiders vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

Drew and the Profits are at ringside. Lashley hits a quick Downward Spiral to Ivar but some knees to the ribs get him out of trouble. It’s off to Erik for a knee to MVP as Lana is watching in the back. Ivar slams Erick onto MVP so Lashley comes in to run Erik over. MVP adds a chinlock but quickly hands it back to Lashley to hammer away.

Erik punches his way to freedom though and it’s back to Ivar to clean house. Everything breaks down with MVP and Lashley yelling at the Profits, leaving Ivar to dive onto both of them as we take a break. Back with the Vikings beating Lashley up some more, including an armbar from Ivar.

We cut to an interview with Lana, who talks about how she needs to work on her marriage. Back to full screen with MVP working over Ivar, who flips over MVP’s back to make the hot tag to Erik. Lashley gets sent outside, where he stares at McIntyre and then spears Ivar. Back in and the full nelson makes Erik tap at 15:10.

Rating: C. The action was good and it makes Lashley look like a monster to make someone like Erik tap. That being said, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I hope they wait a bit before doing the Raiders vs. the Profits again. Lashley came off great here as the Raiders are big but he’s better. Good booking, assuming they don’t have the Raiders shrug it off and go for the titles immediately.

Post match Ivar punches MVP and gets full nelsoned as well. The Street Profits can’t break it up, but the Claymore certainly can.

Charlotte vs. Asuka

Non-title and here are Banks and Bayley to join commentary. Charlotte kicks Asuka in the face and then takes her down by the leg. They head outside with Asuka being thrown over the commentary table as we take a break. Back with Asuka still in trouble on the floor and not being able to hit the hip attack inside. She can however something like the Octopus but Charlotte is out in a hurry with a running kick to the head for two.

The IIconics are watching from the crowd as Charlotte cranks on both arms at once. Charlotte knees her to the floor but misses a baseball slide. Instead Asuka hits a dragon screw legwhip over the middle rope and now the hip attack hits against the barricade. Charlotte sends her into the barricade for a clothesline though, followed by some bare kneedrops. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Asuka gets two off a small package.

Charlotte’s clothesline gets the same and it’s out to the floor again. The baseball slide drops Asuka but she unloads with kicks to Charlotte’s leg. Back in and Charlotte boots Asuka off the top as the IIconics jump Banks and Bayley. We take another break with the other four gone and Asuka hip attacking Charlotte. The cross armbreaker has Charlotte in trouble but she powers out and knocks Asuka into the chinlock.

Asuka fights up so Charlotte knees her back down, only to have Asuka get in another shot. The middle rope dropkick sets up a German suplex to send Charlotte into the corner. That means more kicks to the back and it’s a hip attack to put Charlotte outside. They fight to the apron with Charlotte hitting a big boot, setting up a moonsault off the barricade. Asuka’s leg is wrapped around the post but she’s able to pull Charlotte face first into the post as well.

Back in and another big boot gives Charlotte another two but Asuka counters the spear with a heck of a knee to the face. The Asuka Lock is countered with a rollup for two so Asuka rolls her into something like a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up but here’s Nia Jax for a distraction, allowing Charlotte to hit another big boot for the pin at 27:12.

Rating: B. They beat each other up as always and I can go for the idea of Asuka having someone she can’t beat, but another interference to set up the finish wasn’t quite the way I wanted to see it go. No it wasn’t a clean loss, but it feels like Asuka is someone who has been fighting from underneath since the day she won the title. That gets a little annoying and having Charlotte get the win again doesn’t make it any better.

Post match Jax Samoan drops Asuka to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yes, Charlotte did just open and close the show with wins over the Raw Women’s Champion, the Smackdown Women’s Champion and the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Why are you surprised at this point? The show was pretty solid overall with some good wrestling and a build towards Backlash that was needed. I’m not overly excited for a lot of the show, but the main event looks good and there are a few other things that could help boost it up. This show helped get us there, but 45 minutes of Charlotte is a lot not matter what.

Results

Charlotte/Asuka b. IIconics and Sasha Banks/Bayley – Asuka Lock to Kay

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black b. Austin Theory/Murphy – Kick to Murphy’s head

Andrade b. Angel Garza and Kevin Owens – Stunner to Garza

Bobby Lashley/MVP b. Viking Raiders – Full nelson to Erik

Charlotte b. Asuka – Big boot

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – May 25, 2020: The Return Of The Raw Special

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 25, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

It’s Memorial Day and that means the tributes will be strong this week. We’re also on the road to Backlash and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. We do at least already have a World Title match with Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley. Odds are we get more gaming hijinks between the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long Memorial Day video.

Opening sequence.

There are NXT wrestlers around the stage to act as a makeshift audience. We have some Plexiglas around ringside, making it feel almost like a hockey arena. It took long enough.

We start with the Kevin Owens Show and he likes having the fans around here too. Owens brings out Asuka as his guest and that means a quick plug for the Man/Mom shirt. Owens: “Now available at WWEshop.com”. We see clips from last week of Nia Jax attacking Kairi Sane but getting taken out. Before we can see where that goes, here’s Charlotte to say that she’s winning the #1 contenders match tonight and beating Asuka, as she always does.

Now it’s Natalya (who is in the #1 contenders match also, because Shayna Baszler beating her twice in a row has already been forgotten), who apologizes for last week’s tantrum. Charlotte says that’s not going to help her win but here’s Nia Jax (also in the #1 contenders match) to interrupt. Owens: “I can see where this is going.” He leaves, which Nia says is a good idea. Nia promises to win and Owens says Asuka is about to hit her in the face. The brawl is on and Asuka clears the ring.

Apollo Crews promises to win the US Title.

