Smackdown
Date: May 30, 2025
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

Somehow we are just over a week away from Money In The Bank and that means it is time to start getting the card finalized. That is likely going to included some more qualifying matches, which can be hit or miss around here. Other than that, the rest of the show needs some attention and as of Saturday Night’s Main Event last weekend, Cody Rhodes is back. Let’s get to it.

Here is Saturday Night’s Main Event if you need a recap.

Here is hometown girl Bianca Belair for a chat. She’s so glad to be back after her injury and it’s time to get back where she belongs. This brings out Naomi, who wants to be Belair’s friend again. It was so bad that she went to Belair’s parents’ house and looked through one of Belair’s photo album. Belair brings up Naomi attacking Jade Cargill and promises worse if Naomi goes near her family again. Cue Cargill to take Naomi out but here is Nia Jax for the scheduled match.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Nia Jax vs. Naomi vs. Jade Cargill

We’re joined in progress with Jax crashing out to the floor, leaving Naomi to hit a running dropkick to Cargill in the corner. Jax is back in with a running hip attack to Cargill in the corner but Cargill is up with a fall away slam to Naomi. Back up and Jax plants both of them down, followed by a double legdrop. A singular version hits Naomi for two but she rolls through a Samoan drop for two of her own as we take a break.

Back with Jax and Naomi double teaming Cargill but Jax doesn’t like Naomi going for a cover. Cargill is back up with a spinebuster to Jax and Jaded to Naomi but Jax makes the charging save. A double high crossbody gives Jax two each and frustration is setting in. Jax hits a super Samoan drop on Naomi, with Jax diving in for the save. They go to the corner for a Tower Of Doom, setting up an Annihilator to Cargill. Naomi is right there to steal the rollup pin on Jax at 12:21.

Rating: B-. Naomi has been needing a win and this is as good of a way to make that happen as possible. I could actually go for her winning Money In The Bank as she is an interesting choice to have hanging around the title picture. This got a bit of time too and that was nice to see, though Cargill vs. Naomi needs to wrap up already. What is left for Cargill to do to her?

Solo Sikoa and company run into R-Truth, who is talking to Little Jimmy (hey he’s back….I think). Sikoa thinks it’s dumb JC Mateo gets in R-Truth’s face. R-Truth thinks Mateo is his son (of course) and wants to teach Sikoa’s “husky” son a lesson. Works for them, though Jacob Fatu has his own plans for tonight. That sounds painful.

Chelsea Green, holding up a mask to hide her broken nose, and the Secret Hervice stop Nick Aldis. Green demands that she be named US Champion to make up for her injury but Aldis says no. And that’s that.

Tiffany Stratton wants to see who wins the Money In The Bank briefcase because someone will try to cash in. Cue Naomi to say she’s coming for the title. Naomi leaves and Alexa bliss comes in to say she wants the title too.

We look at the four way for the NXT North American Title at Worlds Collide.

JC Mateo vs. R-Truth

Mateo powers him into the corner without much trouble to start but R-Truth is back with the flying shoulders. That’s cut off in a hurry and Mateo hits the standing moonsault. The ProtoBomb and Five Knuckle Shuffle actually hit Mateo, but he grabs the Tour Of The Islands for the pin at 2:19. That’s what it should have been.

Post match Solo Sikoa goes after R-Truth but Jimmy Uso makes the save with a chair. Mateo takes Uso out as well.

Here are the Street Profits for a chat. The division is on fire right now and they’re the ones leading the charge. Now the Wyatts are here? Cue Fraxiom to say they should get another shot but here are the Motor City Machine Guns, who say the Profits never beat them either. They’ll take a title shot too, but here is DIY, who claims a conspiracy against them. Ciampa (who is looking in INCREDIBLE shape here) wants a moment of silence for the tag division….and we’ve got Wyatts to wreck everyone.

Los Garza vs. Je’Von Evans/Rey Fenix

This is a preview for the NXT North American Title match at Worlds Collide, with champion Ethan Page on commentary. Fenix and Garza start things off with Fenix snapping off a running hurricanrana. Berto comes in and gets caught with a running kick to the head as we take a break. Back with Garza giving Evans a running knee in the corner, followed by a Gory Bomb/slingshot cutter combination for two. Evans fights up and gets over for the tag to Fenix so house can quickly be cleaned.

Everything breaks down and Evans makes a blind tag to come in with a springboard clothesline. Evans and Garza chop it out from their knees and then from their feet, until Garza grabs a slingshot sitout powerbomb for two. Fenix breaks up the double super gorilla press slam though and Evans hits a big flip dive to the floor to take all of them out. Page pops up and sends Fenix over the announcers’ table, earning a superkick from Evans. Back in and Evans drops Berto but Page shoves him off the top. Los Garza’s double spinning slam finishes Evans at 12:23.

Rating: B-. For a commercial for a match that has pretty much nothing to do with this show, this could have been a lot worse. Evans getting something close to a tryout on the main roster isn’t a surprise either as it is clear that WWE is rather high on him. The action here was good too, with the right team winning in the end.

We get a video from the Wyatts, with Uncle Howdy saying (I think) it’s time for them to get what is owed.

Zelina Vega vs. Alba Fyre

Non-title and Piper Niven/Chelsea Green are here with Fyre. Vega gets sent into the corner a few times to start but she comes back with some kicks to the ribs. A headscissors sends Fyre down again but she hits a shoulder to drop Vega. Back up and Vega hammers away in the corner but Green’s distraction cuts off the 619 attempt. Fyre hits a superkick and we take a break.

Back with Fyre hitting a gordbuster for two and grabbing the chinlock. Vega fights up and gets in a knockdown of her own, setting up the clothesline comeback. A running knee in the corner hits Fyre and the middle rope Meteora gets two. Stundog Millionaire drops Fyre again but she avoids a moonsault. Fyre’s Swanton gets two and Vega is sent outside, where Green takes the face protector off. Green hits Niven by mistake though, leaving Vega to grab the Code Red for the pin at 11:07.

Rating: B. I liked this one more than I was expecting to, if nothing else because it was an actual fresh match. It feels like Vega and Niven have fought multiple times so getting Fyre in there on her own was a good idea. Vega needs to move on to someone new, but it was nice to see her getting to complete the set of opponents here in a way.

Miz tells Carmelo Hayes to follow his instructions tonight but Hayes says he got here on his own talent. Hayes needs Miz to let Him be Him, which Miz doesn’t seem to like.

Giulia isn’t here to be the best, but to be indisputable. It doesn’t matter who she is facing, because they are just part of building her legacy.

Zelina Vega runs into Giulia, who seems interested in the Women’s US Title.

Here is Damian Priest for a chat. Priest talks about how he has fought on the streets before but here in wrestling, when you have a fight with someone, the match usually ends things. He and Drew McIntyre went on for over a year and that’s not normal. McIntyre is gone for a bit to heal up and Priest still hates him. The thing is, that was the old McIntyre in the cage and Priest was glad to see him.

As for Priest, he wants titles, starting with Jacob Fatu and the US Title. Priest respects Fatu, but not the crew that Fatu follows around. They’ll do their thing one day and Priest will be the champion. Priest goes to leave and here is Fatu for his match and the staredown on the way. That’s a good way to go as you can always get into a hoss fight.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Jacob Fatu vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes

Non-title and Miz is here with Hayes. Andrade and Fatu clear the ring to start fast, leaving Fatu to send Andrade to the apron. That earns Andrade a knock out to the floor so Hayes is back in to get dropped by Fatu as well. For some reason Miz thinks it’s a good idea to grab Fatu’s leg, with the distraction allowing Andrade to clothesline Hayes. Fatu crushes Miz against the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Fatu knocking Andrade into the corner but missing the running Umaga Attack. Andrade hits Fatu with the running knees in the corner but walks into La Mistica to give Hayes two. Back up and Andrade hits something like a middle rope reverse Spanish Fly for the double down.

Andrade’s double moonsault hits Fatu, with Hayes making the save. The three of them slug it out from their knees until some double teaming manages to send Fatu outside. That doesn’t work for Fatu, who brings them outside but misses a running Umaga attack through the barricade.

We take another break and come back with Andrade catching Hayes on top, only for Fatu to help with a super Spanish Fly. Fatu Swantons Hayes for two but Andrade hits the spinning back elbow for two of his own. Hayes’ springboard spinning clothesline gets two more with Fatu making the save this time. A Samoan drop drops Andrade but the triple jump moonsault misses for Fatu.

Nothing But Net gets two and Andrade and Hayes go into a pinfall reversal sequence. Back up and Andrade hits a spinning back elbow to drop Hayes and we get a three way breather. Fatu hits an implant DDT each and the triple jump moonsault to Andrade…but Solo Sikoa gets on the apron for some reason. JC Mateo joins him but here is Jimmy Uso to go after them. Andrade hits Hayes with the Message for the pin at 20:27.

Rating: B. Yeah this was good, partially because it got some time and partially because it gives us someone else in the ladder match while having Hayes and Miz continue their issues. Andrade can bring it when he is given the chance and that’s what we got to see here. I could go for him getting to do something more important and it seems that he is at least having a small chance.

LA Knight is ready for Money In The Bank because he’s going into his third straight Money In The Bank. Aleister Black comes in to say that win was partially his, but Knight is welcome.

Jacob Fatu wrecks a bunch of stuff backstage and tells Solo Sikoa that he doesn’t need help.

Worlds Collide rundown.

Money In The Bank rundown.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes talks about having to get through the loss at Wrestlemania XLI and asking a friend if he was a good champion. His friend said yes and Rhodes goes over what he did during his year with the title. This included his boss, the Final Boss, and of course John Cena. That gives us the dueling chants, with Rhodes talking about how Cena forced him to make a choice.

Rhodes isn’t sure if Cena will ruin wrestling, but Rhodes will never think twice about taking Cena out again. He apologizes for getting a bit worked up but he has a surprise. The fans chant for Jey Uso…so perhaps we should YEET. Cue Uso (who picks up a kid for the YEET dance and it’s still great) and we take a break. Back with Uso giving us an encore but here is Cena to interrupt. Cena calls them both Cena wannabes who want his money and fame but they won’t get it.

There is one person in WWE who has Cena’s hustle, loyalty and respect so here is Logan Paul. Cena says Paul doesn’t have to pay his dues because he is paying your mortgage. Paul asks what the fans are crying for because he could walk on water and people would say it’s because he can’t swim.

This is a special moment and the most important thing that anyone here in Tennessee will ever see. Paul should be the World Heavyweight Champion but Uso got lucky at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Rhodes had to cheat because that’s what Uso and Rhodes do. Paul on the other hand is a self made man and no one would have believed he would be teaming with Cena.

While Cena’s time is almost up, Paul’s time is now. Uso and Rhodes want to fight right now, who Rhodes suggesting that Paul is going to go polish Cena’s peacemaker. The brawl is on and the villains are quickly dispatched. Cena was bringing it a bit more here, as teaming with Paul is about as vile as you can get on this show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a strong edition of the show with a nice collection of in-ring work. Throw in a solid main event promo segment and I had a pretty nice time with the show. It was also a big push towards next week’s pay per view and it was a good effort towards making that show feel more important. I could still go for this show being back at two hours, but they can make it work like this on occasion.

Results
Naomi b. Jade Cargill and Nia Jax – Rollup to Jax
JC Mateo b. R-Truth – Tour Of The Islands
Los Garza b. Je’Von Evans/Rey Fenix – Double spinning slam to Evans
Zelina Vega b. Alba Fyre – Code Red
Andrade b. Jacob Fatu and Carmelo Hayes – The Message to Hayes

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

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

Smackdown
Date: May 23, 2025
Location: Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the night before Saturday Night’s Main Event, which is one heck of a card. It is big enough to feel like a bonus pay per view and this week’s show is likely going to be focused on building it up. Other than that, we have some spots in Money In The Bank to be filled, which should make for some good action. Let’s get to it.

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

Various people are coming to work, including Damian Priest, who jumps Drew McIntyre. Security breaks it up.

Here is Tiffany Stratton for a chat. She’s rather happy with what she has been doing lately and is looking forward to Money In The Bank, but no one better think twice about cashing in on her. Cue Alexa Bliss for a formal introduction before saying she needs that briefcase. She doesn’t know Stratton very well, so Stratton better pray that Bliss doesn’t win.

Cue Charlotte to brag about everything she’s done, save for winning Money In The Bank. She wants the spotlight back, but Charlotte calls her a hypocrite. Charlotte has called the briefcase a cheap way in, but it doesn’t matter because Charlotte and Bliss are a bit old school for her. Stratton is the upgraded version of the two of them and that doesn’t sit well.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Charlotte vs. Giulia vs. Zelina Vega

Non-title. They stare at each other to start and Charlotte knocks Vega outside. Back in and Vega gets sent flying with a fall away slam before Giulia takes Charlotte down. Some leg stomps and a neck twist have Charlotte in more trouble but she’s back up with a clothesline. Vega is back up to take both of them down and a moonsault to the floor drops them again.

We take a break and come back with Charlotte kicking Giulia off the apron. Giulia is back up with something like a Doomsday dropkick to Vega but Charlotte pops up with a high crossbody to the two of them. Charlotte moonsaults onto both of them for two but Giulia pulls Charlotte into the Rings Of Saturn. Vega breaks it up with a dropkick and hits a 619 but Charlotte drops Vega again. The Figure Eight has Giulia in trouble until Vega makes the save with the Meteora. Charlotte boots Vega down but Giulia comes in with a top rope double stomp for the save. The Northern Lights Bomb gives Giulia the pin on Vega at 13:31.

Rating: B. The second Vega was introduced as the third entrant, it was a question of whether Charlotte or Giulia would beat her. With all of the women they have available around here for this kind of a spot, they had no better option than the US Champion? The title has only been around for a few months and having losses like this isn’t going to help it. The match was good, but some better thinking would be appreciated.

DIY takes credit for the tag division coming together and doesn’t like other teams acting like they did it.

Zelina Vega is in the back and Chelsea Green mocks her. The ensuing brawl is quickly broken up by the Secret Hervice. B-Fab and Michin come in to say they want a fight tonight, with Nick Aldis making it happen.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Sabin

Johnny Gargano and Alex Shelley are here too. Sabin works on an armdrag to start and grinds away at the arm. Ciampa breaks that up and stomps away in the corner but Sabin armdrags him out to the floor. Sabin goes after him so Ciampa throws in a jacket, setting up Willow’s Bell as we take a break.

Back with Sabin hitting a German suplex and a running shot to the face for two. They slug it out on the apron until Ciampa grabs a White Noise for two of his own. Back in and Sabin blocks the Fairy Tale Ending, with Ciampa favoring his knee. A springboard tornado DDT drops Ciampa so it’s time for Gargano and Shelley to get involved. Sabin dives onto DIY but cue Candice LeRae to rake Sabin’s eyes. Ciampa hits a running knee for the pin at 10:15.

Rating: B-. It’s so nice to have teams like DIY and the Guns who can be slotted in as singles stars if need be. That’s what we got here and it was a perfectly fine way to keep the feud going without doing the same match time after time. Having LeRae in the DIY fold would make perfect sense too, as it’s not like she has anything else going on.

Fraxiom is ready for the biggest night of their careers as they have a Tag Team Title shot.

We look back at John Cena’s heel turn and how he blames the fans for abusing him over the years.

Damian Priest is supposed to come out to talk about Drew McIntyre but they brawl to ringside instead. It’s broken up but Priest says he wants more, with the brawl continuing.

Jacob Fatu doesn’t know JC Mateo and doesn’t trust him. Solo Sikoa says use that aggression tonight. Sikoa wants Jimmy Uso back in the fold but Fatu doesn’t seem convinced by the two of them.

Alexa Bliss mocks Charlotte for losing.

Secret Hervice vs. B-Fab/Michin

B-Fab tries to slug away at Niven to start and gets nowhere as a result. Fyre comes in and Niven hits a backsplash to put B-Fab in early trouble. A Boss Man Slam gives Niven two but B-Fab gets up and brings in Michin to clean house. Chelsea Green gets on the apron but here is Zelina Vega to cut her off. Eat Defeat into a swinging faceplant from B-Fab finishes Fyre at 3:44.

Rating: C. So I guess we’re getting ready for another Vega vs. Green title match, which hopefully leads to Green getting the title back. Vega has gotten her big win but Green being her hilarious self is the better option. For now though, this was another attempt to make B-Fab a bigger deal and I’m not sure how likely that is to work.

