It’s time for another AEW pay per view and as has been the case for a pretty good while now, things are not exactly feeling the most interesting at the moment. The World Title match doesn’t have the most personal setup and the rest of the show is feeling a bit hit or miss. That being said, the idea of AEW having a bad pay per view seems completely insane so I have quite a bit of confidence in what they are going to do. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Jun Akiyama vs. Eddie Kingston

This is a match that was added after this week’s Rampage went off the air. In short, this is Kingston’s dream match and….I’m struggling to come up with a reason that should interest me. Akiyama is a legend, but there is no real reason for the two of them to be fighting other than Kingston just saying he wanted it to happen. For some reason this is added to the pre-show and now the night is even longer than it needed to be.

I’ll go with Akiyama winning, as AEW seems to like the idea of doing everything they can to waste Kingston. I don’t remember the last time he had something important to do and while I’m sure he would love to do the honors for Akiyama, it doesn’t make any sense. That being said, I almost can’t picture Kingston winning anything more than a squash at this point so we’ll go with Akiyama here, despite a lack of logic for doing so.

Zero Hour: Best Friends vs. The Factory

Ten man tag and also added on Rampage, but at least there is a bit of a history here. This is a good choice for the Zero Hour as you have fan favorites like Orange Cassidy and Danhausen in there against a bunch of clueless putzes like the Factory. There is almost no way to screw this up and I have every confidence that AEW will do the right thing with this one.

Of course the Best Friends win here, likely with Cassidy Orange Punching let’s say Aaron Solo for the win. The fans can pop for the Best Friends spots, the Factory can get heat on one of them in the corner and Cassidy can come in as the hero. As goofy as it is, this is the kind of fun match that they need to have and it is nearly impossible to mess up, as it is almost a science at this point. Best Friends win a fun match.

Zero Hour: Full Gear Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Ricky Starks vs. Brian Cage

This is the semifinal instead of the final due to Starks being banged up last week, meaning things had to be changed up a bit (fair enough). The good thing is that there is a bit of history here as these two used to be part of Team Taz together so it isn’t a completely fresh match. Starks is going to be banged up because it’s a rather effective way to build towards a David vs. Goliath style match, but that might not be enough.

I’ll take Starks here, as I can’t imagine Cage vs. Ethan Page in the finals. Starks is a much more natural fit and after he gets the fire beaten out of him by Cage, we can get to the important part where he wins to move on to Dynamite. That is a formula that will work well and I think it is what we are going to get here, after what should be a better than expected match.

TNT Title: Wardlow(c) vs. Samoa Joe vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

This was added this week on Dynamite but it has been building for a good while. Wardlow is the monster at the moment but is up against a submission master and a literal powerhouse so this could be quite the issue. The match comes after Wardlow has been dealing with both of them, as Joe doesn’t like the idea of Wardlow getting multiple titles. Hence why his ROH TV Title isn’t on the line.

Wardlow retaining here makes the most sense so we’ll go with that, though I could absolutely go with Hobbs winning his first title here. Other than that, there is a good chance that this sets up the Wardlow vs. Joe showdown, which has a bit more of a background. For now though, this is going to be a hoss fight and that is a good thing to have on any show. We should be in for a fun one here though and if Wardlow wins, things are that much better.

Trios Titles: Death Triangle(c) vs. The Elite

Let’s get this one over with early. The Elite is back, so far with no explanation for where the heck they have been or what the vanishing videos meant (to be fair, we haven’t actually heard from them yet) but it’s already back to the title picture. There are going to be some fans who are mad about the Elite being back and vice versa, but they are in a title match and that is what we are going to be seeing.

I’ll go with what the result should be here, which would be Death Triangle retaining. I would hope that AEW wouldn’t look at their biggest scandal in history, shrug, and move right back to what they were doing before the Elite were suspended. That being said, the Elite is the reason the titles were around in the first place so them winning the titles back wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. I’ll go with Death Triangle retaining, but with absolutely no confidence.

Luchasaurus vs. Jungle Boy

We’re in a cage here and that should be an obvious ending, but that isn’t often how things work around here. Jungle Boy’s focus continues to be on ultimately getting his hands on Christian Cage, who isn’t ready to get back in the ring just yet. Therefore, we get a big showdown with the monster instead, which could make quite a nice moment for Jungle Boy, assuming it is done right.