US Title: Apollo Crews vs. Andrade

Andrade is defending and has Zelina Vega with him. Crews slams him down to start and drives Andrade into the corner without much effort. The spinning elbow gives Andrade two but he knocks Vega off the apron by mistake. Back from a break with Crews posting him and working on an armbar but Crews sends him into the corner for a Stinger Splash.

A superplex attempt is countered into an Alberto double stomp for two and we cut to Angel Garza in the back. He talks to Kayla Braxton and compares wrestling to making love to a beautiful woman. We get some rather detailed comparisons and Braxton certainly seems interested. Back with the toss powerbomb being countered into a hurricanrana in the corner. Andrade hits the running knees for two but Crews is back with the gorilla press into the standing shooting star press for the pin and the title at 8:21.

Rating: C. What we saw was good enough at least as there was a break and then the interview with Garza so there was only so much going on here. Crews winning wasn’t the biggest surprise but there was no reason to keep the title on Andrade. He has been champion for nearly five months now and it’s not like he has done much as champion. Just move on and let us see what Crews can do. It’s not like the title can lose much more value.

Post match Crews says it was a long time coming and now it is all worth it.

Andrade throws a fit in the back.

Seth Rollins is holding Rey Mysterio’s mask and is very happy to be better than ever. Mysterio was the sacrifice that he needed and Rollins couldn’t be more pleased with the pain that Mysterio had to endure. If that was Mysterio’s final act as a WWE star, it allowed them to move into the future. Murphy and Austin Theory come in so Rollins can say they understand what it is is like to be underappreciated. They needed guidance and now their ceiling is limitless. Both of them offer praise to Rollins and are ready to move forward.

Charlotte is ready to become a dual champion and no one else compares. Asuka comes in and dances around with the title before speaking in Japanese.

Here are the IIconics for a chat. They apologize for their issues last week and talk about wanting to be the Women’s Tag Team Champions again. Their first title reign was ignored because WWE never let them defend the titles but here are Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. The IIconics don’t think much of them and tell Cross to go play, sending Cross into a rant about how she grew up in Scotland and worked every day to get here. Now she and Lexi are champions because Lexi has kept her from bouncing off the wall. Cross has taught her about friendship and that’s iconic. The fight is on and the IIconics stand tall and hold up the titles.

Lana comes up to MVP and says they need to talk. MVP: “No we don’t.”

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP talking about how no one can offer this kind of star power. His guest this week is Drew McIntyre, who is soon to be the former WWE Champion. Drew wastes no time in asking where Bobby Lashley is but MVP says don’t worry because we’ll save that for Backlash. MVP remembers taking a Claymore kick and he knew McIntyre would win the WWE Title, but MVP would have a hand in him losing it.

Lashley has a title shot after thirteen years, but Drew took nineteen years to get here. Then he was in the main event of WrestleMania and beat Brock Lesnar in five minutes. Drew doesn’t need anyone talking or fighting for him and Lashley is going to have to pry the title from his cold dead hands. MVP: “That could be arranged.” Cue Lashley so Drew Claymores MVP just in case. McIntyre is ready for him and tells Lashley to get in. The half conscious MVP holds Lashley back and gets him up the ramp.

Natalya can’t answer a question because she gets a phone call from her husband. She apologizes for not apologizing enough earlier and has to go for her match later. Now she’s out of time on the interview. Ok then.

Kevin Owens vs. Angel Garza

Garza chop blocks him during the introduction and we take a break. Back with the bell ringing and Garza going right after the knee. The leg is sent into the corner and wrapped around the rope, setting up an early leglock. Owens makes the rope and grabs the DDT. The comeback is on but the leg gives out before the Cannonball. A superkick gives Garza two but Owens elbows him off the top. The Swanton gets two on Angel only to have the knee gives out on the Pop Up Powerbomb attempt. Garza hits the Wing Clipper for the win at 3:31.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have the time to go very far and I’m a little surprised that Garza go the win in Owens’ first match back. They did something smart by having Owens come in hurt though and that takes away some of the sting of the loss. I’m not sure where this goes but it’s a different kind of idea.

We recap the Street Profits vs. the Viking Raiders in various challenges.

This week, it’s time to play golf. The Profits are decent but the Raiders just cause chaos, including leaving turkey legs everywhere and wrecking general havoc. Therefore, let’s try some mini golf. Again, the Profits are a little better and the Raiders get in trouble. The final score is 144-28 in favor of the Profits, though only after they explain that the low screw wins in golf. That makes the score 2-1 (and yes there is a scoreboard). Ivar reaches into the final hole and pulls out a red solo cup and a turkey leg, but he stops to stare down an alligator. This has to be the dumbest thing they do this year. It has to be, right?

Lana offers MVP some ice for his face but MVP yells at her, saying that Lashley’s career is finally going somewhere. Lana needs to send McIntyre a message saying that they are going to take care of things.

Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black vs. Murphy/Austin Theory

Seth Rollins is here with Murphy and Theory. Carrillo starts fast with the springboard armdrag to the floor (going up with Theory to start and then diving over to armdrag Murphy in a cool switch), setting up the big dive to take them both out. Back in and Black fires off the kicks to Theory and it’s already back to Carrillo to start on the arm. Carrillo has to hit an enziguri to cut off Murphy’s comeback so it’s back to black. That means a bunch of kicks, including causing Murphy to kick Theory down. Theory’s rollup with trunks only gets two but Carrillo misses the moonsault to Theory. The ATL finishes Carrillo at 4:20.

Rating: C+. It was short but it was almost all action the entire time and that’s the best thing they could have done. Theory should have gotten the fall here like he did because there is no reason to set up the new stable and then have him lose, even if his team doesn’t win the fall. This was as good as they were going to get in such a time and it worked rather well.

Post match Carrillo is puled outside and Rollins has his goons tease sending him eye first into the steps. Black is told to back off instead of fight for Mysterio and drops the chair, causing Rollins to throw Carrillo down so the villains can leave.