The Street Profits are ready for Fraxiom and don’t like the suggestion that there is a better team. Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo come back for some glaring.

Legado del Fantasma has a meeting to try to calm things down. Santos Escobar wants them ready for a six man tag at Worlds Collide on June 7. Berto still doesn’t seem convinced but drinks a toast. Not exactly with them, but close enough.

Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix are ready.

Jacob Fatu/JC Mateo vs. Jimmy Uso/Rey Fenix

Jimmy and Fatu start things off but Mateo tags himself in, earning a glare from Fatu. Mateo takes over but Fatu tags himself in and gets hurricanranaed down by Fenix. Jimmy helps Fenix hit a springboard corkscrew dive and we take an early break. Back with Fatu hitting a running Umaga attack on Jimmy but Mateo can’t get a belly to back superplex. Instead Jimmy knocks him down and hits a Whisper In The Wind, giving us a diving tag to Fenix.

The pace is picked way up, with a 619 into a poisonrana getting two on Fatu. A pop up Samoan drop cuts Fenix off though and Mateo sends him flying, with Fenix sticking the landing. Jimmy tags himself in, leaving Fenix to dive onto Fatu, who pulls him out of the air. A spear drops Mateo so Sikoa offers a distraction. Jimmy isn’t interested, but it’s enough for Mateo to hit the Tour Of The Islands for the pin at 12:27.

Rating: B-. Nice stuff here for a pair of monsters who don’t get along and a makeshift team of Uso and Fenix. I’m curious about where this is going for Fatu, who is pretty clearly about to become one heck of a good guy, while the rest of the team won’t like that. It’s an interesting change of pace and the idea of Jimmy possibly being brought back in is…well that’s another thing that could be happening.

LA Knight is ready to go through Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura to go to Money In The Bank. He’s tired of the darkness and is ready to BFT them into the light.

Here is R-Truth for a chat. John Cena is his childhood hero but he doesn’t recognize this Cena. The problem is power, because they used to be friends. The more power and fame Cena got though, the more disconnect he felt. They stopped talking and R-Truth felt like Cena was always annoyed at him. Maybe R-Truth thought he had done something wrong, but other people felt the same.

Cena is like Gollum from Lord Of The Rings, with his championship being his precious. He doesn’t believe Cena is happy, but maybe he can bring Cena back. If R-Truth wants to save wrestling, he has to save Cena, so he’ll beat the hustle, loyalty and respect back into Cena. If Cena wins, WE RIOT! This was the serious R-Truth for the first time in forever and he did exactly what he needed to do here. Good promo, even if he’s going to get massacred.

We look at Sami Zayn/CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Video on Naomi vs. Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax in next week’s Money In The Bank qualifying match.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight vs. Aleister Black

They slug it out to start and Nakamura gets sent outside. Knight and Black seem cool with each other before locking up, with Knight grabbing his jumping neckbreaker. Nakamura breaks up Knight’s stomping in the corner and trades kicks with Black. Knight gets kneed down and we take a break.

Back with Nakamura sending Knight into the steps but Nakamura gets knocked outside. Black takes Knight down with a running flip dive but comes up holding his leg. Back in and Black misses a moonsault, allowing Knight to catch him with a DDT. Black is sent into the post but he catches Nakamura with Black Mass. That’s fine with Knight, who sends Black outside and steals the pin at 11:02.

Rating: B-. Knight needed a win like this, even if he didn’t do the damage in the first place. I can’t imagine him getting the briefcase, but he needs to get away from facing these same people for the US Title for a bit. He’s been there twice now and there is little left for him to do in that area. If he’s going to move up to the main event scene, this is as good of a chance as he is going to have.

Miz has gotten Carmelo Hayes a Money In The Bank qualifying match because he knows how important it can be to a wrestler’s career. Now he wants Hayes to follow his play calling, with Hayes seemingly being in on the idea.

Video on Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown, with Zelina Vega defending against Chelsea Green added.

Nick Aldis tells Jacob Fatu that he’s in the final Money In The Bank qualifying match next week. Fatu actually says he loves Solo Sikoa.

Bianca Belair is back next week.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Fraxiom

The Profits are defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Dawkins takes Axiom down by the arm to start so Frazer comes in for a headlock. That’s broken up and it’s off to Ford to work on the arm. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the champs are knocked outside for the dives. We take a break and come back with Dawkins pulling Axiom down into a chinlock.

Ford flips in and hits a running shoulder in the corner before handing it back to Dawkins. Barrett gets in a very insightful statement by saying that it’s not about hitting your best move, but rather taking away your opponent’s best move. That’s some incredibly logical thinking about how to dominate a match. Axiom gets in a knockdown though and hands it back to Frazer to pick up the pace.

A running shooting star hits Ford and Frazer head fakes him to hit a springboard missile dropkick (Barrett is VERY impressed). Frazer gets knocked down again though and we take another break. Back again with Axiom pulling Ford into a rear naked choke and Frazer guillotines Dawkins at the same time. Those are both broken up so Frazer takes Ford up top for the superplex and rolls into a brainbuster/superkick combination for two.

Dawkins cuts off a dive though and sends Frazer into the steps, meaning a Doomsday Blockbuster can hit Axiom. Frazer dives in for a save, meaning the Spanish Fly into the Phoenix splash plants Dawkins. Ford makes a save of his own and everyone is down. Cue DIY but the Motor City Machine Guns cut them off. Ford flip dives onto all of them, leaving Dawkins to spinebuster Frazer. Then the lights go out and the Wyatt Sicks are back. The brawl is on and it’s a double DQ at 21:08.

Rating: B. That’s certainly one way to get you out of the issue of having one of the teams lose. They were having another awesome match, as Fraxiom knows exactly how to do this kind of fast paced offense. The Wyatts being back is certainly a way to go, but at least they seem to have a target rather than just doing random stuff.

The Wyatts wreck everyone and Sister Abigail plants Gargano to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I had a good time with this show as the action was solid and they made me more interested in Saturday Night’s Main Event. R-Truth’s promo was shockingly good and it fits with what they’re doing. Other than that, they set up some things for Money In The Bank and the rest of the card can come together after Saturday. Nice work this week, with the best part being that the show didn’t feel nearly as long, which has been a major issue in recent weeks.

Results
Giulia b. Zelina Vega and Charlotte – Northern Lights Bomb to Vega
Tommaso Ciampa b. Chris Sabin – Running knee
B-Fab/Michin b. Secret Hervice – Spinning faceplant to Fyre
Jacob Fatu/JC Mateo b. Rey Fenix/Jimmy Uso – Tour Of The Islands to Uso
LA Knight b. Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura – Black Mass to Nakamura
Street Profits vs. Fraxiom went to a double DQ when the Wyatt Sicks interfered

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

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

Smackdown
Date: May 9, 2025
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the last show before tomorrow’s Backlash event and that means we might be getting one more match added to the pay per view card. Other than that, John Cena is in the house and that means we should be in for a little more hype up between Cena and Randy Orton. Let’s get to it.

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

Damian Priest is ready to get his US Title back but LA Knight comes in to say he wants the title. They’re willing to work together tonight though.

LA Knight/Damian Priest vs. Solo Sikoa/Jacob Fatu

Sikoa jumps Priest to start things fast but Priest runs him over without much trouble. A rebound lariat misses for Priest though and Sikoa bails to the floor, where Fatu offers a distraction. Knight and Priest argue until we take a break. Back with Priest fighting out of a chinlock but Sikoa knocks Knight off the apron in a smart move.

The Samoan drop gives Sikoa two and hands it off to Fatu, which the fans seem to like. Priest fights up and drops Sikoa, allowing the hot tag off to Knight to clean house. The spelling elbow hits Fatu and Knight loads up the top rope elbow, only for Priest to tag himself in. Knight does the same to break up the South Of Heaven and the BFT plants Sikoa for the pin at 10:08.

Rating: B-. Perfectly nice story advancement here and that’s what it needed to be. The story of the title match seems to be Knight and Priest needing to get together to beat Fatu but not being able to work together. This match showed how well it can work when they are on the same page, but that isn’t likely to be the case tomorrow.

Post match Fatu takes out Knight and Priest but gets Claymored by Drew McIntyre. My goodness McIntyre vs. Fatu one on one sounds glorious.

A rather pro-John Cena R-Truth is in the back (complete with a sign) when Jimmy Uso comes in to ask what he’s doing. R-Truth still isn’t convinced that Cena has really gone bad, leaving Uso confused.

Drew McIntyre isn’t sure why Damian Priest is getting a title shot when McIntyre already beat him at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t think much of Knight either, and Fatu being all gas and no brakes means he’s going to hit a wall at some point. That wall is McIntyre as the US Champion. Good stuff here from McIntyre, as usual.

We recap Chelsea Green’s recent issues.

Green and the Secret Hervice held a funeral for her title reign when Nick Aldis and Zelina Vega came in. The three of them imply that Vega has no friends, so Aldis made a tag match for later tonight.

Video on Aleister Black.

Chelsea Green/Piper Niven vs. Zelina Vega/???

Vega’s partner is….the returning Alexa Bliss. Yeah that works. Vega takes Niven down to start but gets caught with a release World’s Strongest Slam. It’s quickly off to Green, who misses a splash, allowing Vega to hit a double 619. Green is back up to cut off the tag though and Niven elbows Vega as we take a break.

Back with Niven cutting off the tag attempt again but Vega plants her with a DDT. The tag brings in Bliss to clean house, including a running Blockbuster for two on Green. Bliss catches her in the Tree Of Woe for a running dropkick and Twisted Bliss connects but Niven makes the save. Bliss’ superkick sends Niven into a Code Red but Niven rolls out to the floor. Vega takes out Niven and it’s a Sister Abigail DDT to finish Green at 8:17.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to have Bliss back and hopefully she can just be herself without all of the Wyatt Sicks stuff. She’s a big enough star on her own already and doesn’t need to do all of the supernatural nonsense on the side. If nothing else, there is always the chance that she could go after Vega for the title, which isn’t a bad idea for both of them.

Rey Fenix cuts Santos Escobar off because he already beat Escobar last week. Legado del Fantasma runs in to jump Fenix until agents and Andrade come in to clear things out.

We look at John Cena vs. Randy Orton in the Cell in 2014.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. She’s fresh off the greatest women’s match in Wrestlemania history and she took Tiffany Stratton to the limit. Now she’s here to announce her path back to the title. The fans aren’t pleased and she wants to know why they are so disrespectful to her. If they don’t lighten up, she’s leaving and never coming back to this town. Charlotte goes to leave but gets cut off by Jade Cargill, who is here for a #1 contenders match. Cargill even tells her to go to the back of the line, which isn’t likely to go well for her.

Post break, Charlotte goes to leave but Alexa Bliss is waiting in her car for a staredown.

Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax

For a future Women’s Title match so here is Tiffany Stratton to watch from ringside. They trade lockups to start with Jax shoving her down. It works so well that she does it again so Cargill fires off her own running shoulder. The Samoan drop cuts Cargill off for two and we take a break.

Back with Cargill powering her up for her own Samoan drop (nicely done) and grabbing a regular suplex. Some superkicks into a spinebuster give Cargill two but Jax is back with a sitout powerbomb for the same. For some reason Jax goes up top but gets slammed down (there’s your reason), setting up Cargill’s frog splash for two more. A pump kick gives Cargill two more…and here is Naomi to jump Stratton at ringside. The distraction lets Jax run Cargill over and hit the Annihilator for the pin at 10:03.

Rating: B. This turned into a heck of a fight because Cargill was getting to show off her power stuff, which not many people can do with Jax. I was getting into seeing these two hammer on each other until one of them couldn’t get up. Unfortunately they had to go with the screwy ending, but at the end of the day, you can’t have Cargill take a clean fall and Jax needs to get the title shot.

Michin and B-Fab praise the Street Profits for their TLC match.

Here are the Street Profits for a chat. They’ve been the talk of the town in recent weeks and just had the greatest TLC match of all times (eh….) and it even involved a prosthetic leg. Cue Fraxiom to interrupt and say they’re happy to be here. Now they want a title shot, but the Profits are a bit shocked after Fraxiom has only been around for a few weeks.

Street Profits vs. Fraxiom

Non-title and we’re joined in progress with Dawkins (with his bad arm) flipping over Frazer. A headlock takeover takes Dawkins over with a headlock but he’s right back up to tackle Frazer onto the announcers’ table. Ford (with his bad ribs) comes in to take over on Frazer and it’s quickly back to Dawkins for a running splash.

Dawkins’ spinning splash in the corner gets two but Frazer spins up to hit a dive to the floor. Axiom hits his own dive and we take an early break. Back with Frazer and Dawkins making a double tag, with Ford hitting a hard clothesline to Axiom. The standing moonsault gives Ford two and it’s back to Frazer, who gets superkicked down.

Frazer fights back but gets caught in a Doomsday Blockbuster for two, with Axiom making the save. Axiom superkicks a diving Ford in the ribs and super Spanish Flies Dawkins down. Frazer adds the Phoenix splash but Ford dives in for the save, taking out Axiom as well. Ford kicks Frazer down, only to miss the frog splash and bang up the ribs again. A missile dropkick/legsweep combination finishes Ford at 13:32.

Rating: B. Fraxiom continues to have one good match after another and that was the case again here. It’s great to see them getting out there and doing their thing with the better teams, because there was nothing left to do in NXT. There’s a good chance we’ll see this again soon and I’ve heard far worse ideas.

Respect is shown post match.

Tiffany Stratton is looking for Naomi but finds Nia Jax instead. Jax is ready to win the title back, but Stratton is going to send her to the losers’ table with Charlotte.

Video on Gunther vs. Pat McAfee, including a long recap of how they got to Backlash.

Miz gives Carmelo Hayes a pep talk before he faces Aleister Black. Granted this one should go better, because Miz won’t be out of place like Hayes was last week.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Aleister Black

Miz is here with Hayes. Black chills in the corner to start before pulling him into a headlock. Back up and Hayes strikes away in the corner, earning him some glaring from Black. They head outside with Black hitting a middle rope moonsault but Hayes kicks him over the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Black hitting a running boot to the head to catch Hayes on top. One heck of a jumping knee to the head drops Hayes again and it’s time to trade forearms. Black gets the better of things and hits a springboard moonsault but Hayes knees out of a suplex. Back up and Black grabs a brainbuster for two so Miz gets on the apron. Black sends them together and rolls Hayes up for the pin at 9:11.

Rating: C+. I was expecting a bit more, as Black still has one of the coolest finishers in wrestling. That makes a heel collision and a rollup finish a bit less than optimal, especially so soon after Black returned. Not much to this one, but at least some of the spots before the ending were impressive.

Post match Black gives Miz Black Mass. That’s better.

Solo Sikoa says he and Jacob Fatu need a game plan, but Fatu just wants to wreck people. Sikoa: “Ok.”

The Motor City Machine Guns are proud of Fraxiom and they know they’ll face each other one day. DIY runs in and lays both of them out.

Los Garza vs. Rey Fenix/Andrade

Fenix cleans house to start fast, including a cradle for two on Garza. Berto comes in to take Fenix into the corner and a dropkick gets two. Fenix rolls over for the tag off to Andrade to take over without much trouble. We take a break and come back with Andrade grabbing a poisonrana on Berto, allowing a double tag. Fenix hits a quick rope walk kick to the head, plus a wristdrag, to take both of them down.

Andrade comes back in for a knockdown but gets kicked in the head by Berto to leave everyone on the mat. Berto is back up with a moonsault to Fenix with Andrade making a save. Fenix grabs a hurricanrana but gets reversed into a sunset flip, only for Escobar’s distraction to take the referee away. Fenix’s rope walk kick takes out Garza and Andrade hits the Message to pin Berto at 10:25.

Rating: B-. This was more fun stuff and that’s what you would expect from these four. It made for a good showcase of Fenix and Andrade, the latter of whom usually does well when he is given the chance. Los Garza might not win very often, but at least they look good while they are out there.

Post match Escobar yells at Los Garza, with Berto standing up to him and leaving on his own. Garza isn’t sure what to do.

Backlash rundown.

Here is John Cena for the big closing. After getting his corrected introduction, Cena says everyone’s childhood dies tomorrow. Randy Orton is not here tonight and that is because he took Cena’s advice from last week. Cena goes over his history with Orton and how much success they have had. If you are part of this generation, you have picked one of them over the other but tomorrow, everything ends.