Jungle Boy winning here would be the right call so we’ll go with that, as it should clear him out to get Jungle Boy ready for Cage (not the cage, but Cage) down the line. The question now is how far down the line, but even still, this feud has already been stretched out quite a long time already. Cage turned on Jungle Boy four months ago so it would be nice to get to the point, but for now, Jungle Boy wins.

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal vs. Sting/Darby Allin

There are two things that come to me as I think about this match. First: someone watched Ric Flair’s match, looked at the team that Flair BEAT, and thought “yeah I want them here two”. Second: Allin has completely stopped developing or evolving. How long has he been Sting’s partner or at the same level in AEW? It feels like years at this point, which isn’t good when the company isn’t four years old.

Of course this is Sting and Allin’s match to win, as I believe they are still undefeated as a team and aren’t about to lose their first match to Lethal and Jarrett. Bringing Jarrett in is one thing but I don’t think even AEW is insane enough to have him go out and win a match on pay per view in his debut. That being said, having him IN a match on pay per view is enough of a sign of insanity that it has me wondering about everything else. But yeah, Sting and Allin win here.

Britt Baker vs. Saraya

Here is your terrifying match of the show, as Saraya lasted what, a month or two in her last return to the ring? This has already become the top feud in the women’s division as Toni Storm sheds another tear for her completely dead in the water title reign. The interesting thing about this match though is they seem to be doing a double turn with Saraya becoming a heel to Baker’s face, and that could shake things up a bit.

As much sense as it would make for Baker to stand up for AEW and win here as a face after so much awesomeness as a heel, I’ll go with Saraya to win. It would be almost insane to bring her in and have her lose after several years away, but letting her say some of the things she has said is questionable enough. Saraya wins here, but it is going to be interesting in a confusing and terrifying way at the same time.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Nyla Rose

Even though Rose has the title itself. I have a bad feeling that I know what this is going to be and that makes me rather sad. There is little to no reason for Cargill to be having the same matches she has been doing for a year plus now, but that is what AEW seems to have her doing time after time. At some point she needs to be able to do something else and that has not come just yet. At least now Rose has been doing something different with Cargill for a bit, they have to take the next step.

As much as I would love for Rose to win here so Cargill can FINALLY move on to something else, I think they’ll have Cargill retain here and get the title back so we can get back into what she has been doing for months on end. Cargill badly needs to evolve at least a little bit because the undefeated streak is killing her growth at this point, but she keeps the title here, even if she shouldn’t.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed(c) vs. Swerve In Our Glory

It’s almost weird to see a trilogy match in AEW but that is where we are with this one. It isn’t a bad idea for the most part as there is a story behind it, but with so many good teams in AEW, it is a little rough seeing the same match so many times. That being said, the Acclaimed is so crazy popular that you need to have them doing something and they should be in for another good one here.

Acclaimed retains here, as there is no reason for them to lose here as they are still crazy popular. This needs to end the feud though, as Swerve In Our Glory has gotten everything they can out of the feud already. I’m not sure what is next for the Acclaimed, but as long as they keep getting this kind of a reaction, they shouldn’t be anywhere close to losing the titles anytime soon.

Interim Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Jamie Hayter

Poor Storm. She came here to get away from nonsense in WWE and now she not only gets stuck behind (at least) Saraya vs. Baker and Cargill, but she has to be the INTERIM champion, just rubbing in the idea that she isn’t the first choice. Since Tony Khan is incapable of letting the interim deal go, this is what we get here, even if Thunder Rosa is STILL gone with nothing to indicate she will be back soon.

In addition to all of her problems, I think Storm loses the title here, as Hayter is on a roll right now and it would give her a boost to the next level. Storm is dead in the water at the moment and there is no reason for her to keep the title. Give it to Hayter and drop the interim thing so we can move on and have a decent reign, because Hayter (and Storm) is good enough to get such treatment.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara

The Ring Of Honor obsession continues as we have the match that has gotten more focus on TV in recent months. I’m as shocked as you are that Jericho is still one of the top stars around but here we are. This is at least a Ring Of Honor style match and it should be action packed. Unfortunately it should also be the end of the story, but I don’t think that is where we are going.