Edge talks about how Randy Orton woke him up last week. Now he has to prove that he still has it, which he has learned over the years from people like Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect, British Bulldog, Eddie Guerrero and Christian. He was a five tool workhorse for this company but everything he said was in the past tense. Maybe he can’t do those things anymore but he’s going to dig into his soul at Backlash because that’s all a man can do.

The Viking Raiders tell the Street Profits that they let them win at golf. Ivar says he had many birdies, meaning turkey legs. Either way, the Raiders can pick the next challenge and go with bowling. The Vikings leave but MVP and Lashley come up to say this is another example of talent being wasted. The Profits ask how MVP’s jaw is feeling so it’s a tag match later tonight.

Charlotte vs. Nia Jax vs. Natalya

For the #1 contendership and Asuka is on commentary, where she really doesn’t seem impressed with Jax. Charlotte drops Natalya to start but Jax drives her into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Some double teaming staggers Jax and send her into the post for a trip to the floor. That leaves Charlotte to nip out of Natalya’s headscissors and grab one of her own.

Jax is knocked off the apron again so Charlotte shoulders Natalya from the apron. It’s time to load up the announcers’ table and Jax pulls Natalya to the floor as well. Charlotte and Jax fight over the table top and then Charlotte chops her on the apron. There’s the double powerbomb through the table to crush Jax, leaving Asuka stunned as we take a break. Back with Natalya hammering away on Jax in the ring as Asuka is rather pleased.

Charlotte comes in to replace Natalya and the moonsault gets two on Jax. All three are in again and Jax clotheslines both of them down, setting up a double splash in the corner. Natalya gets sent outside again and Charlotte starts in on the knee. The Figure Eight goes on but Natalya makes the save. There’s the Sharpshooter to Charlotte but Jax makes another save.

Natalya is sent outside again (yes again) so Charlotte kicks Jax in the face, only to have to knock Natalya off the apron one more time. Jax catches Charlotte on top with a superplex but Natalya turns it into a Tower of Doom. Charlotte doesn’t exactly get elevated enough and takes a pretty nasty landing. Jax has to break up the Figure Eight with a legdrop to Charlotte and the Samoan drop to Natalya sends Jax to Backlash at 15:13.

Rating: B-. Even if Jax was a pretty obvious winner here, they did a nice job of making you wonder if that was where they were really going. Jax vs. Asuka should be a good power vs. striker match and that could make for a solid first title defense. The lack of Baszler is interesting here though and makes me think she’s lurking for the winner.

Drew McIntyre is ready for the main event and Backlash.

We look back at Rob Gronkowski winning the 24/7 Title at Wrestlemania.

R-Truth promises to win the title back and will tackle any football player to win the title. He can’t remember Gronkowski’s name and puts on some children’s shoulder pads.

Gronkowski says bring it on and says 24/7 Gronk is the present. He grew up with four brothers and knows how to fight anywhere anytime. The sunglasses go on backwards, because he has eyes in the back of his head.

MVP and Lashley are ready for the main event.

Ric Flair picks Randy Orton to beat Edge at Backlash.

We look at part three of the Undertaker documentary, featuring the Shawn Michaels rivalry.

Liv Morgan talks about wondering what life had in store for her since she was six years old. Then she found WWE and knew she belonged here. She is alive and will fulfill who she is destined to be because she is living her best life.

Next week: Aleister Black vs. Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio’s retirement ceremony.

Street Profits vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

Non-title. Ford jumps away from Lashley to start but eventually gets sent into the corner so MVP can stomp away. It’s already back to Lashley for a delayed suplex but Ford slips out and brings in Dawkins. The double dropkick takes Lashley down but he knocks Ford hard into the barricade to take over. Ford gets posted as well and we take a break. Back with MVP handing it off to Lashley for more elbows in the corner.

Lashley stops to knock Dawkins out of the apron and then hits a side slam for two on Ford. MVP misses the running boot in the corner though and Ford dives over for the tag to Dawkins. House is cleaned, including a flapjack, which has to be saved by a camera cut. Everything breaks down and the Cash Out hits MVP but Lashley comes in for the full nelson on Ford. Lashley isn’t legal though and it’s a DQ at 11:31.

Rating: C-. The match was ok, though you can tell how much age has impacted MVP. He moves pretty slowly and while he is still very far away from looking horrible, this kind of limited action is the best thing that they can do with him at the moment. I was rather pleased that they didn’t have the Profits take a loss here, but my goodness the stuff with the Vikings has sucked the life out of them.

Post match here’s McIntyre for the brawl but since there is no security, some NXT wrestlers come in for the failed save. Lashley spears McIntyre down but the brawl continues. Even more wrestlers fail to break it up so here’s another batch to finally separate them to end the show. They’ve got something pretty good here with this feud as I want to see these two fight.

Overall Rating: C+. This is what I once dubbed the Raw Special. Had this been a two hour show, it would have been an excellent week, but instead they had that extra hour (not the third hour, but an extra hour throughout the show) that dragged it down. You could tell they were trying to come up with anything they could think of to fill in time and that became a problem. What we got was good, but they just had too much time to fill. Finally, yes the NXT wrestlers did help, but there’s only so much that they can add in a situation like this.

Results

Apollo Crews b. Andrade – Standing shooting star press

Angel Garza b. Kevin Owens – Wing Clipper

Murphy/Austin Theory b. Humberto Carrillo/Aleister Black – ATL to Carrillo

Nia Jax b. Natalya and Charlotte – Samoan drop to Natalya

Street Profits b. MVP/Bobby Lashley via DQ when Lashley would not let go of the full nelson

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – May 18, 2020: Tighten Up

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 18, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re on the road to Backlash and that means we need to get ready for a midlevel pay per view. I’m not sure what to expect from the show but there is a good chance that something will be added this time around. If nothing else, we have King Corbin as a guest star and an ax throwing contest. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a Becky Lynch highlight reel. I know the timing of this might not be the best, but this feels like an In Memorium segment.