Everyone has to pick one more time and the reality is Orton has been lying to himself for years. Orton has never been held accountable for any of failures. He is the greatest of all time at not living up to his potential. Cena is the greatest of all time at hustle. Orton is a Laz-E-Boy and coasts, which is what he describes as loyalty. Cena is the greatest of all time at being loyal.

Orton has to beg for respect because no one knows Bob Orton Sr. and the only thing Bob Orton Jr. ever accomplished was knocking up Orton’s mom. The only thing Randy has ever done is ride on Cena’s coattails. Tomorrow, Randy kills his own legend, by being just like his 2006 drug test (that gets a gasp): a FAILURE. Cena is the greatest of all time because he IS respect.

Someone in a mask comes in to try an RKO but gets caught with an AA. Then the real Orton comes in for an RKO to leave Cena laying. I’m not sure what to make of Cena’s promo, but given that it’s the last time he’ll probably ever talk about Orton (barring a rematch), he probably wanted to get in every line he had about him. I’m not sure the whole thing worked though, as this felt like something Cena would say as a hero rather than a villain.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual, this was a good example of how Smackdown does not need to be three hours. There is a strong go home show to Backlash in there somewhere with stuff being made for later, but a lot of it feels like filler because they had too much time to cover. It could have been a lot worse, but cutting this down by about 30-45 minutes would have been so much better. I’m fairly interested in Backlash and this show boosted it up a bit, so we’ll call it enough of a success.

Results
LA Knight/Damian Priest b. Solo Sikoa/Jacob Fatu – BFT to Sikoa
Alexa Bliss/Zelina Vega b. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven – Sister Abigail DDT to Green
Nia Jax b. Jade Cargill – Annihilator
Fraxiom b. Street Profits – Missile dropkick/legsweep combination to Ford
Aleister Black b. Carmelo Hayes – Black Mass
Rey Fenix/Andrade b. Los Garza – Message to Berto

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

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

Smackdown
Date: May 2, 2025
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re just over a week away from Backlash and that means it is time to fill up a lot of the card. The big Smackdown match is already set though as John Cena will defend against Randy Orton. That’s enough to carry the main event portion but we need something besides just that one match. Let’s get to it.

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

Damian Priest almost got in a fight with Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu but LA Knight (facing Priest for a US Title shot against Fatu later tonight) walks past.

Here is Knight for a chat. Knight lost the US Title to Fatu and his chance at a rematch and a lot of that was due to Sikoa. Priest didn’t help things and while Knight has no problem with him…and here is Priest to interrupt. Priest says Sikoa got involved but Knight is the one who lost his title at Wrestlemania. Knight did lose but he’s not getting a title shot because of Priest. That doesn’t work for Priest, but Knight says they don’t have a problem so far, though that might change. Priest wants a referee down here right now so let’s go.

Damian Priest vs. LA Knight

For a future US Title shot. We’re joined in progress with Knight working on the arm but Priest faceplants him down to cut that off. It’s too early for the BFT and Priest hits a superkick for two. Old School is broken up and Knight’s jumping neckbreaker gets two. The jumping elbow is countered into a choke, with Priest hitting a heck of a clothesline for two. A DDT plants Priest again and the jumping top rope elbow is good for another near fall.

We take a break and come back with Priest hitting a Razor’s Edge for two. The Broken Arrow connects and Priest goes up top, where Knight runs the corner and superplexes him back down for two more. They go to the floor where Priest hits a lifting Downward Spiral onto the apron but here is Solo Sikoa to go after Priest for the DQ at 11:02 shown.

Rating: B-. They were getting going rather well at the end there and I was wanting to see where it went. At the same time, it’s not overly surprising that it went to a DQ, as you don’t want either of them taking a fall. There is a good chance that the two of them, likely with Drew McIntyre, will be getting a title match in the near future. Like say at Backlash.

Post match Knight and Priest get together to beat Sikoa down. Cue Jacob Fatu though and the good guys are taken out rather quickly.

We look back at Fraxiom’s debut last week.

Fraxiom is ready to face Pretty Deadly tonight so here is Pretty Deadly to interrupt. The villains talk a bunch of fairly friendly trash and we’re ready to go.

Pretty Deadly vs. Fraxiom

Axiom and Wilson start things off with the latter working on a wristlock. It’s off to Frazer for a rather fast running kick to the face and he kicks Prince away without much trouble. Fraxiom is up with the string of dives and it’s time to crank on the arms back inside. Axiom is dropped onto Wilson’s feet though and the Clothesline From El (clever) drops him as we take a break. Back again with Axiom rolling over for the tag off to Frazer and it’s time to clean house. The running shooting star press gets two on Prince and the super Spanish fly puts Wilson down. Frazer’s Phoenix splash finishes at 9:30.

Rating: C+. Take two teams who can do some good stuff in the ring and it worked well for Fraxiom again here. Fraxiom continues to look good in their start on Smackdown, which comes with a pair of wins so far. Good stuff here, and odds are Fraxiom will be put into an actual story sooner or later, perhaps with one of the teams from last week’s TLC match.

Michin and B-Fab want the Women’s Tag Team Titles. The Secret Hervice brings in Chelsea Green, whose title was hijacked by the deep state. Green wants a recount but instead Nick Aldis has Piper Niven facing Zelina Vega. Maybe Niven can get the title shot and become champion! Green nearly faints.

We look at Randy Orton vs. John Cena at TLC 2013.

Here is Nia Jax, who is so happy the fans are glad she’s back. She’s here to get the Women’s Title back from Tiffany Stratton, so here is Stratton to interrupt. Stratton says this isn’t the same version of her who has been around for so long but she’s ready to fight anytime. Cue Naomi to interrupt and bring up the things that Stratton and Jax put her through. Naomi runs down Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, the latter who comes out to go after Naomi in a frenzy. Nick Aldis comes out to make the tag match for later tonight.

Carmelo Hayes gives Miz a pep talk before he gets to face Aleister Black.

Aleister Black vs. The Miz

Black misses an early kick to the face to start but takes Miz down, only for Miz to knee his way out of trouble. The threat of another kick sends Miz outside and Black drops him again back inside. Miz is able to send Black into the ring board though and we take a break. Back with Miz knocking him to the floor again, followed by the short DDT for two back inside. The YES Kicks wake Black up and he hits Miz in the jaw to take over. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered with a cartwheel (sweet) but Carmelo Hayes offers a distraction. Back up and Black Mass takes Miz’s head off for the win at 9:30.

Rating: C+. What else were you expecting here? Other than maybe Black running through Miz, this was a perfectly fine way to go. Black got to show what he can do in the ring and hit his big finisher. That’s the big point of everything he does and it’s what made the most sense here. There is a good chance that Hayes is next for Black and there are far worse ideas.

Santos Escobar mocks Rey Fenix for losing to El Grande Americano, even as Rey Mysterio’s handpicked replacement. Escobar thinks he should be Mysterio’s replacement but Fenix would rather fight him tonight instead. Deal.

Zelina Vega vs. Piper Niven

Non-title and Alba Fyre and Chelsea Green are here with Niven. Vega kicks her own to start but Niven is right back to knock Vega outside. Something like a reverse powerbomb out of the corner drops Vega again and we take a break. Back with Niven swinging her around in a cobra clutch, only for Vega to come back with a Codebreaker.

Niven drops her for a backsplash but gets caught with a middle rope Meteora for two. Niven’s cannonball misses and Vega grabs a spinning DDT. The moonsault gets two on Niven but Green gets on the apron for a distraction. That doesn’t work either as Vega comes back with a jackknife rollup for the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C+. Having a match between two wrestlers with such different sizes is a hard way to go but they made it work well enough here. Vega getting the win is the right way to go and I’m glad to see her not losing so soon into her title reign. It wouldn’t surprise me to see her have another match with Chelsea Green, who will be fine as long as she can keep getting on camera.

Jacob Fatu is ready to fight so Nick Aldis gives him a triple threat match at Backlash against LA Knight and Damian Priest. Solo Sikoa brings up Drew McIntyre winning the match last week so Aldis makes it a four way. Sikoa says Aldis is screwing Fatu over, but Aldis says Sikoa is the one screwing Fatu. Good response there.

Here is Randy Orton for a chat. Orton talks about how he has seen John Cena for years and knows that Cena was a walking talking cartoon character during the PG Era. At the same time, Orton was doing everything he could to get to the top and talks about all of Cena’s obsession with merchandising which made him that much more money. Last week Cena said that he raised a bunch of children but the only thing he raised was the price of his merchandise so the parents had to work harder.

What happened to the loyalty and respect? Cena has promised to end the Orton Legacy but that isn’t going to happen. Orton sees Cena as the latest legend he has to kill and promises to punt his “Lego shaped head” through the St. Louis Arch. This was a fired up Orton and as sick as I’ve gotten of this feud over the years, my goodness this is feeling like a major showdown, with Orton bringing the emotion.

Nia Jax wants Naomi to stay out of her way in the main event. Naomi: “Sure.”

Randy Orton runs into R-Truth, who says Orton has no chance. Jimmy Uso comes in to say he’s got this and tells R-Truth to cool it with that. R-Truth

Rey Fenix vs. Santos Escobar

Fenix spins away from Escobar to start until Escobar wins a chop off and yells a lot. Back up and Fenix knocks him to the floor but Escobar is right back up with the big suicide dive. We take a break and come back with Escobar kicking him out of the corner. A slingshot hilo gets two but Fenix is quickly out of an armbar.

Fenix hits a double springboard moonsault for two but Escobar knees him in the face for a double down. Back up and Fenix gets sent into the corner for some running knees to the chest. Fenix is right back with a kick to the chest though and it’s a top rope Meteora for the pin on Escobar at 12:25.

Rating: B-. This was similar to the Fraxiom match, as the idea is to make Fenix look good as he’s still starting up his time on Smackdown. Unfortunately Fenix is in a weird spot as he had to be put into the Wrestlemania match in Rey Mysterio’s place and take his first loss. Wins like this one should give him a nice start to his comeback, which should go somewhere soon.

Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill bicker over the tag match. Next week though, Cargill is facing Nia Jax in a #1 contenders match.

We look back at last week’s TLC match with the Street Profits retaining the Tag Team Titles in an instant classic.

Santos Escobar yells at Los Garza for not being there when Andrade comes in. Escobar doesn’t like Andrade, who is still trying to get into Berto’s head.

Jade Cargill/Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax/Naomi

It’s a big brawl as they start fast, with Jax sending Stratton into the barricade. We settle down to Naomi pulling on Cargill’s arms in the corner but Cargill is back up with a big boot. Jax drops Cargill from behind though and we take a break. Back with Jax crashing onto Cargill for two, allowing Naomi to come in and hammer away. Cargill manages a faceplant and gets the tag off to Stratton to clean house.

Jax cuts her off with a Samoan drop but Stratton gets the knees up to block Naomi’s split legged moonsault. Cargill comes back in for a fireman’s carry flapjack to Naomi and a chokeslam gets two. Jax runs Cargill over but Stratton is in for the save with a Swanton. A missed charge hits Naomi in the corner and Cargill powerbombs Jax out of the corner for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. Cargill got to look good in the end with the powerbomb and staying in the ring for awhile gives her some extra ring time. That should help her a bit, and working with someone experienced like Naomi should help. This is at least a slightly different cast going after the title, even if it’s hard to buy Naomi in this spot after Cargill has beaten her so thoroughly.

Post match Cargill grabs the title but gets decked by Naomi, who holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this show as much as it felt like the show designed to get ready for the other stuff. That being said, we’re coming off last week’s TLC match so taking a bit of a breather isn’t a bad thing. This wasn’t a terrible show or even a bad one, but it was the kind of week where a recap might be better than watching the whole thing.

Results
Damian Priest b. LA Knight via DQ when Solo Sikoa interfered
Fraxiom b. Pretty Deadly – Phoenix splash to Wilson
Aleister Black b. The Miz – Black Mass
Zelina Vega b. Piper Niven – Jackknife rollup
Rey Fenix b. Santos Escobar – Top rope Meteora
Jade Cargill/Tiffany Stratton b. Naomi/Nia Jax – Powerbomb to Jax

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

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

Smackdown
Date: April 25, 2025
Location: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Wrestlemania and that means it is time for things to get started again. That could go in a few different directions, but first of all we have a TLC match for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles as the Street Profits are defending against the Motor City Machine Guns and DIY. Other than that, there is a good chance we’ll hear from some of the new (and old) champions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

We open with a long Wrestlemania recap, I believe the same one from Raw.

Here is John Cena to get things going and yes, he again has issues with his ring introduction. Before he can say anything, Randy Orton interrupts and gets a rather lengthy entrance. Orton talks about how we are coming up on twenty five years to the day since they first shook hands. In all that time, Cena has not changed because he really was about hustle, loyalty and respect.

Now though, it’s clear that Cena has a void that needs to be filled. There have been all kinds of generations of children looking up to him and that has to mean something to him. Cena holds the record for the most wishes granted in the history of Make-A-Wish but Orton isn’t accepting that they were just numbers. Orton has figured out what Cena needs to fill that void: children. Imagine a bunch of square jawed, big forearmed like Cenas running around! It would make Cena a better man and make him grow up.

Cena accuses Orton of parent shaming him and says he doesn’t have kids because he has spent 25 years raising everyone else’s children. Cena: “Oh great. A six year old just gave me the finger. CLASSY!” That’s why he doesn’t have kids but Orton says they aren’t done yet. Cena has gone Hollywood but the reality is he has nothing without those fans. Orton has done a lot of things in WWE and is a piece of furniture. He is here to stay, but Cena is just a guest.

Cena says he used to think that same way but now he tries to do something else and the fans go for someone else. That is a dysfunctional relationship and pure manipulation from the fans. Orton calls himself stupid (Orton: “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”) for thinking he could come out here and make an impact on Cena in this bizarro world where Orton is good and Cena is bad. Wrestling has meant everything to Orton and his family for generations and it will provide for his family until Orton is put in the ground.

Cena is tired of hearing about this and says that the count between them is 17-14. When Cena leaves though, the counter freezes because Orton can win a title, but that puts his count at 1. He wants to erase the three generations of Cena’s family, which is enough for Orton to issue the challenge for a title match right now. Cena says no, but he’s willing to face him at Backlash in St. Louis.

That’s Orton’s hometown so Orton can spend the day with his family and come in at his best. That means when Orton fails, he has no excuses. Cena says this is as close to the title as Orton is going to get, and then he throws it at him to start the beating. The belt shot is loaded up but Orton ducks and hits the RKO. This was an exchange between two guys who have been tied together for twenty years so they didn’t have much new to say. That being said, they absolutely had to run this match one last time and having the dynamic reversed could be interesting.

Video on Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer/Axiom), former NXT Tag Team Champions who are officially on Smackdown. They’ve dominated the NXT tag team division for a long time now so it makes sense to move them up. There is nothing left for them to do in NXT.

Orton vs. Cena is set for Backlash.

Fraxiom vs. Los Garza

Fraxiom starts fast and clears the ring, setting up some dives to the floor to take Los Garza out. A low bridge sends Axiom outside though and we take an early break. Back with Frazer getting the hot tag to come in and pick up the pace. Frazer gets quite the running start for a forearm to Berto into a Sling Blade. Angel comes in off a blind tag to kick Frazer down and the villains take over. Axiom has to make a save before coming in to strike it out with Angel. They go up top where Axiom hits his super Spanish Fly, setting up Frazer’s 450 for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: B-. Pretty much a perfect start for Fraxiom on the main roster as they got to do what they do best and it worked here. Fraxiom works best when they are flying all over the place and going at a breakneck pace. Putting them in there with Los Garza is a good way to go and they were fun opponents for Fraxiom to start things off.

Here is Tiffany Stratton to brag about retaining her title. There were moments when she wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but she kept hearing that she would be the next Charlotte. The reality is there will only be one Tiffany Stratton. Cue Jade Cargill (oh dear) to interrupt, saying that while Stratton’s win was impressive, it just put a bigger target on her back. It’s time for Cargill to show why she’s here because it’s time to be a champion. Stratton is ready to go right now so get a referee. Cue said referee and we’re ready to go.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill

Non-title. Cargill grabs an early rollup for two so Stratton offers a handshake. That’s enough to pull Cargill into a headlock before an armdrag seems to annoy her. A backbreaker puts Stratton down but she’s right back up with a running hip attack in the ropes. Cargill rolls her up for two but gets caught with a handspring elbow in the corner for the same.