Instead I’ll take Jericho to retain here, likely to set up the big savior of Ring Of Honor (possibly Castagnoli or Danielson) at Final Battle. There is also the chance that Guevara turns on Jericho to win the title, only to reunite with him for the 49^th or so time a month later, but for now I’ll say Jericho retains, setting up his big loss in a few weeks, which will totally happen. For sure. No question about it.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

So here we are, with the other match that has gotten some serious focus, though the match still feels like it isn’t that personal. Again, that is the problem with what is more or less a Money In The Bank briefcase title shot: there is no reason for the match to happen other than the challenger saying “we’ll do it then”. That doesn’t leave things feeling personal and the build has been a bit off as a result.

As for a winner….they have to put it on MJF here right? If they don’t, I don’t know what else there is to do. That being said, there is a rather strong chance that it happens at the hands of William Regal turning on Moxley, setting up a heck of a promo down the line. If nothing else, that is the kind of storyline shakeup that they need. We can worry about things after that later, but MJF needs to walk out of here as a villainous champion and they have set the stage perfectly.

Overall Thoughts

The show does have a lot of potential because of the talent involved, but it also has a lot of matches, which tends to be an issue for AEW shows. I still don’t need this thing to be close to five hours, but that is probably where we are going. They need to stick the landing with some stuff here and there are a lot of problems that the company needs to solve in the grand scheme of things. The good news it that AEW knows how to nail pay per views and there is a strong chance they’ll do it again here.

Dynamite
Date: November 16, 2022
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the go home show for Full Gear and that means the card could still use some work. If nothing else, we need to have some more matches in the Contenders tournament as the finals are still set for Saturday. Other than that, odds are we’ll be hearing from MJF and Jon Moxley. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

It’s a brawl to start with the Club elbowing away at Guevara and Jericho, followed by a surfboard to Guevara. Back up and Guevara hits a dropkick to take over, allowing Jericho to come in for the chops in the corner. Danielson fights out and scores with the running dropkicks to Guevara but tries once too often. Jericho gets in a cheap shot from the floor and we take a break.

Back with Danielson getting double suplexed but managing to get over for the hot tag to Castagnoli. House is cleaned and a running clothesline gets two on Jericho. Danielson breaks up the Walls to Castagnoli with a top rope missile dropkick, allowing Castagnoli to make the tag this time.

Everything breaks down again and Danielson reverses the GTH into the LeBell Lock. Jericho comes back in and stereo crossbodies put he and Danielson down. Back up and Jericho goes for the bat, only to have Castagnoli grab him for the Swing. The Sharpshooter makes Jericho tap at 17:30.

Rating: B-. This one got the time that it needed for people this talented, but at the same time it doesn’t give me much hope for Castagnoli’s chances on Saturday. I’m not sure who leaves as champion, but the more I think about it, the more likely Jericho seems. Either way, they had a good one here, with everyone working hard to make it go well.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. MJF.

Video on Darby Allin being pulled out of the grave in a body bag and put in the back of a car. Sting is driving and they’re coming to Full Gear.

Jeff Jarrett and company are ready to end Sting and Darby Allin.

We get the new Acclaimed music video, complete with Paul Wight reprising his role as Captain Insano from the Waterboy. The gist of the song: they don’t like Swerve In Our Glory and no one else does either.

Swerve Strickland vs. Anthony Bowens

Everyone else is ejected so we can start the brawl on the floor, with Swerve being send face first into the steps. They head inside for the opening bell and then fight back to the floor, with Swerve knocking him over the barricade as we take an early break. Back with Bowens sending him into the corner for a kick to the head. A suplex drops Swerve for two more but he’s right back with a snap to the arm. The Swerve Stomp gets two in a bit of a surprise kickout but the JML Driver puts Bowens away at 9:33.

Rating: C. Strickland winning here makes sense as it isn’t like Bowens has any real history as a singles star. I also like the lack of shenanigans at ringside, as it is something that has been done to death in AEW. There’s a little too much going on in a match like this and they went with the simpler version here. Saturday should be a fun match and they did a fine enough job to set things up.

Video on Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill, complete with the talking heads.

Here is Samoa Joe for a chat. He was tired of Wardlow overstepping his bounds but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to interrupt. Hobbs says Joe is late to the party because Hobbs is the one who has been beating up Wardlow for the last few weeks. The fight is almost on but here is Wardlow to take Joe down. The big fight is on now with security and wrestlers having to come in to break it up.