Opening sequence.

Charly Caruso is in the ring to start and brings up the idea of Randy Orton vs. Edge being the best wrestling match of all time, should it take place. Cue Orton to say that challenging Edge to a wrestling match isn’t a surprise because the second W stands for wrestling. They’ve already torn the building apart in a Last Man Standing match and on that night, Edge was the better man.

No one can do what he does in the ring in a wrestling match though, including Edge. Last week Orton saw doubt in Edge’s eyes and the grit (take a shot) and passion are gone. Cue Edge (in a GET GRIT) to say Orton is playing a game of chess so he wasn’t going to rush in. This is just about getting a paycheck for Orton because he was handed this spot.

Orton didn’t grow up dreaming of being WWE Champion or saving up money to go to the show at the end of the month like Edge did. He didn’t cry when he won the Intercontinental Title because it was a stepping stone to the top. Edge remembers beating Orton for that title in 2004 but Orton tells him to hold on. Edge isn’t stopping because Orton doesn’t love this like everyone else does and yes he accepts the challenge. That’s enough for Orton, who leaves without saying a word. I’m digging the love of the business vs. love of a check vibe here, though the “best match ever” thing isn’t working.

We look back at Seth Rollins injuring Rey Mysterio’s eye and getting in a fight with Aleister Black as a result.

Rollins, in a suit, has a revelation for Murphy.

Here are Rollins and Murphy to explain what that revelation is. Rollins talks about falling into a dark place after losing to Drew McIntyre at Money in the Bank, but without darkness, there can be no light. However, he has been pulled out of the darkness by Rey Mysterio. What happened last week has been described as an act of hatred and an act of penance.

Rollins saw it as a moment of clarity that can make him the leader Raw needs. Rey is sitting at home with his family and soon, he will come to know that what happened to him was a blessing in disguise. Soon Rey will say thank you. Cue Humberto Carrillo to say Rey is an idol to millions and Rollins is just a coward. Carrillo gets in the ring but Murphy gets between them.

Murphy vs. Humberto Carrillo

Joined in progress, despite Murphy already having a match with Aleister Black scheduled for later. Humberto gets in a kick to the head from the apron but Murphy sends him head first into the mat. Back up and Humberto hits an enziguri, followed by a springboard kick to the face to put Murphy on the floor. That means the big twisting flip dive but Carrillo glares at Rollins, allowing Murphy to knee him out of the air. Murphy’s Law finishes Carrillo at 2:50.

Post match Murphy stays on Carrillo but here’s Black to start in a hurry. Or not actually as Black tries Black Mass, sending Murphy bailing up the ramp.

King Corbin complains about not having his own private locker room. There were fingerprint smudges on his crown and he has to go from building to building to get food. What is going on here at Raw? Now, he and the referee need to talk about how tonight’s match is going to go.

An emotional Liv Morgan talks about her mom not having much in her bank account but having a lot of determination. She is her mother’s daughter and a couple of weeks ago, she had a match with twelve time champion Charlotte. No she didn’t win, but she did learn. One day, she will be Raw Women’s Champion.

Here’s Charlotte for a chat because she needs to be on every show. Charlotte talks about everything she’s been doing lately, including a champion vs. champion match this week on Smackdown against Bayley and her sidekick Sasha Banks. As for tonight though, she invites Ruby Riott out here for a challenge.

Charlotte vs. Ruby Riott

Non-title and joined in progress again with the fight heading to the floor where Riott can dodges a chop, which hits the post by mistake. Riott goes after the arm but gets sent into the post, allowing Charlotte asks if Liv is watching this. Back up and Riott manages to send Charlotte face first into the middle buckle for two. Riott hits a Downward Spiral, though Charlotte takes it almost like a DDT. A double wristlock is broken up so Ruby tires the Riott Kick, which is blocked with ease. The Figure Eight makes Riott tap at 3:40.

Rating: C. Hey Charlotte wins again while Riott loses again. It’s almost like you could have just gone with that result as soon as Riott’s music came on. The match was the usual way to let WWE praise Charlotte every chance they can, because the solution to everything is more Charlotte (and more Corbin of course).

Bobby Lashley is ready for R-Truth but MVP comes in to bring up the fact that Lashley hasn’t had a WWE Championship match in thirteen years. Lashley already has enough trophies, like that trophy wife. That earns MVP a glare, but all he wants is to unleash Lashley.

We look back at last week’s basketball game. Tonight: axe throwing.

The Street Profits are ready for the competition and run into a bunch of people in viking gear. The Viking Raiders blow a horn and say they have a gift for them: SMOKE, as produced by a fire. Dawkins says they don’t mean it literally, but Ford says you accepts a gift from a bunch of vikings with axes. Good advice really. Ivar throws a perfect axe and Ford is ready to go already. Dawkins says they’ve got this. More on this later.

Here’s Kairi Sane with a bunch of balloons around the ring to celebrate Asuka. Cue Asuka, who is very pleased by the whole thing. Sane presents her with some flowers and talks about all of Asuka’s accomplishments, making her a Grand Slam Champion. Sane busts out a flute and plays a little diddy, only to have Nia Jax interrupt.

There’s nothing to celebrate because Asuka was handed the title. Becky is on maternity leave so Asuka is just on a temp job. Nia will be champion soon because look at her. Then we can have a real party, so Asuka starts striking away. The running hip attack sends Jax outside. This would have been a little better had it not been the same as about 184 other Jax promos.