We take a break and come back with Stratton hitting a Regal Roll but slipping on the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. The distraction lets Cargill roll away and hit a sitout powerbomb for two. A basement dropkick gives Stratton two but Cargill is back up with a superplex. Cue Naomi to jump Cargill for the DQ at 10:14.

Rating: B-. Well you knew that wasn’t going to have a clean finish, as it shouldn’t as you don’t want either of them to take a loss here as it’s so soon after Wrestlemania. At the same time, Naomi coming after Cargill again so soon doesn’t quite fit, as Cargill won pretty definitively at Wrestlemania. Let Cargill move on, because she can only destroy Naomi so much.

Post match Naomi beats Cargill down until Stratton chases her off. Then Nia Jax returns, because THIS needs to happen again.

Here is Jacob Fatu, with Solo Sikoa, for a chat. Sikoa introduces Fatu and says he is the only one who wants him. The thing is, Fatu wouldn’t be here without Sikoa, because he brought Fatu here. He wouldn’t be the champion without….and Fatu takes the mic. Fatu says he was going to bring the title to the family with or without Sikoa and that’s what he has done. The title makes him America’s most wanted and a menace to society, but you better get in where you fit in.

Cue LA Knight to say that he dropped Fatu on his head and Fatu had to grab the rope. It can happen to anyone on any night but he wants the title back. Cue Drew McIntyre to say it is hard to be him: tall, dark, handsome and with big guns. He just went through a violent match at Wrestlemania and he just wants to say it was a pleasure to embarrass Damian Priest. The next plan was to challenge John Cena but Randy Orton cut the line again.

It’s always Nepo Wrestling Entertainment and speaking of which, hi Bloodline. McIntyre wants to fight the baddest champion around here but Knight says let him know when this mush mouth is done. McIntyre calls Knight’s latest title reign a joke. Knight says he would say something about McIntyre’s latest title reign but he can’t remember it. The challenge is on but cue Nick Aldis to say not so fast. Tonight, it’s McIntyre vs. Knight in a #1 contenders match. Having big names wanting title shots is just going to increase Fatu’s status and that is great to see.

Zelina Vega is ready to go big or go home tonight.

Women’s United States Title: Zelina Vega vs. Chelsea Green

Green, with the Secret Hervice, is defending. They start fast with Green being sent outside, where the Hervice takes Vega down. We take a break and come back with both of them down for a breather. Vega fights up with a spinning back elbow into the corner, setting up a middle rope Meteora for two. The 619 is broken up and the referee sees the Hervice interfering, which is enough for the double ejection. Vega grabs a Code Red for the pin and the title at 7:14.

Rating: C. I’m not sure on this one, but after Vega lost so many times already, it was time to either give her some gold or move on. I really don’t like Green, who has been outstanding in this role, to lose, but if it gives her something new to complain about, she should be fine. The match was nothing to see, but I’m going to need to see some fallout to see if this feels like a good idea.

We look at Carmelo Hayes winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last week.

Miz is proud of Hayes winning and that’s why he sacrificed himself last week. Now, he has a gift for Hayes: a rather large Andre head necklace. Miz is so inspired that he wants to show everyone something in the ring.

Here is the Miz, in a snazzy white suit, for a chat. He has been a featured part of Wrestlemania since 2007 but this year, he was nowhere to be seen. Miz main evented Wrestlemania and successfully defended the title against John Cena, which even Cody Rhodes couldn’t do.

When Rey Mysterio was injured, Miz doesn’t get the spot but rather someone who has been here two weeks. When Kevin Owens got hurt, an internet meme got his spot instead. He is sick and tired of people showing up and getting his spot…and the lights go out. A bunch of candles are on the stage and Aleister Black is back, complete with riser and theme song. The fans say WELCOME BACK so Miz goes after him, only to get kicked in the head. Black coming back was hardly a surprise, but it’s going to depend on how he’s used. He has talent, but it isn’t going to matter if he’s totally unfocused again.

Bianca Belair has a few broken fingers from Wrestlemania but she is so proud of the match she had with Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. Belair is fine with what Sky did at Wrestlemania but Ripley slid into a match where she didn’t belong. For now though, Belair is focused on healing so she can get back home on Smackdown.

Nia Jax doesn’t care about Naomi’s quest for revenge, but Naomi tells her to proceed with caution. Jax is confused.

LA Knight vs. Drew McIntyre

For a future US Title shot. They take turns taking each other down and showing off the double biceps to start. A belly to back suplex drops McIntyre for two but Knight is knocked off the apron and into the barricade for a crash. Back in and a shot to the ribs gives McIntyre two and he fires off some knees to keep Knight down.

Knight manages a snap suplex into a jumping neckbreaker out of the corner for two. They go outside with Knight sending him into the announcers’ table over and over. Back in and…cue Solo Sikoa to Samoan Spike Knight. McIntyre sees it and isn’t pleased but loads up the Claymore anymore. Cue Damian Priest to pull McIntyre out for the DQ at 9:24.

Rating: B-. Knight was hanging in there and thankfully he didn’t get pinned. In theory this should make McIntyre the #1 contender, but at the same time it wouldn’t surprise me to see Nick Aldis say “that’s not what I meant”, which wouldn’t be a terrible way to go. Otherwise, I again approve of Knight being in the ring with some bigger names, as he has earned that kind of a spot.

Post match the brawl is on, with Priest chokeslamming McIntyre through the announcers’ table. Priest and Knight get in an argument but Jacob Fatu shows up with a huge suicide dive to take both of them out. Fatu’s triple jump moonsaults leave everyone laying as he again looks like the biggest monster in the world.

We look at Bron Breakker becoming a Paul Heyman Guy.

R-Truth comes up to John Cena and offers his help anytime. Cena walks off without saying anything. Jimmy Uso comes in to ask when Cena changed (as apparently he hasn’t been watching for weeks). R-Truth says there are two sides to every story and he wants to be Cena when he grows up. Jimmy: “But you are grown up.” This is called “explaining the joke” and it’s not a good idea.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. DIY

The Profits are defending in a TLC match. It’s a brawl to start (of course) and Dawkins gets to clean house with the ladder on the floor. Back in and the brawling continues, with Ciampa (sans beard for a WEIRD look) getting in some ladder shots of his own. Dawkins is tied in the Tree of Woe for some shots to the ribs before a bunch of people head outside. Ford hits a big flip dive onto a bunch of them and Shelley comes up favoring his arm.

Ford goes up but gets Downward Spiraled down by Gargano. Dawkins cuts Ciampa off and gives Gargano a Big Ending off the ladder for a crash to the floor. A brainbuster puts Shelley through an open chair but Dawkins blocks a double suplex onto a pair of chairs. Instead Dawkins hits the swinging butterfly suplex onto the chairs and Ford busts out the huge flip dive over the ropes for a Doomsday Blockbuster onto the pile.

A fan whips out a prosthetic leg for a bonus weapon and a ladder is bridged between the ring and the barricade. Shelley hits a big frog splash to put Dawkins through a table at ringside, followed by Ford hitting a huge running Swanton through Ciampa through a table on the floor. That doesn’t work for Ciampa, who is back up with an Air Raid Crash to send Ford through a ladder and a lot of people are down again.

Skull And Bones puts Gargano through a table, leaving Ciampa to go up top but the Guns move the ladder. Ciampa is hanging from the ladder so Dawkins goes up and spears him down, through a table because of course. Sabin and Gargano go up top with Sabin knocking him down but Ford springboards up the ladder. Gargano pulls him down though and ties him in the ladder for a superkick. Sabin and Gargano go up top but Ford climbs the SIDE of the ladder and knocks both of them down, allowing Ford to pull the titles down and retain at 22:52.

Rating: A-. Yeah I’d call this a winner. It was six guys beating the living daylights out of each other and just trying to go totally insane. That’s what we had here and it worked incredibly well. The ending was creative and Ford looked great in his win, which made for a solid ending. This wasn’t meant to be anything more than a long car crash and they did it very well. Leaving this on Wrestlemania was a great idea, as it gets to stand out on its own here rather than being on the packed Wrestlemania card. Awesome main event.

Overall Rating: B+. That main event alone is enough to carry a bunch of this show and it was pretty entertaining throughout. Orton and Cena’s segment was long and only so good, but at least it set up a big match in short order. The rest of the show was your usual collection of debuts, returns and surprises, with the big TLC main event to wrap it up. Rather great show, though I’m not sure they’ll be able to do this again next week.

Results
Fraxiom b. Los Garza – 450 to Angel
Jade Cargill b. Tiffany Stratton via DQ when Naomi interfered
Zelina Vega b. Chelsea Green – Code Red
Drew McIntyre b. LA Knight via DQ when Jacob Fatu interfered
Street Profits b. Motor City Machine Guns and DIY – Ford pulled down the titles

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

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

Wrestlemania XLI Night One
Date: April 19, 2025
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, Pat McAfee
God Bless America: Jelly Roll

We have finally arrived with the biggest two nights of the year. The show is stacked as always and that means we should be in for a major event. There are multiple titles on the line and there is always the chance that we will have some surprises, including the question of who Paul Heyman will side with in the main event. Let’s get to it.

Various people came to work today.

The set looks like a big casino, which looks rather good.

The opening video talks about knowing the whole story, but realizing that this is just the beginning. We look at some famous Wrestlemania moments and legends and this is the realest it has ever been. There are legendary stories and sometimes they are true.

Here is HHH to open things up. After his usual speech thanking the fans and hyping up the show, we’re ready to go.

Raw World Title: Jey Uso vs. Gunther

Uso is challenging and comes to the ring with a DJ, people waving big YEET flags and the Las Vegas Raiders cheerleaders. The stadium goes NUTS for the entrance and it must be amazing to realize that those people are going that nuts for you and you alone. After the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go with Uso seemingly favoring his wrist. They lock up and Jey actually knocks him down, with Gunther needing a breather on the floor.

Back in and Gunther grabs a headlock takeover but gets enziguried right back to the floor. Gunther gets back in and grabs him to slow things down, setting up a huge chop to knock Jey off the top and out to the floor. Jey gets back in and gets chopped some more, including a running one in the corner. A sudden spear gives Jey two but Gunther chops him down again. Jey counters the powerbomb into a Samoan drop so he goes up, only to get superplexed back down.

The dropkick into a powerbomb gets two but Jey is back with another spear. The Superfly Splash connects for two and Gunther is ready to walk out. That does work for the referee or Jey, the latter of whom charges into a belt shot. Gunther hits the top rope splash and fires off the elbows to the head before grabbing the sleeper. Jey makes it to the ropes and Gunther’s frustration is growing rapidly.

More chops have Jey laughing as we’re getting reminiscent of Roman Reigns against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania XXXI. Jey fights up with a clothesline and a German suplex but Gunther dropkicks him down again. Gunther’s powerbomb is countered into a powerbomb from Jey, followed by some superkicks. Three straight Superfly Splashes have Gunther getting back to his feet but Jey pulls him into a sleeper for the tap and the title at 16:33.

Rating: B. They actually did it. I know they’ve set this title change up for months now but I didn’t think they would actually pull the trigger on the change. Good for them for making a new star, as Jey is one of the most popular stars in all of the company and they needed to capitalize on it. I have no idea how long the title reign will last, but at least he has this one big moment. The match was good too, with Jey overwhelming Gunther, which has been his kryptonite for a long time. I’m not sure what is next for Gunther, but going after Cody wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Pyro goes off and Jimmy Uso comes in to celebrate. Jey gets to leave through the crowd in a great moment.

We recap New Day’s heel turn from four months ago, when they had a bunch of momentum. Then they just kind of waited around and did nothing important for a long time, but now they’re getting a title shot against the War Raiders. The champions feel like afterthoughts, but New Day isn’t exactly red hot anymore.

Raw Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. War Raiders

The Raiders are defending and New Day gets quite the negative reception, even arguing with NFL star George Kittle at ringside. Commentary spends the entrance talking about Clash Of Clans, with McAfee being either a huge fan or really good at reading a script. The Raiders jump them to start and send New Day outside for a running crossbody against the ring board.

Back in and a belly to back suplex/top rope legdrop combination gets two on Woods but Kingston pulls him outside. Erik’s dive is cut off and a top rope dive hits him on the back so New Day can take over. A double stomp gives Woods two and we stop for a Ric Flair strut. Poetry In Motion misses though and it’s back to Ivar to pick up the pace. The basement crossbody and seated senton splash out of the corner rock New Day but Kingston kicks him in the head.

Woods hits the Honor Roll but Erik breaks up the Daybreak. Trouble In Paradise hits Erik but Ivar kicks Kingston down. The Doomsault gets two, with Woods making a save with a Limit Break elbow. Woods and Erik slug it out but another Honor Roll is broken up. The War Machine is broken up though and Daybreak, with Kingston holding the leg, gives us new champions at 9:12.

Rating: C+. The match was good, but the story has felt ice cold. The problem boils down to one thing: the entire point of New Day’s heat is built around Big E. and if he isn’t there, why should I be interested? I know Big E. can’t get in the ring, but he can’t make an appearance? Maybe that comes soon, but it’s holding back everything they do.

We recap Jade Cargill vs. Naomi. Back in November, someone attacked Cargill and Naomi had to take her place as a Women’s Tag Team Champion. Then Cargill came back and attacked Naomi, revealing that she was the attacker. Naomi said she did it for her friendship with Bianca Belair, with Cargill just jumping to the front of the line. Then Naomi kept running her mouth and got wrecked by Cargill. Now they’re having a match, even after Naomi has gotten beaten up a few times already.

Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

Naomi keeps up her PROCEED WITH CAUTION theme, complete with a bunch of caution tape. Apparently enough is enough and it’s time for a change. Cargill on the other hand gets an introduction featuring a reporter from the Weather Channel, because a storm is coming. Cargill starts fast and sends her outside for a heck of a whip into the barricade. Naomi manages a ram into the steps to take over and they head inside for a big legdrop. The chinlock goes on and Cargill has to adjust her gear.

Cargill is back up with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before pulling Naomi’s Blockbuster out of the air for a Jackhammer. Because that’s something one human can do to another. It works so well that Naomi goes up again, only to dive into a slam. Naomi kicks her down though and hits the split legged moonsault for two, followed by some basement superkicks. Naomi’s big kick to the head misses though, allowing Cargill to muscle her up for a NASTY spinning powerbomb. Jaded finishes Naomi at 9:26.

Rating: C+. Well, this could have been far worse. I’m not sure why it went that long when Cargill should have been smashing through Naomi, but they didn’t have any major botches. Throw in Cargill’s offense getting to look awesome and this was a good showcase for Cargill. Naomi never had a chance of winning and that’s an acceptable way to go with something like this.

We recap LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu for the US Title.

US Title: LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu

Knight, driving in a Maserati, is defending and slugs away to start. A neckbreaker puts Fatu down but the BFT is blocked, leaving Knight confused. Fatu slowly hammers away and screams a lot, setting up a suplex drop across the top as Knight’s ribs are banged up. Knight goes after the knee for a breather and goes up, only to dive into a powerslam. The Samoan drop is countered into a crucifix driver and they’re both down again.

Back up and Fatu is sent face first into the post and a running knee to the face smashes him again. Knight sends him shoulder first into the post a few times and goes up for the standing elbow drop. Fatu is back with a superkick but his moonsault is broken up. Knight runs the corner for the belly to back release superplex for the big crash.

That’s shrugged off as well and Fatu hits three straight running hip attacks in the corner. A Swanton gives Fatu two so he goes up for the moonsault, which is pulled into a BFT (not a bad one either). Fatu grabs the rope though and Knight is a bit stunned and frustrated. Fatu knocks him off the top and hits a pair of triple jump moonsaults for the pin and the title at 10:40.

Rating: B-. They had to do the title change here, as Fatu is not someone who should be losing a singles match, especially on this stage. He comes off as the biggest monster in wrestling these days and giving him a title is a big way to boost him up. It should be interesting to see what is next for them, but what matters is getting the title on Fatu and they did that in relatively dominant style.

Post match Haku of all people comes out to celebrate. Fatu should probably give him the title just to keep the peace.

We recap Rey Fenix (replacing an injured Rey Mysterio) vs. El Grande Americano, both of whom have only been around for a few weeks. Americano is a Mexican legend but the jealous Mysterio and Fenix think it’s Chad Gable, because they can’t handle his greatness. Now it’s time for a showdown as Fenix gets to find out what lucha libre is all about.