Britt Baker talks about how Saraya has stared her down time after time. No, Baker has never wrestled in Madison Square Garden but she wrestled in Daily’s Place for years to keep this place going. The fans say her catchphrases with her and she is happy to walk the roads that Saraya helped pave. She isn’t going to have Saraya talk down to everyone though because she is stuck in the past. This is Baker’s house. And this was a 100% face promo, as they’re looking really close to a double turn.

Trios Titles: Death Triangle vs. Top Flight/AR Fox

Death Triangle is defending and Dante knocks Penta to the floor to start as commentary talks about Fox’s career (as they should, as he might not be known to the audience). Fox comes in and ducks Pac’s clothesline, setting up a jumping enziguri to knock him into the corner. Top Flight launches Pac into a cutter from Fox but stereo dives are cut off by kicks to the face from the champs. The Bros kick all three challengers down and we take a break.

Back with the challengers fighting back and sending Death Triangle outside, setting up a big springboard inverted dive from Fox. Back in and a 450 gives Fox two with Pac having to make a save. The Bros are back up for a spike Fear Factor and the double flip dive onto Top Flight. The Black Arrow finishes Fox at 11:31.

Rating: C+. They went with the insanity here, which tends to be the case with these matches. Fox and Top Flight could be a decent team, but it isn’t like there is anything involving any teams other than Death Triangle and the Elite. Just get us to the title rematch on Saturday, which should be all set up by the end of the night.

Post match Pac asks the fans if they think Death Triangle is stupid. They know some people are coming back, and that trio (who he never names) can come see them at Full Gear. Those three know who they are and we get the Death Triangle vs. Elite graphic for Saturday. Pac is pleased.

Ricky Starks was taken out by Lance Archer last week but now they’ll do it for real on Rampage. This time though: let’s just start backstage so Starks can hurt him all the way to the ring.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Bandido vs. Ethan Page

Page has Stokely Hathaway with him. Bandido spins around to start and shows him the finger guns. It’s never a good sign when a wrestler is threatening to shoot on you fifteen seconds in. Page knocks him down and takes over as we go to an early break. Back with Page missing a charge into the corner and getting sent face first into the middle buckle.

Bandido kicks him down but the 21 Plex is blocked, allowing Page to hit a springboard cutter for two. Back up and Bandido hits the one armed gorilla press (that’s insane) setting up a frog splash for two. The super fall away slam is broken up and the Ego’s Edge finishes Bandido at 9:05.

Rating: C+. This Page push continues to elude me. He is by no means bad but it would seem that there are several other stars on the roster who would be ready for a push. They are at least trying with someone new though and that is a good thing, even if it means Bandido losing another match.

Video on Luchasaurus vs. Jungle Boy in a cage.

Saraya is tired of talking about Britt Baker and wants to just do this.

Video on Eddie Kingston/Ortiz vs. Jun Akiyama/Konosuke Takeshita on Rampage.

Anna Jay vs. Toni Storm

Non-title. They go to the mat to start for a bit before Storm gets caught in the corner. A Backstabber brings her back out and we take a break. Back with Storm fighting out of trouble and hitting the running hip attack to knock her off the apron. Jay is back with her not so great looking roll into a kick but the Queenslayer is broken up. Storm hits another running hip attack in the corner, setting up the Texas Cloverleaf for the tap at 6:49.

Rating: C. Storm gets a win before Saturday, as I try to get my head around this being a match for Jay to possibly become #1 contender to the Interim title. This whole thing has fallen so far down that they need to reset a lot of pieces to make it work. Not that they will, but Storm losing the title might be the way to go, just for the sake of getting away from this mess.

Post match Jamie Hayter comes out for the staredown with Toni Storm.

Full Gear rundown.

Here is Jon Moxley with William Regal for the big push towards the World Title match. Moxley talks about how he is the champ and talks trash but backs it up. He loves to fight because he is sick in the head but it has gotten him this far today. Last week he asked who MJF is and has found out some things about him. It turns out MJF is a good singer who took a vacation after dealing with Brian Pillman Jr. before coming back as the devil and winning a poker chip in the worst ending to a ladder match he’s ever seen.