King Corbin says Drew McIntyre may be WWE Champion but he’s not a king you see. Drew beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship but he still has the ability to slip up. We see Drew watching in the back as Corbin says the next time they face off, he’ll take Drew’s title in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Here’s R-Truth, whose cousin Pretty Ricky has talked about how bad Bobby Lashley has been lately. Now he doesn’t want to be put in Nelson from the Simpsons again but he’s going to have to face Lashley tonight. His childhood hero John Cena would never give up, just like Truth will never give up on getting his baby back. So Tom Brady, he’s coming for you, even if it means a sack! After commentary explains the joke (AGAIN), we’re ready to go.

R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley

Truth accuses Lashley of trying to Debo him and bails outside, where Pretty Ricky appears. Lashley isn’t having that and sends him ribs first into the post. Back in and Lashley slaps him a few times, sending Truth into a frenzy. Unfortunately that frenzy lasts about three seconds as it’s a clothesline into the full nelson slam. The full nelson makes Truth tap at 2:25.

Post match MVP comes out to applaud.

Lana is watching in the back and screams again. She throws some stuff to add an extra dimension.

The Kabuki Warriors are rather happy in the back as Nia Jax watches on.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. IIconics

The IIconics are challenging and show us a clip of their win last week. They’re looking forward to getting their titles back so Bliss and Cross can just leave. Bliss has to fight out of the corner to start and the double knees Royce’s ribs get two. It’s off to Kay for a scoop brainbuster on Cross but she misses a big boot, allowing the (rather early) hot tag to Bliss. Insult To Injury gets two on everything breaks down in a hurry. Bliss blasts Kay with the right hand and Twisted Bliss gets two as Royce makes the save. Peyton sends Bliss into the post three times in a row, which is a DQ at 2:44.

Sane is playing the flute again but Jax sends her into a case.

Post break, Kay blames Royce for the loss and slaps her before they hug and cry.

We look at Chapter Two of Undertaker’s Last Ride.

We look back at Shayna Baszler beating Natalya last week. Tonight, they’re meeting again in a submission match.

Asuka is livid and wants revenge on Nia.

Post break, Asuka jumps Nia as they’re flying through this story tonight.

Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler

Submission match. Natalya goes right after her and tries an early Sharpshooter, which is reversed into an ankle lock. That’s broken up with a boot to the face so Baszler starts bending the arm. Natalya spins out so Baszler pulls her straight down by the hair. Shayna can’t get the Sharpshooter so Natalya puts her own. The rope is reached but THANKFULLY that’s not a break, meaning Shayna has to crawl out of the ring for the break. Back in and Natalya grabs a kneebar but Shayna reverses into a Koquina Clutch for the tap at 3:48.

Rating: C-. Some of the holds looked a bit nasty but it’s still Natalya. Why does WWE think fans are interested in her other than she’s been around for a long time? The match wasn’t terrible but I’m going to need a much bigger reason to care about Natalya than….well whatever reason WWE thinks we have of caring about her. A heel turn isn’t going to work either, as Natalya can’t do emotions no matter what.

Post match the production staff sets up the KO Show but Natalya wrecks everything in a fit.

We look at the issues between Zelina Vega and company.

Vega tells her team to be on the same page out there. Andrade seems to blame Austin Theory for everything and tensions remain high.

Here’s Kevin Owens for the first time since Wrestlemania for the Kevin Owens Show, though the set is still wrecked. Owens has been out since Wrestlemania due to an injury but now he’s back at full health. Therefore, let’s bring out his guests: Zelina Vega, Andrade, Angel Garza and Austin Theory.

Owens heads to the apron so Vega can talk about how there is no distention here and there won’t be a Jerry Springer Show. Vega brags about all four of them and isn’t happy that Owens is on the apron. Owens says he’s offering them some respect but it’s also because there is another guest: Apollo Crews, who runs in to jump Andrade. The big brawl is on and we take a break.

Angel Garza/Andrade vs. Kevin Owens/Apollo Crews

Not joined in progress for once with Garza TAKING OFF HIS PANTS early on. Due to the lighter weight, Crews suplex slams Garza down and hands it off to Owens to stomp away. A backsplash crushes him as Owens tells Andrade to get in. Andrade does just that and kicks Owens down but he’s right back with a clothesline.

It’s back to Crews to pick up the pace, including a hard spinebuster to Garza. Vega offers a distraction so Theory can accidentally hit Garza, allowing Crews to hit the toss powerbomb to finish Garza at 2:49. Owens is very proud of Crews. Not that Owens would want the US Title for himself or anything, because that’s not what we’re doing at the moment.

Post match the team is in disarray and Andrade jumps Theory from behind. The fight is on with Garza helping take Theory down as Vega yells at them to stop. Theory is sent into the barricade and Vega adds a slap, saying she should have never believed in him. Another whip sends Theory into some chairs as the team seems to be down one man.

Drew McIntyre says he’s ready for all of the challenges and Monday is always a good night for a Claymore Party. He knows Bar….hold on let him get this right….King Corbin is dangerous but Drew has a special Claymore for him.

Back to the woods, where the Vikings are really, really good at axe throwing (or maybe the production staff is really good at camera cuts). Ford asks for some space so he can get his Tiger Woods on. Ivar: “TIGER??? IS THERE A TIGER IN THE WOODS???” Can we PLEASE get some continuity on their level of pop culture knowledge? Anyway, Ford throws and the axe goes sailing over a tree.

Post break, Dawkins goes to throw and accidentally breaks the barrel of ale. Ford offers some of his cup but Dawkins says this is nothing like Thor.

Aleister Black vs. Murphy

Seth Rollins is here too. Black wastes no time in striking away at Murphy and taking it to the floor for a big kick to the chest. Another kick hits post though (like when Charlotte chopped the post earlier) and Murphy takes him inside as Rollins sees Theory still down at ringside. Black fights back and loads up Black Mass but Theory comes in for the DQ at 2:34 on Rollins’ orders.