Rey Fenix vs. El Grande Americano

Americano’s entrance is in sepia tone and a masked Mariachi band plays him to the ring. AAA star Vikingo is in the front row and Americano shoves him, earning a kick to the head. The bell rings and Fenix gets a quick rollup for two and they go to a quick test of strength. American is sent outside for a big dive off the top but Americano is back in with a German suplex.

Fenix comes back with a kick but gets suplexed into the corner. Americano goes up and hits a moonsault 450 (because that’s a thing that can be done) for two more. Fenix is back with the Black Fire Driver for two of his own but Americano knocks him away. Americano loads up the metal plate in the mask but Fenix rolls him up. Fenix goes up for a kick to the face but hits the metal plate to hurt his ankle. The ankle lock goes on but is reversed, only for Fenix to get headbutted out of the air. The top rope headbutt finishes Fenix at 7:59.

Rating: B. The action was good enough, but the whole thing was so much fun. This was just silly wrestling stuff and it worked to near perfection. Everyone is in on the joke but the villain is getting away with his lies. That’s not a bad thing and it’s working here, with the match being good as well.

Post match Vikingo helps Fenix up.

We look back at the official announcement of WWE acquiring AAA. That’s a pretty big deal.

Here is Shawn Michaels to announce the official attendance of 61,467.

We recap Tiffany Stratton defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Charlotte. Stratton is the new star and Charlotte won the Royal Rumble to get the shot. They have traded some VERY personal insults on the way here, making it quite the controversial feud.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte

Stratton, with a Barbie theme (makes sense) is defending and they waste no time in going for the brawl. They slug it out on the mat and head to the floor, where Charlotte gets posted. Back in and Charlotte hammers away and they go back to the floor, where Stratton is sent into the barricade. Charlotte starts yelling a lot and hits Stephanie Vaquer’s Devi’s Kiss before rolling Stratton around.

Stratton breaks out of a Boston crab and hits some handspring shots in the corner, followed by the spinebuster for two. Charlotte’s rollup doesn’t work as Stratton hits a basement dropkick. Charlotte plants her down but Natural Selection is blocked. A nice sitout powerbomb gives Charlotte two but Stratton avoids a shot to the leg. Another spinebuster gives Stratton another two but Charlotte’s high crossbody gets two.

Charlotte comes up favoring her knee though and Stratton is on it, only for the good leg to kick Stratton in the face. Stratton’s knee is wrapped around the post and the Figure Four goes on. Stratton escapes again and knocks Charlotte down but the Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits raised knees. A super Natural Selection gives Charlotte two but she can’t get the Figure Four again. Instead, Stratton hits a Regal Roll into the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to retain at 19:10.

Rating: B. They had a few issues here and there but the important thing is Stratton won clean, which is what needed to happen. Stratton losing would have put her next on a long list of people beaten by Charlotte but having her get the win here is a big deal for her. I have no reason to believe Charlotte is done coming after the title, but at least she should be knocked back a few steps for the time being.

We get the Hall Of Fame video recap.

Here is the Hall Of Fame class:

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XIII (they’re both here and Austin will never look right in a suit)
Michelle McCool
Natural Disasters
HHH (who shakes everyone’s hands in a nice moment)

No Lex Luger, but maybe he didn’t want to be out there in his wheelchair.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns in the main event. Rollins hates both of them, Reigns wants to prove he’s the best, and Punk is here because he wanted to be in the main event. Punk also has Paul Heyman in his corner to mess with Reigns, but Rollins has been trying to convince Heyman that neither Punk nor Reigns care for him.

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins gets a flamethrower, Reigns has screens of members of his family, and Punk, with Paul Heyman, gets a special video looking back at his early days in WWE before Living Colour plays him to the ring. Yeah he’s earned this. Punk, in the old school hoodie and yellow trunks, rolls outside and has a talk with Heyman at the opening bell. Reigns isn’t about to wait around and hammers on Rollins, which draws Punk back in to strike away at Rollins.

Reigns is back up with the apron dropkick before sending Punk into the apron and shouting at Heyman. Rollins goes after Punk on the floor and they brawl into the crowd. Punk hits him in the back with a chair but gets hit in the head with a trashcan to cut him down. That’s broken up and Punk suplexes him onto the trashcan before they head back to ringside.

Reigns pops back up for a dive over the barricade and they’re both wiped out. It’s time to load up the announcers’ table, with Reigns managing to use the Prime station to keep them both down. Punk fights back up and takes Reigns back inside, setting up the swinging neckbreaker. The running knees in the corner set up a DDT/neckbreaker combination to put Reigns and Rollins down at the same time. The Macho Elbow gets two so Punk goes up again, only to get caught by Rollins.

Reigns pulls him down for a Doomsday Device but pops back up to Superman Punch Punk for two. The spear is cut off with a knee and Punk slugs it out with Reigns. The Anaconda Vice is broken up and Rollins busts out some Buckle Bombs. Reigns is back up with a spear to Punk but Rollins counters a spear into the Pedigree for a rather near fall. Another spear does hit Rollins, only for Punk to GTS Reigns for two and shock has set in.

Rollins Pedigrees Punk for two more and shouts at Reigns, about how neither Mox nor the Bloodline is here for him. Rollins suggests they take Punk out and Reigns eventually agrees…or at least he teases it, only to punch Rollins in the face instead. Rollins is put through the other table and a spear gives Reigns two. Reigns yells at Heyman and grabs a guillotine on Punk, which is reversed into an Anaconda Vice.

Rollins breaks that up and grabs a Sharpshooter on Punk, only for Reigns to break it up and guillotine Rollins. Punk breaks that up with a Stomp for two on Rollins and everyone is down again. Back up and Punk spears Rollins but Reigns spears Punk but gets Stomped by Rollins, leaving everyone down yet again. Hold on though as Heyman goes to grab a chair. Both Reigns and Punk hold their hands out but Heyman hands it to Punk….and then gets in the ring to hit Punk low.

Heyman shouts that HE MADE ME DO IT and hands the chair to Reigns to unload on Punk. Heyman calls him off and points out that Rollins is right there….and then Heyman hits Reigns low too. Yep that’s the best way to go right now. Rollins gets the chair (with Heyman chilling in the corner) and blasts Reigns in the back, setting up the Stomp for the pin at 32:38.

Rating: B+. The Heyman turn was at least somewhat telegraphed but that doesn’t make it a bad thing. Heyman is at his best when he finds the next big thing and then has his former protege coming for revenge and that is where we’ll be heading for a long time. Rollins winning is hardly a stretch and it felt like a huge moment for him. Solid back and forth main event and I liked it more than I was expecting. What mattered the most is it felt big and that’s what you want from the Wrestlemania main event.

Overall Rating: B. This was kind of a weird one because the big matches worked well, but there weren’t many of them. You had seven matches and three of them (opener, Women’s Title, main event) felt big. The other four were just kind of there, but none of them were bad. It was a good show which flew by, but looking at Rhodes vs. Cena tomorrow makes it feel a little less important. Still though, good show, with the twist at the end being an emotional moment.

Results
Jey Uso b. Gunther – Sleeper
New Day b. Viking Raiders – Daybreak to Ivar
Jade Cargill b. Naomi – Jaded
Jacob Fatu b. LA Knight – Triple jump moonsault
El Grande Americano b. Rey Fenix – Swan Dive
Tiffany Stratton b. Charlotte – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Seth Rollins b. CM Punk and Roman Reigns – Stomp to Reigns

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

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

Wrestlemania XL Night One
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 72,543
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Corey Graves, Michael Cole
National Anthem: Coco Jones

It’s hard to believe that a show this big was over a year ago and things still feel so hot. This is one of the things WWE does best, with a big milestone event and a huge main event which has big ties to night two. They’re in another NFL stadium and the fans are going to be hot all night, or at least they will be in theory. Let’s get to it.

Note that I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the upper deck with the entrance on my right. It was VERY cold after the sun went down and that had a big impact on the fans all night.

We get the debut of the new “Then, Now And Forever” opening, which looked awesome then and now.

The opening video looks at the city of Philadelphia and features rapper Meek Mill. The focus is on the big tag team main event, with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins teaming up to face Roman Reigns and the Rock, with the stipulations for Rhodes vs. Reigns on the line. The rest of the matches get a look, but they’re all paling in comparison to the big tag match.

Cole says that it’s 52 degrees but feels like 48. That would drop fast.

Coco Jones sings the National Anthem, ending a longstanding tradition of America The Beautiful.

Here is HHH for the big opening. He wastes no time in welcoming us to the show and we’re ready to go.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley for the latter’s Raw Women’s Title. The video looks at some passages from Lynch’s book, which talk about how important this is to her and how it is all she wants to do. Lynch got the shot by winning the Elimination Chamber and it’s pretty much a dream match, with Lynch being one of the only people close to Ripley’s level.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch

Ripley is defending and gets played to the ring by Motionless In White in an outstanding entrance. She keeps singing the song even as she walks down the ramp to make it feel even more special. Commentary points out that Lynch has been sick with strep throat all week, which isn’t likely going to go well. Ripley shoves her down to start but Lynch avoids a charge into the corner.

Back up and Ripley muscles her over with a northern lights suplex for two, followed by a regular suplex for the same. Ripley kicks her down and goes up for an Eddie Guerrero frog splash but takes too long, allowing Lynch to armdrag her down (nice counter). Lynch strikes away and hits a tornado DDT for two, followed by a springboard kick out of the corner.

The middle rope Fameasser in the ropes sends Ripley outside, setting up a suplex into the barricade. Back in and another Fameasser gets two so Ripley fireman’s carry slams her down. One heck of a knee to the face gives Ripley two but she gets caught in a cross armbreaker. Three powerbombs finally break it up to give Ripley two and some screaming ensues.

Ripley hammers away but a charge into the post makes Ripley’s arm even worse. The arm is fine enough to grab the Prism Trap and it Ripley even pulls her into a bodyscissors for a unique twist (and crank). Somehow Lynch gets out and manages to counter Riptide into a Manhandle Slam for two. Back up and the Riptide out of nowhere gives Ripley two of her own, with the kickout leaving her angry.

Ripley goes up again and gets crotched back down again, setting up the Disarm-Her. That’s reversed into an electric chair and they fall over the top, with Ripley somehow sticking the landing. An electric chair drop onto the floor knocks Lynch silly, followed by a frog splash for two back inside. McAfee is LOSING IT on the kickout, asking why Lynch would kick out from all this while having a 102 degree fever. They both go up with Lynch’s super Manhandle Slam being broken up. Ripley punches her in the face, hits a Riptide onto the buckle (ow) and adds a regular version for the pin to retain at 17:08.

Rating: B. This was indeed a dream match and Lynch is always a threat to win a big fight, but Ripley getting this kind of a win was the right move. Ripley was on absolute fire at this point, having held the title for a year. It never quite got into that higher gear, but as someone who has had more than 30 (diagnosed) cases of strep throat, I can move than live with Lynch not being up to her normal level.

Pretty Deadly previews the six team ladder match for the Tag Team Titles. Wilson: “New Catch Republic.” Prince: “That’s a team?” They aren’t fans of most of the teams, but really hate the New Day. They even mock Xavier Woods’ trombone skills!

DIY vs. New Catch Republic vs. Awesome Truth vs. Judgment Day vs. A-Town Down Under vs. New Day

Judgment Day is defending and both the Raw and Smackdown titles are hanging above the ring, meaning two different teams can win them for a split. The Republic doesn’t get their own graphics at first, coming out with the Awesome Truth stuff appearing on the Titantron. There are twelve people in this so it’s going to be total insanity for a long time. A bunch of people brawl to the floor and the rest join them as it’s a big mess to start.

A-Town Down Under both grab ladders and go for an early climb but get caught, with a bunch of people going up and getting pulled right back down. New Day puts a ladder up between the belts and knocks the other ladders over, only to get pulled down by Judgment Day. A ladder to the head puts Ciampa down but Bate puts Balor in a torture rack…while Balor is holding a ladder at the same time. The ladder is eventually dropped, just like Balor onto another ladder in the corner.

For some reason Bate and Dunne climb a ladder on the floor, setting up stereo moonsaults onto piles of people. There is a big ladder bridged between the announcers’ table and the ring as Priest tries to go up. Miz cuts that off and gets beaten down for his efforts…as R-Truth wants a tag. The fans get into it and Priest’s look of “what am I doing here” is great.

Naturally Miz tags him in for the John Cena sequence, with the AA…pinning Balor. Priest comes back in to break it up and is taken out just as fast, but R-Truth wants Gargano (who he thinks is Shawn Michaels because reasons) to tune up the band. You do that at Wrestlemania, so it’s a superkick into Ciampa’s Fairy Tale Ending (close enough to the Pedigree) to drop Priest. Awesome Truth and DIY agree to get a set of titles each but A-Town Down Under break it up…and win the Smackdown Tag Team Titles at 7:30.

The Republic is right there to powerbomb Waller, still holding a title, through the bridged ladder to likely get rid of him, at least for a bit. DIY takes out the Republic and some others, with Bate being sent through the Prime Hydration Station. Since it’s Philadelphia (and wrestling in 2024), we need tables to go with the ladders. Ciampa is put on a bridged ladder (rather than a table) for a rope walk elbow from Woods.

New Day both goes up the ladder, with Kingston doing a big trust fall dive to take out the pile in a smart move. Theory is there to cut Woods off though, with the Republic having to cut him off. Gargano hits the One Final Beat over the top to send Dunne through a table on the floor for a nasty crash.

Not to be outdone, Ciampa hits a super Air Raid Crash off the latter to knock Bate silly. R-Truth is all alone but here is JD McDonagh, who wants to be in the Judgment Day, to make the save (because this match needs ANOTHER person). Kingston makes the save with a chair though and McDonagh is stuck on the ladder, which is tipped over for a pretty scary bump over the top through some tables.

Priest gives Kingston a Razor’s Edge onto a chair and goes up, with Miz making the save. Miz gets chokeshoved off the ladder and Priest grabs a fresh ladder, only to be taken out by R-Truth. That’s enough for R-Truth to get the Raw Tag Team Titles and finally wrap things up at 17:23.

Rating: B-. Total stunt show match and that’s a fine way to go, though dang there were a lot of people involved in this thing and it hurt the match. I’m really not a fan of splitting up the titles again, but at least we did get a fun moment with the Awesome Truth win. This was the “get a bunch of people on the show” match and the ladders…well they’re pretty much a Wrestlemania tradition these days. Fun match, but total insanity.

We get an ad for the Bray Wyatt documentary so the Fireflies are out in a nice moment.

Cole talks about the weather again, complete with the graphics, which is such a weird thing to see.

We recap Santos Escobar/Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio/Andrade, which started with Escobar turning on Rey and injuring his knee. Dominik was added for the family touch and…well it was going to be Dragon Lee but then he got attacked last night so Andrade is there to make it a tag match. In other words, it’s a total mess of a story but we get the tag match anyway.

Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio/Andrade

The rest of Legado del Fantasma and the LWO are here too. Escobar wastes no time in hitting a knee as Cole talks about how the wind is picking up, which is where the cold really started being a problem. It’s quickly off to Dominik, who gets hit in the face by Andrade. The spinning back elbow (better than the Judas Effect) connects and it’s off to Rey for a headscissors. Escobar puts Rey on his shoulders in an electric chair and they both dive onto the floor to take the villains out.

Back in and Rey tries to whip Dominik ala last year, but this time Dominik saves himself from the pain. Escobar comes back in with a middle rope legdrop, setting up a backbreaker/slingshot hilo combination for two. Another backbreaker keeps Rey in trouble but he gets a boot up in the corner to stop a charging Escobar. That’s enough for the tag off to Andrade so house can be quickly cleaned.

The running knees hit Dominik in the corner and the double jump moonsault gets two. It’s already back to Rey for the 619 to Escobar, leaving Andrade to moonsault onto Dominik. A super hurricanrana gives Escobar two so Elektra Lopez gets on the apron, only to be taken out by Zelina Vega.

The other seconds get involved, with Joaquin Wilde hitting his huge slingshot dive. Back in and Escobar sends Rey shoulder first into the post before telling Dominik to get a chair. Cue two rather muscular men in Rey masks (McAfee seems to recognize them) to break it up though, allowing Rey and Andrade to take out the villains. Rey’s top rope splash finishes Escobar at 11:02.