Moxley is ready to beat him but here is the Firm to beat Moxley and Jericho down. Cue MJF for the save and he grabs a mic. MJF makes it clear: he did this so Moxley has no excuses on Saturday and gets in Regal’s face as a bonus. After a quick Pipebomb quote, MJF talks about how he needs to win the title because he needs it more than air.

MJF says that yeah he’s the devil, and the greatest trick he ever pulled is convincing the world that he doesn’t exist. Moxley cuts off the catchphrase though and says he never saw the big deal with MJF. At Full Gear, he’ll find out if MJF has it, but if not, on Sunday (Moxley: “Is the show Saturday or Sunday? Saturday.”), the training wheels come off. Not a great promo, but there is no reason for these two to be mad at each other, so Moxley has little more to say besides “yeah I’m going to beat him” over and over.

Overall Rating: C+. For a regular show this was pretty good but it did very little to make me want to see Full Gear. There wasn’t anything overly noteworthy and the stuff that was added to the show did very little for me. AEW is in a pretty solid funk right now and Full Gear isn’t looking like the show that will get them out of it. This week was another instance of the wrestling bailing out weak almost everything else, but that is only going to last so long. Not a great show, especially by Dynamite standards.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli/Bryan Danielson b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Sharpshooter to Jericho
Swerve Strickland b. Anthony Bowens – JML Driver
Death Triangle b. Top Flight/AR Fox – Black Arrow to Fox
Ethan Page b. Bandido – Ego’s Edge
Toni Storm b. Anna Jay – Texas Cloverleaf

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Dynamite
Date: November 9, 2022
Location: Aggaris Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We are just over a week away from Full Gear and the card could use some help. So far the main matches are a four way for the Ring Of Honor World Title and MJF challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title. Other than that we a few title matches and the finals of a tournament that hasn’t started yet. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Gunn Club/Swerve In Our Glory vs. FTR/Acclaimed

Billy Gunn storms the ring before the bell but gets ejected for jumping Swerve. We settle down to Wheeler hammering on Swerve in the corner as the fans are rather pleased with the goings on. The good guys take turns on Swerve, including the scissoring from the Acclaimed, as everything breaks down, with the four villains getting punches rained down in the corner.

We take a break and come back with Harwood suplexing his way out of trouble and avoiding a splash in the corner. The hot tag brings in Bowens as everything breaks down, including the Gunn Club stealing the Big Rig. All eight get up for the big showdown and it’s Lee picking Bowens up to swing into various people (points for a cool visual). A spinning forearm strike to the back of the head drops Bowens and a corkscrew dive off the top takes out the big pile.

Harwood is back up with a superplex to send Colton onto the pile. Back in and Austin does a Road Dogg shaky punch (complete with a crotch chop) but gets pulled into a Sharpshooter (that feels like a reference to Road Dogg saying he was a better sports entertainer than Bret Hart earlier this week) from Harwood. Everything breaks down and we hit the finisher parade until the Big Rig gives Bowens the pin on Austin at 12:05.

Rating: B-. Hot tag match to start and that is always a smart way to go. At the same time, you get the Tag Team Title feud for the pay per view on the show and FTR…well I’m sure they’ll face the Gunn Club at some point. For now though, it’s a good eight man tag with a fast pace and almost all action.

We hear from MJF on the Pardon My Take podcast, where he says he is banged up from the Acclaimed’s beating. His focus is on Jon Moxley at Full Gear because MJF is a generational talent. MJF is ready to face Moxley, who really impresses him because of everything he has done over the years.

After all of those years of working for $15 after driving hundreds of miles, Moxley has become the #1 star in the world but now the throne is up for the taking. MJF has had other people take the spotlight from him throughout his career, from a neck tattoo to Matt Hardy taking a fall to a year of Chris Jericho to a press conference. Now though, he is coming for the title because he is MJF. The mic gold is plentiful with this one.

Stokely Hathaway talks about how he thought he and MJF were friends but now he’ll do things however he can. He’ll also see Max in h***.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament First Round: Ethan Page vs. Eddie Kingston

Stokely Hathaway and Ortiz are the seconds. Page bails into the corner to start but comes right back with a middle rope shoulder. That’s enough to Kingston to the floor for a shoulder off the apron, meaning it’s time to stomp away on the floor. Back in and Kingston snaps off a butterfly suplex, only to be taken back to the floor for a suplex from Page.