Post match the beatdown is on with Theory hugging Rollins.

And now, in the fourth segment of the night, it’s time for the actual axe throwing competition. They both get ten throws and only bulls’ eyes count. The Vikings win 10-1 with Ford hitting the only target on the last throw. Then the cops come up to complain about an axe being thrown through their police car window. It must have been someone who couldn’t throw, so Dawkins takes the axe, throws it over his shoulder, and hits a bull’s eye. See, it’s like the opposite of last week, but with axes!

Apollo Crews says he’s been waiting a long time since Money in the Bank and now he had to do something. Now, he knows what he wants: the United States Title, which he wants a shot at next week. Zelina Vega comes in and promises pain next week if Crews goes through with this. Crews is ready for his title shot.

We’re STILL not done with the axe throwing thing, as the cops yell at all four of them for being dangerous. The female cop lets them go though because Ivar is cute. Erik, not so much.

Drew McIntyre vs. King Corbin

Non-title. Hold on though as here are Bobby Lashley and MVP, with the former saying he’s coming for McIntyre’s title no matter what. The two of them watch as McIntyre and Corbin fight over a lockup to start. A shot to the leg staggers McIntyre early on but he’s fine enough to clothesline Corbin outside. Another clothesline puts Corbin over the barricade with MVP clapping from the stage.

There’s a third clothesline to put Corbin at ringside and he goes inside, only to roll back to the floor to avoid a Claymore. Corbin knocks McIntyre off the apron and into the barricade, followed by the slide underneath the corner clothesline for two. McIntyre gets sent face first into the turnbuckle and it’s a superplex to give Corbin one. Corbin talks trash and runs into an overhead belly to belly.

There’s a big boot to set up the top rope shot to the head into McIntyre’s nip up. McIntyre gets two off a spinebuster but Corbin plants him down for one more. Back up and the Futureshock looks to set up the Claymore, which is countered into Deep Six for two. Corbin tries the slide under the ropes clothesline but walks into the Claymore for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C. Now this is a better usage of Corbin (provided you keep him on one show): let him do one match as a threat to the champ and then send him elsewhere. There is no reason to do anything higher up with him than that and if WWE can grasp that concept, they might be able to get something out of Corbin. It was fine for a warmup for McIntyre vs. Lashley and that’s all it needed to be. Now keep Corbin on his own show if you have to have him in such a big role.

McIntyre calls out Lashley but MVP points at his watch to say on their time to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m not sure how to feel on this one as they had some good and bad things going. I like the keeping things moving and making you want to know where things are going next. There is no reason to have some big fifteen minute match and then expect me to want to see more of it next week. Save that stuff for the pay per view and make it feel more important.

Then though you have points where they just kept going with stuff. Nia seems primed to be the next challenger for Asuka. Ok, that’s fine. Have her interrupt, then have her attack Sane, then have Asuka swear revenge for her fallen friend, who Nia could beat in a regular match if you have the chance. That’s probably a month and they did it in about ten minutes. It’s ok to not burn through EVERYTHING in one night while also keeping things moving. Find the middle ground.

That middle ground does not include FIVE SEGMENTS on an axe throwing contest in the middle of the woods, especially a week after a basketball game. The Vikings beat the Profits in a tag match two weeks ago on Raw. In theory that sets up a title match (because WWE loves that trope) but instead, it’s setting up a rehash of MVP/Matt Hardy when neither were healthy enough to wrestle. I know they’re stretched for ideas here, but can we please just get to a match instead of the guaranteed tiebreaker competition next week?

Overall, this show wasn’t the worst by any stretch and they are indeed doing something, but a lot of what they are doing is making my head hurt. Lashley is a great choice as the Monster Of The Month/Two for McIntyre and I like Theory joining up with Rollins, who is a much better fit for him than Vega and company. Just tighten things up a bit and this show could actually work rather than being dragged over the finish line for a change.

Results

Murphy b. Humberto Carrillo – Murphy’s Law

Charlotte b. Ruby Riott – Figure Eight

Bobby Lashley b. R-Truth – Full nelson

Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. IIconics via DQ when Royce sent Bliss into the post

Shayna Baszler b. Natalya – Koquina Clutch

Apollo Crews/Kevin Owens b. Angel Garza/Andrade – Toss powerbomb to Garza

Aleister Black b. Murphy when Austin Theory interfered

Drew McIntyre b. King Corbin – Claymore

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw – May 11, 2020: Season Premiere

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 11, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s time to start picking things up a lot again around here as Becky Lynch is going to make some kind of major announcement. That sounds like she might be dropping the title, and really that might be the only option as it’s hard to imagine almost anyone beating her. Other than that, it’s hard to say what we’ve got coming up on the way to Backlash next month. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the Money in the Bank ladder matches with Asuka and Otis winning the briefcases.

Opening sequence.

Here’s an emotional Becky Lynch without the title but with the Money in the Bank briefcase. She’s upset about something and needs to go away for awhile. That’s why she made asked the powers that be around here to raise the stakes last night. Cue Asuka to scream about the briefcase, but Becky opens it up to reveal the title, which now belongs to Asuka because the ladder match was for the title, not an opportunity at the title. Asuka freaks out and celebrates around the arena. Becky: “You go be a warrior, because I’m gonna go be a mother.” Asuka stops and hugs Becky before chanting her name in a great moment.

Post break a bunch of wrestlers come in to congratulate Lynch on the news.