Rating: C+. This was another “get a bunch of people on the show” match and the video before the match didn’t make it feel any less complicated. Seeing the Mysterios fighting again after their far better match last year was a weird way to go and it was only so good of a match in the first place. Just do Rey vs. Escobar in their big grudge match.

On a personal note: I met Escobar at the Rocky Balboa statue the next day. Nice guy.

Post match the masked men unmask as Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson, former Philadelphia Eagles for a heck of a reaction.

We recap Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso, which is a look at how they have been brothers their whole life, having only been born nine minutes apart. They have shared everything over the years, from birthdays to family members to the main event of Wrestlemania. Then Roman Reigns caused them to split up (over and over), with Jey becoming more of a singles star.

Jey even challenged Reigns for the WWE Championship at Summerslam but Jimmy cost him the match and the title. Then they waited about eight months before the match because….I have no idea really, but in theory it’s so they can have this match at Wrestlemania. Ignore that it killed the feud’s momentum.

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Lil Wayne (billed as the “greatest rapper of all time”) does part of Jey’s entrance. Jey isn’t wasting time and dives onto Jimmy during his entrance to start fast. A clothesline sends Jimmy outside for a suicide dive, followed by a high crossbody back inside. Jimmy grabs a pop up Samoan drop (doesn’t quite make it work), followed by the running Umaga attack in the corner.

Jey goes up but gets knocked out of the air, allowing Jimmy to start firing off the superkicks. Four or five leave Jey down and Jimmy goes up top, only to have to roll through the Superfly Splash. Jey’s superkick hits somewhere in the shoulder area, meaning it’s time for the YEET/NO YEET slugout.

They alternate the same sequence of strikes before trading superkicks (with Jey telling him to “GIVE ME THAT S***!”). Jey slowly superkicks him down, despite not seemingly wanting to do so. Jimmy apologizes and seems to offer a reunion, only to superkick Jey down. The Superfly Splash gets two on Jey but he’s back up with a spear. Now the Superfly Splash finishes Jimmy at 11:05.

Rating: D. Yeah this really was as bad and dull as it was seen as being. This was about eleven minutes of the two of them throwing superkicks and doing the same move to each other. I like the idea of having the brothers getting to fight at Wrestlemania and it’s a story that was set up, but they waited eight months to let the heat die off. This was a pretty cold match and then they just did the same moves until Jey won. Terribly boring stuff here and one of the worst matches you’ll see at Wrestlemania.

We recap Bianca Belair/Naomi/Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL. After Damage CTRL injured Belair, she realized she needed help so she got some friends. This is Belair’s first match since debuting at the Royal Rumble, making this more of a showcase for her than anything else.

Damage CTRL vs. Naomi/Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill

Damage CTRL comes to the ring with a bunch of geisha women dancing with fans. The other three rise up on a platform though and then step over onto the ramp, looking like superheroes (that was great). Naomi and Asuka start things off but Naomi has to kick Sane down as well. A splits splash in the corner gets two but Sane knocks Naomi outside, setting up an Insane Elbow to a standing Naomi on the floor.

Back in and Asuka and Sane double team her down, only for Naomi to hit a heck of a kick to the head in the corner. The tag brings in Belair to clean house, including a moonsault over a charging Kai in the corner so she can hammer on all three at once. A handspring moonsault gives Belair a triple near fall but Kai breaks up the tag attempt. Asuka’s running knee gets two but Belair flips out of a double suplex and dives over to Cargill.

That’s good for a heck of a reaction and Cargill gets to clean house. Cargill pulls Sane out of the air and throws her down, setting up a splash to Kai in the corner. Everything breaks down and Asuka mists Sane by mistake. The hair whip hits Asuka with a skin curdling sound, leaving Cargill to grab Kai (and walk her around the ring) for Jaded and the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. This was little more than a countdown until Cargill got in at the end to do her big finisher. That’s quite the way to debut someone (at least outside of the Royal Rumble) and Cargill absolutely felt like a star. The problem is it wasn’t much of a match, as they only had so much time with so many people involved. Either way, it was all about Cargill and nothing more, which worked fairly well.

Post match the winners all get to pose for a nice moment.

We recap Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title vs. Sami Zayn. Gunther has rewritten all of the title’s records Gunther talks about the title’s history and all of the greatness that it has seen, but the legacy ends with him. Zayn wants to win a big singles match on his own and has been trained by Chad Gable, resulting in something of a Rocky III story as Zayn is scared of losing everything he has if he loses again. Gable talked him into training even harder though and we’re ready to go.

Zayn talks to his wife and son in the back, with his son saying he can do it. Zayn asks his wife to stay in the back with his son because he doesn’t want them to see the violence. With that done, Zayn runs into Gable, who wants Zayn out there on his own for his big moment. Zayn walks to the ring….and runs into Kevin Owens, who hugs him and tells him to go do it.

Intercontinental Title: Gunther vs. Sami Zayn

Gunther is defending and backs him into the corner to start. Zayn switches places and hammers away, with some of the chops staggering Gunther. A springboard doesn’t work so well though as Gunther German suplexes him out of the air. One heck of a chop and a boot to the head rock Zayn again but he keeps getting up and coming back. Gunther puts him on the top for a chop and then stands on Zayn’s face, which always looks painful.

More chopping has Zayn in trouble as Zayn’s wife is shown in the front row. Zayn is back up with a running shot of his own for a much needed breather. The chops rock Zayn again but Zayn PUNCHES HIM IN THE FACE to take over. Some half and half suplexes have Gunther rocked but he hits his big clothesline for two. Zayn is back up with his running up the corner tornado DDT so it’s time to load up the Helluva Kick.

Gunther pulls that into the sleeper so Zayn goes towards the ropes, which is countered with a suplex. A charge into the corner is cut off and Gunther gets suplexed, only to come out of the corner with the dropkick. One heck of a powerbomb gives Gunther two and he can’t believe the kickout. Gunther hits his own Helluva Kick, only to have Zayn hit one of his own (to the shoulder) for two.

Another big clothesline into a double powerbomb gets two and the fans are WAY into this. Gunther glares down at Zayn’s wife and then stomps on his head, leaving Zayn looking shaken. Zayn gets planted again and there’s another powerbomb to make it worse. Back to back top rope splashes crush Zayn….but he fights his way up and Helluva Kicks Gunther on top. The brainbuster onto the buckle connects (commentary JUMPS up in the background for a great visual) and a pair of Helluva Kicks FINALLY finish Gunther to make Zayn champion at 15:32.

Rating: A-. I knew where this was going and they pulled me into this match all over again. It really did feel like a Rocky story, as Zayn was in over his head with someone so much bigger and stronger, but Zayn was never going to give up and took it to Gunther until he won. It was an excellent story and I got way into this whole thing. Gunther losing isn’t going to hurt him after the most dominant reign ever and now he can move up to the next level. Awesome match with what felt like a Wrestlemania Moment.

Various wrestlers talk about the importance of Wrestlemania. There are a bunch of highlights from over the years and wrestlers talk about what it means to them. I have no idea what the point of this way other than “Hey, this thing that you’re watching is awesome isn’t it?”.

We look back at Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson getting involved earlier.

Cole has another weather report! It supposedly feels like 45 degrees and…there’s no way it was that warm.

Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis are here to say thank you to the 72,543 fans.

Various celebrities are here.

Wrestlemania Sunday rundown.

We hit the long recap on Seth Rollins/Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns/The Rock. Back in February, the Rock came back and teased facing Reigns at Wrestlemania, with Rhodes seemingly stepping aside. This led to a big fan movement to get Rhodes (the Royal Rumble winner) back in the match, with Rhodes saying he wanted to face Reigns. They argued over their families’ legacies, with Rock joining forces with his cousin as part of the Bloodline.

Rollins (the World Heavyweight Champion, who is also defending on Sunday) offered to be on Rhodes’ side to take out the Bloodline once and for all. The tag match was set, with some special stipulations: if Rollins/Rhodes win, Reigns vs. Rhodes is a clean match with no Bloodline. If Rock/Reigns lose though, the match is Bloodline Rules, where anything goes. Rock wasn’t done though and even insulted Rhodes’ mother to make it extra personal. He also busted Rhodes open but that’s not as bad as messing with his mom.

The Rock/Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins

If the villains win, Rhodes vs. Reigns is Bloodline Rules but if the good guys wins, the Bloodline is barred from ringside. Naturally the Rock has his own title (which he got last night) and comes out in a flaming Brahma Bull symbol, because this has to take its sweet time. So after the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go over TWENTY SIX MINUTES after the recaps and entrances started.

They all stare at each other for over a minute to start until Reigns and Rollins start things off. We get more stalling as Reigns looks at the singing crowd. They finally lock up over two and a half minutes after the bell, with Reigns grabbing a headlock. Reigns knocks him down so Rollins starts running the ropes, setting up a kick to the ribs to slow Reigns a bit. Rhodes comes in to work on Reigns’ arm but gets clotheslined in the corner for his efforts. Some forearms don’t get Rhodes very far and it’s a standoff.

Rollins comes in off a blind tag and we get a big two on one staredown with Reigns. Rock (slowly, like everything else) comes in to shove Rollins down as McAfee sounds like he’s getting antsy about the slow pace. Rollins hits Rock in the face and it’s time for the fans to sing again. Some right hands put Rollins down and a clothesline does it again so Rock wants Rhodes.

That’s exactly what he gets for a lockup before Rhodes wins a slugout. Everything breaks down for a four way staredown and the big brawl is on. Rollins spits Prime into Rock’s face as Rhodes and Reigns fight up the aisle. Rock fights back and tells the referee that if he counts, he’s fired (nice little way to get around the countout). Rollins and Rock fight into the crowd with Rollins sending him into various hard objects.

Reigns and Rhodes fight over a suplex on the stage as Rollins is sent into a trashcan. Some water to the face seems to wake Rollins up a bit and everyone comes back to ringside. Reigns gets in a cheap shot on Rollins to knock him off the apron, with Rollins coming up favoring his knee. They actually get back inside, with Rock starting in on the knee, including wrapping it around the post.

Reigns grabs a half crab but Rollins fights out, only for Reigns to knock Rhodes outside. That means there’s no one for Rollins to tag so he clotheslines Reigns outside and follows him, only to get whipped into the steps. Back in and Reigns hits some corner clotheslines, allowing him to strike the Bloodline pose for a bit. The Superman Punch is countered into a neckbreaker but Rock is right there with a low blow.

The referee even goes over to Rhodes with an apology, which is unique if nothing else. Granted it makes you wonder why Rock hasn’t ordered the referee to say “Rollins can’t continue, Bloodline wins”, but maybe I’m thinking too much into this. The jumping enziguri gets Rollins out of trouble but Reigns pulls Rhodes off the apron to break up the tag. Rock gets the Sharpshooter so Rhodes comes in with a slap to break it up.

Rollins manages to hit the Stomp and crawls over for the needed tag. Rhodes Disaster Kick and Cody Cutters Reigns for two but Reigns is back with a Superman Punch. The spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and a top rope Cody Cutter…is more a top rope headbutt, with Rollins tagging himself in for a frog splash and a near fall. Heyman tells Rollins “I hate your d*** song” to make it personal as Rollins gets up. Well that’s a bit extreme.

Some superkicks put Reigns down but Rock cuts Rollins off, leaving Reigns to spear Rhodes for two. The guillotine goes on to put Rhodes in more trouble, with Rollins making the save with another stomp. Rock whips out the bloody weight belt and yells at Mama Rhodes, who yells back with quite the fire in her voice. Rhodes knocks the belt away from Rock but walks into a spinebuster. The People’s Elbow is countered into a Cody Cutter (thanks for diving into it Rock) but Reigns is back in with a Superman Punch.

The spear….hits the Rock though and stereo Pedigrees drop the Bloodline for a double near fall (Heyman’s panicked face in the background was great). Back up and they fight to the floor, where Rock spits water on Rhodes and loads up the announcers’ table. Rollins breaks up the Rock Bottom through the table though and Rhodes gives Rock a Rock Bottom through the other one instead.

One heck of a spear puts Rollins through the barricade and everyone is down. Rock and Rhodes get back inside, but Reigns cheap shots Rhodes from the floor. Back in and Reigns slugs it out with Rhodes for the BOO/YAY until a pair of Cross Rhodes drops Reigns. The third is broken up with a weightlifting belt to the back and Reigns hits the spear. The Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow finish Rhodes (Cole declares him “screwed”) at 44:32.

Rating: C+. This is almost fascinating in a way, as it’s not a bad match, but it’s almost the length of the first three matches on the card combined. You could have EASILY cut off about twenty minutes of this and gotten the same thing, but everything was just taking its sweet time out there. I can go with the Empire Strikes Back style ending as the villains get to stand tall and our hero looks dead to rites, but dang man this was just far too long. The fact that the match was taking place in front of a freezing stadium and so many of the fans just wanted to go home and warm up made it even worse.

The villains pose and the heroes realize they’re in big trouble tomorrow.

A long highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B-. For what was supposed to be the first half of the biggest show of the year, this really didn’t stand out that much. Lynch vs. Ripley felt big but never got to that next level, Zayn vs. Gunther was genuinely great and the main event was WAY too long. The other four matches on the show ranged from forgettable to bad, and that doesn’t make for much of a four plus hour show. It’s not awful or bad, but I was expecting a bit more than what we got here.

Ratings Comparison

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch

Original: B
Redo: B

Tag Team Ladder Match

Original: C+
Redo: B-

Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Andrade/Rey Mysterio

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Original: D
Redo: D

Damage CTRL vs. Jade Cargill/Naomi/Bianca Belair

Original: C+
Redo: C

Sami Zayn vs. Gunther

Original: A-
Redo: A-

The Rock/Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B-

That’s almost the same, or at least close enough, up and down the card, which doesn’t happen very often.

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

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

Smackdown
Date: April 11, 2025
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We are just over a week away from Wrestlemania and that means it is time for one of the final pushes to the show. That means we aren’t likely to be seeing much in the way of big time matches but the talking will get a lot of attention this time around. Your mileage may vary but it’s a special time of the year. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Kevin Owens announcing his neck injury and Randy Orton hitting an RKO on Nick Aldis to blow off some steam.

Here is Aldis to get things going with the fans being VERY pro Orton. Aldis is here to address what happened last week and while he is going to maintain his professionalism, he invites Orton to the ring. Cue Orton to say that he paid his fine double in advance because he knew what would happen. Right now there is nothing for him at Wrestlemania and Orton doesn’t care who he faces, but he needs to be on that show. Orton doesn’t even care if it is Aldis himself, but Aldis needs to calm down.

Aldis doesn’t need Orton to pay another fine because he needs his respect. Orton says Aldis earned his respect a long time ago but he can’t promise he’ll apologize to Mickie James if Aldis doesn’t give him a match. Cue Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga, with Sikoa promising that Jacob Fatu is leaving Wrestlemania with the US Title. Orton doesn’t like the interruption and issues the challenge so the brawl is on, with Orton getting beaten down. LA Knight runs in for the save and issues the challenge for the tag match later tonight. Aldis makes the match.

Women’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match

For a shot at Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (ringside) at Wrestlemania. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria are in at #1 and Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark are in at #2. Baszler takes Bayley down without much trouble to start and it’s off to Stark for a running shoulder. Bayley gets up and brings in Valkyria, who is quickly dropped by Stark. Bayley makes the save so Baszler goes to stomp Valkyria’s arm. That’s reversed into a jackknife cover to give Valkyria the pin at 3:18.

Natalya and Maxxine Dupri are in at #3 and we take a break, coming back with Natalya hammering away at Valkyria. Maxxine comes in with a high crossbody for two on Bayley before taking the straps down (the fans approve). Some running clotheslines set up the reverse Worm but Bayley reverses a Sharpshooter attempt into a small package to pin Dupri at 9:14 total.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are in at #4 and rush Bayley, who gets her knees up to cut off a splash. The elbow drop gets two on Carter so it’s off to Valkyria, who gets caught with the Keg Stand for two. A quick Nightwing finishes Chance at 11:48 total and it’s Michin/B-Fab in at #5.

We take another break and come back with Valkyria kicking her way out of trouble and bringing Bayley back in. Michin cuts her off with a quick DDT and everything breaks down. Michin dives onto Valkyria but Bayley Rose Plants B-Fab for the pin at 17:31 total. Piper Niven and Alba Fyre are in at #6 (last) and knock the winded Bayley outside. A double suplex into a backsplash gets two on Bayley as we take a third break.