We take a break and come back with the two of them slugging it out from their knees. The Stretch Plum goes on Page but Hathaway offers a distraction so the tap is missed. Back up and Page kicks Kingston in the head, only to get caught up top. That’s fine with Page, who hits a super Ego’s Edge for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C+. The ending looked great as Kingston went flying, but it’s a little weird to see Page getting a push all of a sudden. He’s fine enough but out of everyone on the roster, him? Then again this is just winning the first round of a #1 contenders tournament so it might not mean anything, but it’s still coming a bit out of nowhere.

Jose the Assistant tells the Dark Order that once Rush wins the World Title, he’ll give 10 the first title shot. The others members will never get one, so John Silver calls him a Rush (Roosh) bag. The fight is on.

Here is Ari Daivari to offer his butler to Wardlow for the TNT Title.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Ari Daivari

Wardlow, with Samoa Joe, retains with a four movement Powerbomb Symphony at 1:47, with some clotheslines in between.

Post match Wardlow calls out Powerhouse eHobbs for a fight so here he comes….and Samoa Joe decks Wardlow, setting up the Koquina Clutch. Joe glares at Hobbs before leaving. Unify the titles and we’re all good.

Nyla Rose is ready to take the TBS Title back at Full Gear.

Tony Schiavone brings out Britt Baker and Saraya for a face to face chat. Saraya gets to the point: she is cleared to return to the ring and therefore this is HER HOUSE. Baker mocks her for being a “superstar” and coming to the place Baker helped make. She doesn’t remember Saraya laying a single brick but now Saraya is walking into her house. Baker: “We don’t take walk-ins so b****, make an appointment.”

Saraya talks about how long she has been in this business and how Baker has everything handed to her. Saraya worked all over the UK for free and wrestled the same day she was hit by a car. She has what it takes to be a superstar and has been in MSG, the 02 and the Tokyo Dome.

Baker doesn’t know what it’s like to be publicly humiliated and battle her drug addiction in front of the world. At Full Gear, it’s Saraya vs. Baker, so Baker tries to jump her. That just earns Baker a whatever we’re calling the Rampaige now. The fans were SILENT for Saraya’s promo, which came off as the most condescending, talking down speech I’ve heard in a long time.

The Best Friends run into the Factory in a stairwell and after some Danhausen yelling, we get Lee Johnson vs. Orange Cassidy for the All-Atlantic Title on Rampage.

Earlier today, the Best Friends ran into Jay Lethal and company, where accusations of scumbaggery were made. Trent vs. Lethal was set up for later.

Trent vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal chop blocks him during the entrance and starts in on the leg after the bell. A dragon screw legwhip drops Trent but here are Chuck Taylor and Danhausen as we take a break. Back with Trent rolling some suplexes, setting up a half and half superplex. The running knee looks to set up the Strong Zero but we pause for Danhausen to try and curse Satnam Singh. Instead he punches Sonjay Dutt low, leaving Trent to jump Singh. The distraction lets Lethal hit a Lethal Injection for the pin at 7:15.

Rating: C. This was a case where the action was fine enough, but my goodness it is nearly impossible to care about Lethal and company. They’re the most midcard team I can imagine and adding in Jeff Jarrett hasn’t made them any more interesting. The match was ok enough, but a standard distraction finish isn’t the way to get around the boring that is Lethal.

Post match Dutt brings out Jeff Jarrett, who puts over Satnam Singh as being a real monster (while taking a shot at Braun Strowman). Jarrett is told to wrap it up so he chases a stage manager off with the guitar.

Jungle Boy wants to end this with Luchasaurus and Christian Cage so the challenge is made for Rampage.

Here is Jon Moxley with William Regal for a chat. Moxley talks about the first time he met Regal and wanting to be just like him. He tried to pick a fight with Regal and the beating was very bad. Then Moxley got mad and kneed Regal’s ear off his head. That was enough for Regal to take Moxley under his wing, but then the real work began.

Moxley is getting ready for MJF, who he first fought about a year or two ago. They know that MJF has potential and want him to fulfill it, but MJF doesn’t know what it means to have any pressure on him. Then MJF started calling himself the devil, but Moxley has met the devil and looked into his eyes. MJF is not the devil and doesn’t know what is coming for him. Pretty standard stuff but Moxley can sell it well.

More Elite deletion vignettes.