Bobby Lashley vs. Humberto Carrillo

No DQ and it’s not a good sign that I heard Carrillo’s music and said out loud “do we have to?”. Lashley throws him around to start but gets knocked outside, setting up a suicide dive. That’s knocked away so Lashley grabs a chair, which is dropkicked into his face as we take a break. Back with Carrillo missing a baseball slide but avoiding a big boot and kicking Lashley in the head. A dive off the barricade is pulled out of the air and Carrillo gets posted hard. Carrillo gets the chair though and unloads, only to get caught in a full nelson to make Carrillo tap at 8:40.

Rating: D+. I know they’re trying with Carrillo and want him to be a thing but egads it’s not working. There’s just not much there and it’s showing more and more every single time. He’s fine enough in the ring but the lack of charisma or reason to care is destroying him. Lashley isn’t going to get much further with a full nelson, but the power stuff is better than the Lana nonsense.

The Street Profits are ready to meet the Viking Raiders….in a game of basketball.

The Raiders don’t know why they’re doing this and think karaoke might work. Oh and worry about fouls.

Asuka and Kairi Sane celebrate the title.

Video on Edge vs. Randy Orton at Wrestlemania.

We look back at Apollo Crews getting injured against Angel Garza.

Zelina Vega and company are arguing in the back.

Angel Garza vs. Akira Tozawa

Joined in progress with Garza sending him into the corner and TAKING OFF HIS PANTS. A loud chop in the corner connects as Vega is arguing with Andrade and Austin Theory at ringside. Tozawa snaps off a hurricanrana but gets caught with a pop up kick to the chest. A penalty kick gives Garza two and he loads up the Wing Clipper, yells at Theory, and plants Tozawa for the pin at 2:45. Tozawa’s back and forth booking between Raw and anything related to the Cruiserweight Title tournament continues to astound me.

Post match the team keeps arguing but here’s Drew McIntyre to interrupt. McIntyre is ready to fight and Claymores Theory. Garza and Andrade laugh so it’s a Claymore to Garza, followed by a staredown with Andrade.

Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade

Non-title. McIntyre works on an armbar to start and shouts at Vega a bit. Back up and McIntyre hits a kick to the ribs out of the corner to send Andrade outside. Andrade charges into a tilt-a-whirl slam onto the apron as this is one sided so far. Andrade dives under the ring and reaches through the ropes that hold it together to pull McIntyre into the apron.

A baseball slide hits McIntyre in the ribs before Andrade starts in on the arm. Double knees to said arm get two but McIntyre is back with a sitout powerbomb for the same. McIntyre gets sent into the corner for the running knees but the hammerlock DDT is countered into a Glasgow Kiss. The reverse Alabama Slam sets up the Claymore for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C+. They’re moving with the stories tonight as Vega’s team seems to be on the ropes after only being around for a few weeks. Andrade losing again doesn’t make him look good, but it’s not like his title reign has meant anything in four and a half months anyway. Granted he’s losing to the World Champion so it’s not like it’s some upset. Still though, either protect him or get rid of the title.

Post match Drew says he didn’t come out here for a match but anything can happen on Monday Night Raw. He’s always up for a Claymore party, but he’s here to talk about something else. Last night he was in a heck of a fight with Seth Rollins. He still has the title though and now he has some more exciting news. There is something called the Brand To Brand Invitation, meaning that a wrestler from Smackdown has challenged Drew to a match and it has been accepted. That’s why next week, live on Raw, it’s Drew vs. King Corbin.

MVP asks Lashley when he last had a WWE Title shot. That would be 2007, when MVP was just getting started. Now MVP is back and Lashley is in the same place. When is the real Lashley coming out? MVP walks off and runs into Lana, who he says should let Lashley free. Lana screams. A lot.

It’s time for A Moment Of Bliss with Bliss saying the Man is having a baby. Nikki: “The Man becomes the mom!” Nikki wishes all of the mothers a happy belated Mother’s Day but here are the returning IIconics to interrupt, with Nikki imitating their pose. Peyton doesn’t like being disrespected and the title challenge is on. Nikki says the titles are like their babies so Billie says we can make it non-title. They are the future because they are ICONIC.

IIconics vs. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross

Nikki kicks Peyton to the floor to start and ties her in the ring skirt for the beating. Back in and the IIconics get Cross into the corner for the double teaming. Some rollups give Nikki two but Peyton kicks her down for two. Billie grabs the chinlock and hands it back to Peyton, who gets slammed in a hurry so Nikki can tag Bliss. House is cleaned in a hurry and it’s Insult To Injury for two on Billie. Everything breaks down and a shot to the throat staggers Bliss. Nikki is sent outside and something like a reverse Magic Killer finishes Bliss at 4:28.

Rating: D+. The IIconics aren’t much in the ring and it’s another bad sign for the titles as another team pops up and is now the other half of the division. These might be the least necessary titles in recent memory and it doesn’t make it any better when teams just come and go for months at a time but are suddenly in the title match.

Rey Mysterio, who was thrown off the roof last night, reveals that he landed on a lower roof six feet below so he and Aleister Black are teaming tonight. Seth Rollins, one of Rey’s opponents tonight, comes in to glare at Rey, who congratulates him on becoming a father. Rollins walks away from a handshake.

R-Truth/Ricochet/Cedric Alexander vs. MVP/Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne

Truth dances into the splits to start and makes Thorne sit down in pain. It’s off to Ricochet as Truth becomes Pretty Ricky (crossed eyes, big teeth) on the apron. Vink comes in to elbow Alexander in the face and the pace slows a bit. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by Thorne coming inf or a kick to the back.

Thorne grabs the neck crank and hands it back to Vink, who is kicked in the head. The hot tag brings in Truth (yes Truth, not Ricky) so house can be cleaned on MVP. Everything breaks down and Ricochet moonsaults onto everyone but MVP and Truth. Ricky comes back so MVP knocks out his big teeth, only to get caught in the Lie Detector (and a horrible one at that) for the pin at 4:31.