Back again with an assisted backsplash giving Fyre two as Bayley is in big trouble. Bayley counters a double suplex into a double DDT (the fans are WAY into the comeback) and the diving tag brings in Valkyria to clean house. A tornado DDT hits Niven, who is right back with a suplex to Valkyria.

Somehow Valkyria powerbombs Niven out of the corner and the top rope elbow gives Bayley one. A backbreaker/Swanton combination gets two on Bayley but Valkyria is back in for the save. Bayley dropkicks Niven into a powerbomb to the floor but Fyre kicks Bayley down for two. The Rose Plant hits Fyre though and Valkyria adds a top rope ax kick for the pin at 28:39.

Rating: B. Normally I don’t care for gauntlet matches but they were working hard here in front of a VERY hot crowd. Bayley and Valkyria are a thrown together team but at least they had to put in a hard fought performance to get the title shot. It’s not like there are any other teams ready to go after the belts and it is something fresh so I can go with this.

Post match the champs get in the ring for the staredown.

Apparently Charlotte and Tiffany Stratton got in a fight before the show. Which we aren’t seeing.

Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre is set for a street fight on Wrestlemania Sunday.

Classic Wrestlemania Moment: Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock. That works.

Here is Damian Priest for a chat but Drew McIntyre runs in and rams him head first into the apron monitor. Priest is carried out, leaving McIntyre saying we are starting to see now. McIntyre is the only one who tells the truth and Priest is the only person who benefits from McIntyre getting screwed. Their street fight is a year in the making and his eye is completely fine. He’s 100% cleared so Priest is 100% screwed. Cue Priest so the brawl is on but McIntyre goes to the eyes and hits him in the face with the steps. The Future Shock onto the steps leaves Priest laying.

DIY thinks there is a conspiracy against them and Pretty Deadly thinks they’re nuts. The Motor City Machine Guns come in to mock DIY as well.

We look at Rey Fenix’s debut last week.

HHH Hall Of Fame video, looking at him winning the 1997 King Of The Ring.

Berto vs. Rey Fenix

The rest of Legado del Fantasma are here with Berto. Fenix rolls him up for a fast two to start and spins around into another rollup for another two. Berto shoves him off the top and onto the apron for a crash. The big dive connects and we take a break. Back with Fenix chopping away and hitting a spinning top rope headbutt for a knockdown. Berto is sent outside for the big running flip dive but he’s back in with a springboard kick to the face for two.

A sitout powerbomb gets two more but Fenix is back with a springboard hurricanrana for two of his own. Berto is back with a fireman’s carry into another sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Fenix gets his boots up to stop a moonsault though and a running springboard kick to face in the corner rocks Berto again. The Mexican Muscle Buster finishes for Fenix at 10:41.

Rating: B. This was a good showcase for Fenix, who might not have the cool factor like Penta but he can do some crazy high flying stuff. That’s the kind of thing that is going to get someone noticed in a hurry and Fenix has made it work in two weeks. Note that commentary also mentioned Fenix and Penta are brothers, so they aren’t bothering wasting time with some big reveal.

Roxanne Perez is here to talk about how she doesn’t like Tiffany Stratton, who comes in to yell at her. They both want a match and Nick Aldis pops in to say he’ll think about it.

We get a video on Paul Heyman’s history with CM Punk, including OVW footage and their time working together to great success. Then Punk left and came back, with their relationship still being a thing, albeit in the background. Punk then helped Heyman a bit and Heyman will be in Punk’s corner at Wrestlemania, even with Roman Reigns in the same match.

Chelsea Green is annoyed that Piper Niven and Alba Fyre aren’t ready to help her. Zelina Vega comes in to mock Green for having to wrestle on her own.

We get another smoky vignette.

Zelina Vega vs. Chelsea Green

Non-title. Green stomps away to start and they go outside with Vega being dropped onto the announcers’ table. Green throws her back inside, yells at commentary…and gets counted out at 1:02.

Santos Escobar is disappointed in Berto for losing to Rey Fenix. Escobar and Angel are off to congratulate Fenix on his win.

After a look at what is coming in the rest of the show, Andrade comes in to give Berto a pep talk. Berto tells him to mind his own business.

Naomi can’t stand Jade Cargill, who she calls a snake for taking Naomi’s spot.

Jade Cargill says Naomi’s time has run out and revenge is coming.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat and there are a bunch of WWE Titles from throughout history in the ring. Rhodes puts his title on a pedestal in the middle of the rest and, after soaking in some cheers, Rhodes thanks the fans for always giving him a warm reception. These titles are the denotations of excellence and Rhodes has been blessed to hold the title. Wrestlemania is about the next twenty champions, who might be from NXT or the ID Program or maybe someone here in Seattle tonight. But there is one man who wants to take all that away and that man is John Cena.

Seattle is not part of Cena’s retirement tour so Rhodes brings up Cena saying Rhodes is nothing but a common fan. Rhodes has his tattoo and wears a suit because he wants to be someone. He goes down the titles and talks about various champions who held them, including Cena with the spinner title. Cena was someone who was trying to find himself, which is what he has said about Rhodes.

The reality right now is that Rhodes is the WWE Champion and Cena is not. Rhodes calls himself the captain around here and he is part of a stacked roster (which he lists off). The reality is that Rhodes does his best work when his back is against the wall and that is going to be the case at Wrestlemania. It would be clever for Rhodes to say Cena’s time is up but that has been the case for a long time. The reality is Rhodes is champion and it is staying with the people. I love a good props segment and this was very good stuff, with Rhodes making the title the focal point of the whole thing.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

The Street Profits are ready to retain their Tag Team Titles against the Motor City Machine Guns next week. Dawkins even mentions the IWC as the Guns’ fans, but Miz and Carmelo Hayes interrupt. They seem to want the titles for themselves and a staredown ensues.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Roxanne Perez

Non-title. Stratton shoves her out of the corner to start and Matrixes her way out of a clothesline. A headscissors takes Stratton down but she’s back with some snap suplexes for two. The referee has to fix the ring skirt though and Stratton is sent into the post as we take a break.

Back with Stratton hitting some clotheslines and a spinebuster gets two. Another spinebuster gets another two but Perez avoids a hip attack. Perez’s Lionsault hits raised knees but she breaks up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. A middle rope Russian legsweep gives Perez two and the crossface goes on. That’s countered with a Regal Roll and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever finishes for Stratton at 9:18.

Rating: B-. Nice stuff here with Perez looking like she was getting squashed but turning it into a good match. That’s a nice thing to see as Perez could be quite the player on the main roster if given the chance. I’m not sure when that is going to start, but at least she is in the ring for something like this. Also of note: it’s a bit odd that both Women’s Champions both use moonsaults as a finish. Not a bad thing, but not something you often see.

Post match here is Charlotte, who had been sent home, to jump Stratton.

We recap CM Punk picking his favor from Paul Heyman, which did not sit well with Roman Reigns. Then Seth Rollins attacked Punk and teased attacking Heyman, saying Heyman owed him a favor as a result. They wouldn’t have Punk join Rollins, right?

We get the official Wrestlemania lineups, including the days:

Saturday:

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
Raw Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. New Day
Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
US Title: LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu
Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte
Raw World Title: Gunther vs. Jey Uso

Sunday:

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Bayley/Lyra Valkyria vs. Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez
Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky
Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena

That Saturday show is rather stacked, though I would assume Sunday gets another match to even things up.

Randy Orton/LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa/Tama Tonga

Tonga drives Knight into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. Sikoa comes in and Knight fights his way out of the corner, allowing the early tag off to Orton. An early hanging DDT plants Sikoa but he comes back with a Samoan drop as we take a break. Back with Sikoa grabbing a chinlock so Orton belly to back suplexes his way to freedom.

Knight comes in for a running knee in the corner to Tonga and a neckbreaker out of the corner drops Sikoa. Back up and the Samoan Spike hits Knight, only for Tonga to walk into the RKO. Sikoa and Orton brawl into the crowd, leaving Knight to hit the BFT to pin Tonga at 9:01.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much a house show main event and that’s not a bad way to wrap up the night. We’re coming up Knight facing a member of the family for his title at Wrestlemania so having him beat one of the lackeys is a fine way to go. Orton vs. Sikoa doesn’t feel like much of a Wrestlemania showdown (and it might not be) but it’s not like they have anything else ready on such short notice.

Post match Jacob Fatu comes in and beats down Knight, including three triple jump moonsaults, to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. We’re literally now to the point where the cards have been announced for Wrestlemania so there isn’t much left to do. With just the final Raw and next week’s Smackdown, which is pretty much just a big pre-show, to go, Wrestlemania really feels like it is here. This week’s show had better action than I was expecting and I really liked the Rhodes segment with the classic belts. Good stuff here (with one of the hottest American crowds in recent memory), as we’re starting to get the final touches ready for the biggest nights of the year.

Results
Bayley/Lyra Valkyria won a gauntlet match last eliminating Piper Niven and Alba Fyre
Rey Fenix b. Berto – Mexican Muscle Buster
Zelina Vega b. Chelsea Green via countout
Tiffany Stratton b. Roxanne Perez – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
LA Knight/Randy Orton b. Solo Sikoa/Tama Tonga – BFT to Tonga

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

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

Smackdown
Date: April 4, 2025
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re back stateside and that means it is time to really hit the gas on the build to Wrestlemania. Most of the show is either set or all but set but there is still time to build some things up for the big weekend. This week we are on CM Punk’s home turf, which should make for some interesting moments. Let’s get to it.

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

After seeing some people come to work, we recap last week’s contract match between CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns for the Night One main event of Wrestlemania.

Here is Punk to the eruption you would expect. Punk gets the big entrance and poses on the barricade for a bit as you know this is a special night for him. He says he doesn’t know where to begin but talks about the Chicago audience and steals the camera to show them. With the camera back where it should be, Punk talks about how it is his goal to make new fans anywhere he goes.

Tonight though, he wants to thank the fans here in Chicago because he has always been told he isn’t supposed to be here. Now though, he’s not sure if you’ve heard it, but he’s in the main event of Wrestlemania. Punk has taken all kinds of steps throughout his career, including being on John Cena’s gangster call at Wrestlemania in this very building, but everyone said he wasn’t supposed to be here. Now though, he’s right here in his hometown and he has to thank his beautiful wife first.

After an AJ LEE chant, we get a Larry the dog reference and now the hard work begins. He is getting ready for Wrestlemania but here is Paul Heyman to interrupt. Heyman apologizes for being late and he says it was no disrespect to this city or his best friend, the best in the world, CM Punk. The fans (and Punk) chant ECW and Heyman can’t help but smile. Heyman says that Punk belongs here and he belongs in the main event of Wrestlemania.

The last time they were int his ring together, Heyman asked Punk to take him with him. Then the Bloodline attacked Heyman and put him out longer than any time when he wasn’t fired. Punk was considering leaving after Hell In A Cell but Heyman begged him to come back at WarGames. For now though, Heyman has one favor to ask him: let him know what the favor he owes Punk is going to be. Punk says it’s going to involve Roman Reigns, so he’ll tell them both to their face.

Nathan Frazer vs. Rey Fenix

This is Fenix’s debut. They fight over wrist control to start and Fenix sends him into the ropes to a nice reaction. A spinning kick to the head gives Fenix some near falls but Frazer sends him outside for a dive. Back up and Fenix hits a big middle rope dive to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Frazer running the corner for a superplex into a suplex neckbreaker for two. Frazer misses his Phoenix splash so Fenix runs the ropes for a kick to the face, setting up an over the shoulder tombstone (Fire Driver) for two. A kick to the head sets up the spinning Muscle Buster (Mexican Muscle Buster) for the pin at 8:17.

Rating: B-. It was a good debut with the two of them getting to do enough stuff to make Fenix look like a star. Fenix is the kind of guy who can do some great high flying stuff and he got to showcase himself well. I’m not sure if it did as well as Penta, but Fenix is a different kind of high flier who is going to get over with a different style.

Post match Fenix says he has a history here in Chicago and this was a big step. He did it with passion and rage and now he is happy to say that he is WWE.

Legado del Fantasma thinks Fenix would fit in well, though Berto says he is better than Fenix. Santos Escobar says go prove it.

Drew McIntyre, with an eye patch, says no one cares about Damian Priest unless he’s feasting off of McIntyre’s scraps. That’s what he did last year at Wrestlemania and this year at the Elimination Chamber. Then last week he put McIntyre through a windshield, resulting in his eye injury. McIntyre swears vengeance.

We look back at Jacob Fatu attacking LA Knight and Braun Strowman last week.

Strowman is ready to crush Fatu in a Last Man Standing match. Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga come in to laugh at the concept, but Knight comes in to make fun of Tonga’s weird noises.

LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga

Non-title and Solo Sikoa is here too. Knight slugs away to start and drops him with an elbow but gets sent into the corner. A belly to back suplex drops Knight, who comes right back with some rams into the buckle. Knight even hits his own running Umaga attack before taking Tonga outside for the rams onto the announcers’ table.

Sikoa offers a distraction though and Knight gets knocked off the apron as we take a break. Back with Tonga hitting a heck of a clothesline for two but he misses a middle rope elbow. Knight grabs a neckbreaker out of the corner and hits a powerslam, setting up the jumping elbow. BFT is broken up and Knight has to deal with Sikoa. Now BFT can connect to finish Tonga at 9:12.

Rating: C+. This was a nice win for Knight, who gets to beat both Tonga, even with Sikoa’s help. That’s the kind of win that he needs every so often, as Knight is still supposed to be better than most people on his level. There is a good chance that he loses the title at Wrestlemania, but it’s nice to see him getting a win here to set him up a bit better.

Paul Heyman is in the parking lot and says no matter what CM Punk wants, the answer is yes. A car arrives and it’s….Seth Rollins, which has Heyman disappointed. Rollins wants to see Roman Reigns when he arrives.

We get the smoke vignette again but this time it looks like someone with coins over their eyes.

Here is Charlotte for a chat but before she can say anything, Tiffany Stratton interrupts. Wade Barrett is serving as moderator and introduces both of them, with Charlotte saying the mixed reaction is power. Charlotte is asked why she chose Stratton and if she still thinks it is the right idea. She talks about how she wanted to prove the smartest fans wrong, including those here in Chicago. Stratton: “Did she get her WOO in?”

Stratton talks about how Charlotte’s real competition is in the crowd. The saddest thing is that if Charlotte breaks all of the records, she’ll always be second to her dad. Charlotte says Stratton is saying the same things that her opponents have been saying for the last ten years, but the fans boo her out of the building.

Stratton says Charlotte was in her dad’s basement drinking at 25 years old while Stratton is the Women’s Champion at 25. Stratton calls her a nepo baby, but Charlotte says “Nepo Queen”. We get a not so veiled reference to Charlotte’s divorces (Stratton: “What is it? 0-3?”) and Stratton bails, with Charlotte asking why Kaiser is in her DM’s. Stratton no sells the line and leaves, which is nice to see as she owned Charlotte here and left her ranting.

Nick Aldis announces a women’s Tag Team gauntlet match for next week (Raw teams will be included), with the winners getting a title shot at Wrestlemania.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. DIY

For a title shot at the Street Profits, who are here as well. Gargano and Sabin trade wrist control to start before Ciampa comes in. That means an armdrag to take him down just as fast and everything breaks down. Shelley chases Ciampa on the floor and gets caught on the way back in. We take a break and come back with Sabin hitting a high crossbody onto both of them. A tornado DDT drops Ciampa and a big suicide dive takes out the villains again.

Back in and double basement superkicks drop Ciampa but Gargano breaks up the Skull & Bones. A turnbuckle pad is taken off and Ciampa knees Sabin for two. The superkick/Fairy Tale Ending combination gets two on Sabin with Shelley having to make the save. Meet In The Middle doesn’t work and it’s the Dream Sequence to Ciampa. Skull & Bones is cut off again but Ciampa’s rollup with feet on the ropes is cut off. Instead Sabin avoids a charge to send Ciampa into the exposed buckle and gets a rollup for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: B. The more I see from these two, the more amazed I am at how badly their Royal Rumble match went. They had another good match here and you would think that they are capable of doing it anytime they want. For now, it sets up the Guns for their rematch, though I’m still expecting a big multi team mess at Wrestlemania.

Post match the Guns have a staredown with the Profits.

The Miz and Carmelo Hayes mock Pretty Deadly for losing in their hometown last week. Pretty Deadly doesn’t think much of Miz and make fun of his acting record. Miz isn’t impressed and shouts the catchphrase as a match seems likely.