Video on the Ring Of Honor four way World Title match with Chris Jericho defending against Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson.

Skye Blue vs. Jamie Hayter

Rebel, Britt Baker and Toni Storm are here too. They go straight to the floor to start with Blue getting in a shot to the face but Baker offers a distraction. Hayter grabs a backbreaker into a suplex and we take a break. Back with Blue hitting an enziguri into the Code Red for two. Not that it matters as Hayter grabs the ripcord lariat for the pin at 6:45.

Rating: C. I have no idea why this needed the extra time for a break, but Hayter continues to feel like a force. She has the look, the power game and the fans seem into her. That is a great combination and I’m not sure why she needed that much time to be Skye Blue. It’s ok to wreck more than one person a show and it would have worked here.

Post match, Storm chases Hayter off.

Video on Dante Martin vs. Brian Cage in the #1 contenders tournament.

Lance Archer beats up Ricky Starks before their tournament match.

Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara

2/3 falls, Tay Melo is here with Sammy and William Regal is on commentary. Danielson starts fast with the strikes but Sammy picks up the flips and dropkicks him to the floor. The suicide dive is cut off though and Danielson hits a missile dropkick to the floor. Danielson looks at Melo so Sammy throws a chair at him for the DQ and the first fall at 2:22.

Sammy unloads with mic shots to the head and eye as we take a break. Back with Danielson’s eye busted open and Sammy looking rather cocky. Sammy hits a great looking GTH to tie it up at 7:42. Danielson gets in a few shots but Sammy jumps the ropes (with a bit of a slip). That’s fine with Danielson, who knocked him down but misses a Swan Dive. Sammy slaps on the Crossface but Danielson makes the rope as we take a break.

Back with Melo being ejected and Danielson tying him in the Tree of Woe for the YES Kicks. Sammy gets out though and hits a hard running knee to knock Danielson to the floor. A shooting star takes Danielson down in a heap but he’s right back with the LeBell Lock back inside. That’s countered into the Walls of Jericho but Danielson slips out and knees Sammy in the head. The LeBell Lock goes on and Danielson cranks it up with….let’s call it a LeBell Rings of Saturn for the third fall and the win at 20:37.

Rating: B. These guys put in some work and it does help them get ready for the Full Gear match. Daniels winning here is a bit of a surprise but it certainly isn’t a ridiculous stretch. The four way should be good as it does feel like a match where any of them could win and this served as a nice preview, with the 2/3 falls being a nice way to give Sammy a pin.

Overall Rating: B-. Solid show throughout, but there wasn’t any big thing that was must see. The good thing is that they built up Full Gear in a way that they needed to and that helped the card a lot. The wrestling was mostly good and I’m more interested in the pay per view than I was before so I’ll take that as a nice use of two hours.

Result
Acclaimed/FTR b. Gunn Club/Swerve Glory – Big Rig to Austin
Ethan Page b. Eddie Kingston – Super Ego’s Edge
Wardlow b. Ari Daivari – Powerbomb Symphony
Jay Lethal b. Trent – Lethal Injection
Jamie Hayter b. Skye Blue – Ripcord lariat
Bryan Danielson b. Sammy Guevara 2-1

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

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Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 30, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

I’ve been having more and more fun with this show every week for more than one reasons. One of the fun things about this show is trying to figure out what I’m actually watching, as some of the labeling isn’t exactly correct. That very well may be the situation again here and that makes for some fun times. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Parsons runs down the card.

From Memphis from some time in the 80s, possibly February 5, 1983.

Fabulous Ones/Bill Dundee/Dutch Mantell vs. Destroyers/Marauder/Invader

2/3 falls. Dundee slams Destroyer #1 down to start and then grabs a headlock takeover to put him down. Stan Lane comes in and snapmares #1 over as the pace picks up. Well as much as it is going to pick up in an eight man tag in Memphis. Steve Keirn slams #1 into the corner so Marauder can come in and get forearmed in the face. Er, mask. It’s back to Dundee for another slam and Invader comes in to punch him in the face. Er, fa…never mind. The eternally hairy Mantell comes in for all of three seconds before the Fabs hit a double clothesline to give Dundee the pin and the first fall at 2:48.

The second fall begins with Dundee stomping on the Marauder’s ribs as the dominance continues in full. Dundee even messes with Marauder’s mask so we pause for an adjustment before Lane comes in for a backbreaker. There’s a side suplex and Mantell comes in, only to have Dundee cut off an invading, uh, Invader.