Rating: D+. Well that was dumb. The Pretty Ricky thing is rather stupid and I have a feeling the big teeth are going to get some people complaining. It wasn’t a good match, but at least MVP took the fall instead of one of the younger people. I still can’t get my head around Vink pinning Ricochet, but they seem to have moved on from that for now at least.

Post match here’s Lashley to spear Truth down and put him in the full nelson. Lashley leaves with MVP.

Jinder Mahal says he’s back.

AJ Styles grabs some popcorn to watch a look at the first episode of the Last Ride.

We look back at Becky’s announcement.

Shayna Baszler can’t believe Becky threw away her career to grow a parasite. Shayna: “Do we know who the father is?”

We look at the first part of the Last Ride.

Becky and Vince McMahon have a moment we can’t hear.

Aleister Black/Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins/Murphy

Yes, a day after what looked like death. Rollins on the other hand seems to be in a trance with his hair all over the place. Black grabs an Octopus on Murphy, followed by a hard armdrag into an armbar. Murphy tries to fight back but Black moonsaults into his sitting position to stare him down. An elbow to the face rocks Black as Rollins still hasn’t moved an inch.

Rating: C. This was an angle instead of a match and that’s ok. Mysterio vs. Rollins could be interesting as Rollins’ Monday Night Messiah deal (assuming it’s still around) wasn’t quite working as a main event story. I’m curious where they’re going with this, but it’s an interesting way to start.

Post match Rollins destroys Mysterio and hits him in the eye. Black gets sent over the barricade and Rollins orders Murphy to step back. Rollins sends Rey face first into the steps and the eye is busted open.

The Viking Raiders practiced basketball to less than successful results. So they know what Carpool Karaoke is but not basketball? WHO WRITES THIS STUFF???

And now, the basketball game between the Raiders and the Profits. Ivar doesn’t know what it means to check and the Profits score without much trouble. The Profits are up big and say they want the smoke. Erik: “Actually, smoking isn’t good for you.” Ivar rolls the ball to Erik, whose shot is blocked without much trouble.

Dawkins knew white men couldn’t jump but they weren’t sure about vikings. It’s 49-0 late in the third quarter and Ford hits a three from half court. Erik picks Ivar up and calls a foul on himself. The Vikings score late and claim a victory, despite the score being 74-2 with the Vikings having committed 19 fouls.

AND THAT’S IT! That’s the whole segment. The Tag Team Champions and the team that beat them last week just played a game of basketball where the Profits destroyed them because the Vikings, at least one of whom can drive and knows how to write a song about worshiping Thor, don’t know how basketball works. I’d pay to see the production meeting where this was written, but it might give me hives.

Natalya doesn’t like Shayna disrespecting motherhood but Shayna says Natalya will never have a kid. The Hart Dynasty dies with her.

Back on the basketball court, it turns out that the Raiders were faking and are quite good at basketball, including Ivar being able to dunk. So wait….you know, actually I’m good. I don’t want to know anything more about this.

And before someone misses the point and explains the idea of “anything you can do I can do better”, I get it. This was just really stupid, as the champs shrugged off the loss from last week, after apparently being eaten up by not being able to beat the Raiders, and played basketball with them.

Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya

Natalya takes her down to start but Shayna drives her into the corner and dances a bit. That earns her some applause from Natalya, who tries to roll her into the Sharpshooter. That’s broken up so Baszler misses the stomp on the arm, only to knee Natalya in the head for the pin at 3:57.

Rating: D+. Baszler was a great jerk earlier but there is only so much that can be done in a short match against Natalya. It was a lot better than having Natalya try to be emotional though as she just isn’t that good at doing so. The knee to the face for the pin looked good though and Baszler could be a great challenger for a face Asuka.

Post match Natalya freaks out over the loss. Yeah still not interesting.

King Corbin doesn’t feel bad about throwing Black and Mysterio off the roof because they’re fine. He’s able to take Drew on next week because Corbin made him the champion. Next week, Corbin is taking him out.

Next week: the IIconics get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot.

Here’s Edge for the big closing segment. He knows his career didn’t end at Wrestlemania but why is he confronting Randy Orton? Edge got his pound of flesh at Wrestlemania….and here’s Orton. Randy says congratulations because the better man won. Orton goes to leave but turns around and comes back because he can’t be the bigger man. The better man won at Wrestlemania but the better wrestler didn’t.

Edge hid behind other wrestlers at the Royal Rumble and then incapacitated Orton at Wrestlemania. He might not have gotten up at ten but it didn’t take him nine years to make it back. Orton talks about how Edge hasn’t had a regular match since 2011 and his grit and passion won’t help him there. If Edge has the guts, they’ll have a straight up wrestling match at Backlash. Edge doesn’t say anything but Charly Caruso says if it happens, it might be the greatest wrestling match ever. Try to get your head around that one to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show was all over the place with one story after another. What matters though is they felt like they were trying again. The energy was back and while a lot of it was in the wrong direction (Basketball? MORE CORBIN???), it was a big difference than the dead shows that we’ve been seeing as of late. Last week had better matches and was a better show on its own, but this one had some stuff that made me want to watch again. You can tell Money in the Bank season is over because there was a point to stuff here. Maybe not good points, but points nonetheless.

Results

Bobby Lashley b. Humberto Carrillo – Full nelson

Angel Garza b. Akira Tozawa – Wing Clipper

Drew McIntyre b. Andrade – Claymore

IIconics b. Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross – Spinning faceplant to Bliss

R-Truth/Ricochet/Cedric Alexander b. Brendan Vink/Shane Thorne/MVP – Lie Detector to MVP

Aleister Black/Rey Mysterio b. Seth Rollins/Murphy via DQ when Rollins attacked Mysterio in the ropes

Shayna Baszler b. Natalya – Knee to the face

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

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

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