B-Fab vs. Naomi

Michin is here with B-Fab. Hold on though as Jade Cargill jumps Naomi in the aisle before the bell. Naomi gets in the ring and the bell rings so B-Fab hits a clothesline. A spinning kick in the corner drops Naomi and B-Fab gets to hammer away even more. B-Fab hits a Rock Bottom for two but another kick misses in the corner. Naomi grabs her arms and pulls her into a one knee Codebreaker for the pin at 2:05.

Post match Naomi calls out Cargill, who runs in with a pump kick. Nick Aldis comes out to make Naomi vs. Cargill at Wrestlemania. Why? Cargill has crushed her every time so why should I believe it’s going to be any different?

Damian Priest calls out Drew McIntyre for being distracted time after time and Priest took advantage. Then McIntyre cost him his chances at going to Wrestlemania so next week he wants McIntyre face to face.

Another HHH Hall Of Fame video, focusing on his time in Evolution.

Here is a rather upset Nick Aldis to make an announcement. There is a reason we say “don’t try this at home” and he brings out Kevin Owens, in a snazzy Bret Hart jacket, for a chat. Owens talks about doing this for twenty five years but there is a price to pay for doing things how he does them. Now it seems like it is his turn and after the last few months of issues, he needs neck surgery.

The timing couldn’t be worse and it means he won’t be facing Randy Orton at Wrestlemania. He doesn’t know when he’ll be back but he will never take this for granted. Owens even shakes Aldis’ hand and goes to leave but here is Orton to interrupt. Orton goes to get in the ring but Owens bails, leaving Aldis to say Orton doesn’t have a Wrestlemania match. The RKO lays out Aldis. I’ll believe Owens isn’t wrestling at Wrestlemania when it doesn’t happen, but hopefully it’s not an actual injury.

Our classic Wrestlemania moment: the first one.

Jacob Fatu vs. Braun Strowman

Last Man Standing and the winner gets a US Title shot at Wrestlemania. The brawl is on in the aisle with Strowman getting the better of things. They get inside where Fatu breaks out of the running powerslam and puts him down. The triple jump moonsault connects and Fatu hits a second to send Strowman outside.

We take a break and come back with Strowman dropping him for a change, meaning it’s time for a table. That takes too long (it often does) and Fatu is back up with a big suicide dive. Strowman beats the count so Fatu posts him, only to charge into a chair to the head. That’s good for five before Strowman gets a running start and knocks him through the barricade.

We take another break and come back with the two of them fighting in the crowd, where Strowman suplexes him through a table. They get back inside, where the table is set up in the corner. Strowman takes too much time getting up though and the running Umaga attack sends him through said table. Only Fatu can beat the count and Strowman is done at 15:12.

Rating: B-. Maybe it was the two commercials but I couldn’t get into this one. The problem here is Strowman has been beaten up by Fatu over and over again so there wasn’t much of a reason to believe Strowman would pull it off here. It was a good, hard hitting match but it never got to the level that these things can reach.

We recap the John Cena/Cody Rhodes segment from Raw, with Rhodes laying Cena out.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Paul Heyman says Roman Reigns will be here soon. After the break, Reigns arrives.

Reigns comes to the ring (and he makes great time for once), with a somewhat nervous Heyman behind him. After hitting the catchphrase, Reigns asks Heyman if “he” is here and acknowledges that it’s CM Punk. Reigns wants to know about the favor but first, he wants to share a secret with Chicago. The reality is that Punk would not be back here without him.

Reigns mocks the idea that people cheer for Punk because they’re both from Chicago before asking for some chants of his own. He wants Punk out here right now to find out about this favor. Instead, here is Seth Rollins to interrupt and he hits his catchphrase as well. Rollins wouldn’t miss this for anything and wants to know about the favor as well. Rollins rants about Punk being in the main event of Wrestlemania, which he blames on Reigns for not stopping him when he had the chance.

Reigns says that he made a promise to Heyman and he keeps his word. He called Punk out here but got Rollins instead, but Rollins wants to know about the favor as well. Cue Punk, who says this is about promises being made and promises being kept. Punk talks about meeting Heyman at 4400 Shepherdsville Road (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky and how Heyman knew that Punk would be a star. Heyman said that when Punk main evented Wrestlemania, force WWE to deal with them.

That is what Punk is going to do to Reigns now, as he wants Heyman in his corner at Wrestlemania. Reigns is a bit stunned and laughs off the idea, saying he saved Heyman. Even if he let Heyman do it, he knows Heyman wouldn’t and tells Heyman to let Punk down gently. Instead, Heyman looks at Reigns and starts crying. Reigns gets serious and says to tell Punk no but Heyman doesn’t say anything. Heyman says no….to Reigns, which has Rollins laughing. Reigns yells at Heyman and gets taken down with a GTS. Punk stares Rollins away to end the show.

That’s an interesting way to go for the Favor, as Reigns’ success has been built on the idea of Heyman giving him the mental side of things. Getting under Reigns’ skin has been his downfall before and Punk capitalizing on it makes sense. At the same time, my goodness does Rollins feel like a total afterthought in this whole thing. I had forgotten he was there and it was annoying to remember it after he showed up again.

Overall Rating: B-. As has been the case in recent weeks, this show wasn’t about the wrestling, even though it wasn’t that bad this week. Instead, this was about pushing things forward for the matches that have either already been set up or are likely to be set up in the near future. I’m not wild on some of what we got, but it’s nice to be able to see the Wrestlemania card coming together. Now just make things more interesting, which is what we’ll be doing in the next few weeks. That was the case here and it went fairly well, though the lack of a focus on action can be a bit annoying.

Results
Rey Fenix b. Nathan Frazer – Mexican Muscle Buster
LA Knight b. Tama Tonga – BFT
Motor City Machine Guns b. DIY – Rollup to Ciampa
Naomi b. B-Fab – Codebreaker
Jacob Fatu b. Braun Strowman when Strowman could not answer the ten count

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

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

Smackdown
Date: March 28, 2025
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re still in Europe and this time around we’re in a rather big location. The major attraction this week is actually a contract signing between CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, which should make for some fireworks. Other than that, Braun Strowman is getting a US Title shot, which might attract some attention. Let’s get to it.

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

Various people came to work today.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Naturally the fans sing his song before Cody asks what they want to talk about. We get the dueling John Cena chants before they switch back to singing (positively) about Rhodes. He’s ready for Wrestlemania but on Monday, he and Cena will be face to face in the same arena.

Cue Randy Orton to interrupt and the fans get to sing again. Orton says he isn’t the sentimental type, but for the sake of London, he looks at Rhodes and can’t believe the man he has become. He remembers Rhodes in his early 20s, working harder than anyone but Rhodes realized that he needed to go somewhere else to grow. That took some guts, which Rhodes displayed again when he was facing Seth Rollins inside of the Cell and again when he beat Roman Reigns.

That was the end of the story, but now Rhodes is in another story. Orton respects him and loves him and he’s very proud. Now though, it is time for Wrestlemania and Orton is going to kick Kevin Owens’ head off. After Wrestlemania though, Orton is going to come after Rhodes and the title, but he’s going to look Rhodes in the eye and say he’s coming for this. Cue Drew McIntyre to interrupt, saying he is sick of these nepo babies.

Orton has been back and took more time off, because people talk about McIntyre’s five minute World Title reign than Orton’s entire comeback. That’s why Wrestlemania should be McIntyre vs. Rhodes, but Damian Priest screwed that up. If Rhodes survives Cena, McIntyre is the one taking the title from him. The reality is that Orton looks great on the outside, but his back is hanging on by a thread. Orton tries a quick RKO but McIntyre bails out to the floor. This isn’t so much adding something new to Wrestlemania, but it’s teasing something for after Wrestlemania, which is important as well.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Pretty Deadly

The Profits are defending. Dawkins headlocks Prince to start but it’s quickly off to Ford, who gets double hiptossed down. We take an early break and come back with Ford knocking Prince down and handing it back to Dawkins. A whip into the corner crotches Ford on top though and everything breaks down. Dawkins grabs a spinebuster to set up the frog splash but Ford hits the illegal Wilson, meaning Ford can get a rollup for two. A four way collision lets Pretty Deadly hit Spilled Milk on Dawkins with Ford making the save. The Doomsday Blockbuster retains the titles at 7:56.

Rating: C+. Pretty Deadly was getting to be more serious tonight in their home country and it was nice to see them getting to do something like this. They weren’t about to win the titles but the fans liked them and were into the match. There are a bunch of teams going for the belts at the moment and I hope that doesn’t result in a ladder match at Wrestlemania.

Earlier today, the Green Administration annoyed Zelina Vega and Kayden Carter/Katana Chance, with a tag match being set for tonight.

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart, as in the match from Wrestlemania XIII, is going into the Hall Of Fame. That’s a new concept.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Piper Niven/Alba Fyre

Chelsea Green is here with Niven and Fyre. Carter and Chance take Fyre down to start for a basement dropkick to the head. Fyre is sent outside for a pop up crossbody but Niven is back with a running crossbody. We take a break and come back with Carter fighting back, including a springboard spinning legdrop for two on Fyre. Niven accidentally crushes Fyre with a backsplash but Carter manages to Samoan drop Niven for a breather. Everything breaks down but Green offers a distraction to break up the After Party. The Piper Driver finishes Carter at 7:01.

Rating: C. You need to give the new evil team a win or two and that’s what we got here. Chance and Carter aren’t a great team but they’re good enough that people know who they are. It might not have been a great match, but it was the kind that set things off in the right direction for Niven and Fyre.

Post match the beatdown is on so Zelina Vega runs in to clear the ring, only for the numbers game to catch up with her.

US Title: Braun Strowman vs. LA Knight

Knight is defending and gets shoved down to start. A belly to back suplex isn’t happening for Knight so Strowman runs him over for two. Strowman gets low bridged to the floor, where he easily cuts Knight off with a big boot. We take a break and come back with Strowman charging into a boot in the corner to give Knight a needed breather.

Knight sends him into the corner and now the belly to back suplex connects. The jumping elbow gets two on Strowman but the BFT is easily blocked. Strowman knocks him to the floor for the train but Jacob Fatu jumps Strowman for the DQ at 6:19. Not enough shown to rate but they didn’t get very far into it anyway.

Post match Fatu easily takes both of them out, with the running hip attacks rocking Strowman in the corner. The Moonsault makes it even worse.

Jimmy Uso is fired up after slapping Gunther on Raw because he knows that Jey Uso can beat Gunther at Wrestlemania. He runs into Miz and Carmelo Hayes, the former of whose insults set up a match tonight.

Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga yell at Jacob Fatu for what he just did, but Fatu isn’t having any of that. Fatu promises to be the last man standing with Strowman and promises to bring the US Title home to the family. He’ll do it with or without Sikoa.

Naomi talks about being someone who always wants to do the right thing. This includes taking out Jade Cargill last year. How can Cargill just show up out of nowhere and take Naomi’s place? Naomi has been an influence on people for the last ten years but now she’s tired of being just another third wheel. Moving forward, if Cargill will continue to be in her way, proceed with caution.

Cargill is looking for Naomi, who hasn’t been seen here. B-Fab and Michin come in to know Cargill will give Naomi what she has coming.

We see a shadowy person with smoke and Roman numerals popping up.

Michin vs. Charlotte

B-Fab is here with Michin….and they’re both jumped by Naomi before Charlotte comes to the ring. Cue Jade Cargill to chase Naomi off, with B-Fab having to be taken out. Charlotte comes out and has a staredown with Cargill on the way. The bell rings and Charlotte gets an early two as we take a slightly less early break.

Back with Michin fighting out of a chinlock and managing a tornado DDT for two. Charlotte kicks her in the head but Michin manages a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. The cannonball sets up Eat Defeat for two as Charlotte gets her foot on the rope, which has Michin annoyed. Charlotte gets up and goes after the leg, with the Figure Eight getting the fast tap at 7:39.

Rating: C+. Michin got in some offense here but there was no reason for her to be a serious threat to Charlotte, who is on her way to another title match at Wrestlemania. Let Michin shine a bit, then have Charlotte win in the end. That’s all this needed to be and they made it work well enough.

Tiffany Stratton mocks Charlotte’s insults to her last week, because that little girl is going to retain the Women’s Title over Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

We look at HHH’s entrances over the years.

Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre

Orton grabs a quickly broken headlock to start and McIntyre starts in on the back. McIntyre gets sent into the corner for some right hands and his shoulder goes into the post. They go outside, where Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with McIntyre working on the arm but Orton fights up and makes the clothesline comeback. The powerslam looks to set up the hanging DDT but McIntyre snaps the throat across the top. Orton fights back but cue Kevin Owens for a distraction. McIntyre hits the Claymore for the pin at 7:56.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t exactly their World Title matches from a few years ago but there is only so much you can do with about eight minutes. Owens coming out for the distraction is fine and gives McIntyre one of his bigger wins in a bit. That’s what he has been needing, even if it seems like he is heading for a showdown with Damian Priest at Wrestlemania.

Post match Owens goes after Orton but can’t hit the package piledriver on the announcers’ table. The Punt is loaded up but Owens gets away.

The orange luchador is confirmed to be Rey Fenix, who will debut next week.

Jimmy Uso vs. The Miz

Uso starts fast and hammers away but Miz is back up with some knees to the back. The running boot misses though and Uso clotheslines him to the floor. Another shot takes Miz into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. Back with Uso fighting up and striking away, only to get caught with a short arm clothesline. The DDT gives Miz two and the Yes Kicks connect. Uso is right back with a quick superkick and the Superfly Splash finishes at 7:52.

Rating: C. Another fairly short match tonight, with Uso getting some momentum before his likely destruction at the hands of Gunther on Raw. Miz is the perfect choice to give Uso a singles win as he’s been a made man for so long. Uso might not have much of a chance against Gunther, but at least he’s being built up well.

Post match Uso promises to take Gunther out on Raw.

Drew McIntyre meets a singer and goes to leave but runs into Damian Priest in the parking lot. The brawl is on and Priest chokeslams him through the windshield of a car. With Priest gone, CM Punk walks by and I managed to avoid a “real glass” joke.

We look back at the John Cena/Cody Rhodes segment from Raw.

Here is Nick Aldis to run the main event contract signing. Roman Reigns, with Paul Heyman, comes out first and appreciates the fans chanting his name. Even Heyman gets in on the act and Reigns is basking in his own glory. Reigns signs the contract and seems to think his night is done but here is Seth Rollins to interrupt.

Rollins talks about their history in this building and how they are on the same mission. Reigns points out that THEY died a long time ago, but Rollins points out the evil that is CM Punk. When Reigns had the chance to take Punk out, he let it go, which is why Rollins has to clean up Reigns’ mess again. Rollins signs as well, giving us two out of three.

This brings out Punk, who says he has come here to chew bubblegum and sign a contract, but he is all out of bubblegum. Punk starts looking through the contract, which has Reigns annoyed. Reigns: “Go to page four. Clause five. Come on junior this is TV today.” Heyman goes over to Punk and says he knows what Punk is looking for….and it’s in there: the match will be closing the show, making Punk a Wrestlemania main eventer.

Punk starts crying but Rollins snaps, shouting about how Punk doesn’t deserve it. Rollins blames Heyman and Reigns for letting this happen but Punk thanks the fans here and in Louisville, Kentucky for making this happen. Reigns wants the thanks for making this happen so the fans chant his name again. Punk thanks him as well, signs, and says he’ll see him in the main event of Wrestlemania….but that’s not the favor that he is owed.

Like him or not, Punk being in the main event of Wrestlemania is far from a stretch. It’s a genuinely emotional moment for him and that’s a great thing to see. The favor aspect makes things more intriguing, and Punk’s delivery of that line made me a lot more interested.

Overall Rating: B-. As is usually the case for Wrestlemania season, the wrestling wasn’t the point here. This was about getting things ready for the show, with the contract signing giving the match the big fight feel that it needs. This was a solid enough show, with stories advancing in some very nice ways. Now just keep it up for a few more weeks and everything will go on fine.

Results
Street Profits b. Pretty Deadly – Doomsday Blockbuster to Wilson
Piper Niven/Alba Fyre b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Piper Driver to Carter
Braun Strowman b. LA Knight when Jacob Fatu interfered
Charlotte b. Michin – Figure Eight
Drew McIntyre b. Randy Orton – Claymore
Jimmy Uso b. The Miz – Superfly Splash

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

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