Commentary says we have about a minute left as Dundee takes Marauder down with ease. Invader comes in and gets punched in the face over and over, allowing Keirn to come in for a jumping right hand. It’s back to Marauder so the Fabs can hit a hot shot for the fast pin and the two fall sweep at 6:16 total.

Rating: C-. This was a match where the idea was to get some stars in the ring and in front of a camera rather than anything competitive. As such, it was little more than target practice for the big names, which is what you would get in a lot of these matches. It was perfectly fine for what it was and it’s always cool to see some of these legends back when they were just the stars of the day for a change.

From Portland, likely in 1983-84.

Chris Colt vs. Brian Adidas

Colt is a name that you might not have heard of but he WAY ahead of his time with the weird, oddball style. They trade waistlocks to start as we hear about Buddy Rose sending a hitman (apparently at ringside) to go after Curt Hennig. Colt grabs a full nelson but Adidas sends him into the corner as we keep talking about Hennig and the hitman. With that going nowhere, Colt grabs a headlock as commentary talks about beverages. A backdrop sends Colt bailing to the floor for a breather as it’s kind of amazing to see how banged up the ring posts and ropes really are.

Back in and some dropkicks rock Colt, whose arms get tied up in the ropes. Colt needs a breather as we hear about an upcoming live event. A missed charge in the corner lets Colt start in on the arm until a headlock takeover….doesn’t really work that well for Adidas. Back up and Colt grabs the referee so he breaks it up, even holding Colt’s arms so Adidas can punch him to the floor. The referee raises Adidas’ arm for the win, presumably by DQ at 6:21.

Rating: C. And this is why I love this show. Where else are you going to see a Chris Colt match on TV these days? This was a total out of nowhere match with a pretty simple story of cheating vs. skill and it worked out well enough. I could have gone for some better commentary but for what we got here, I was invested in a short TV match from about 40 years ago so I’d call it a success.

Here’s the preview for next week.

From Memphis again. No date given but a little research seems to suggest around 1987.

Jimmy Jack Funk vs. Manny Fernandez

It’s a fight to start with Fernandez missing a dropkick and getting dropped throat first across the top for his efforts. Funk drops a fist to the head for two but Fernandez runs him over for a double knockdown. There’s a knee drop for two on Funk and the Flying Burrito gets two as Teijo Khan comes in to jump Fernandez for the DQ at 2:58. I’ve always liked Fernandez and it’s cool to see him here.

Post match Jack and Khan destroy Fernandez with a loaded glove. Jeff Jarrett makes the save with a broom, which would put this in late 1987/early 1988.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a nice mixture of stuff and a good example of why I look forward to this show every week. Sometimes you just need some random wrestling to have some fun and that is what you got here. It’s a really easy show to watch and the research of finding out what I’m seeing is a lot of fun. Check this out, if you can ever find it, or just throw something old on Youtube.

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Ric Flair’s Last Match
Date: July 31, 2022
Location: Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, David Crockett, Ian Riccaboni

We had to get here eventually and I’m not that happy about it. This is a show that I haven’t really wanted to watch since it was announced and that hasn’t changed since. While I absolutely respect what he did in the ring, I’m not the biggest Flair fan and seeing him do something this risky isn’t something I particularly needed to see. The good thing is that this is a full show and the undercard looks pretty awesome, but it’s all leading to one thing and that has me dreading the show. Let’s get to it.

This is billed as a Jim Crockett Promotions event for old times’ sake.

Pre-Show: Ren Narita vs. Yuya Uemura

They go with the grappling to start and get to a standoff as Crockett seemingly has no idea who either of them are. Tony doesn’t either, but at least he seems more interested. Narita gets the better of a chop off (Crockett: “They wish they could be Ric Flair.”) and kicks him in the back a few times, only to run into a dropkick.

A running clothesline in the corner sets up a running bulldog out of the corner before starting in on the arm. Something close to Antonio Inoki’s cobra twist has Narita in trouble but he comes back with a German suplex for two. Back up and they slug it out until Narita counters a charge into a belly to belly suplex with a bridge for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. This isn’t designed to be a great match or anything close to it but they were able to go out there and do their moves until one of them got the pin. That isn’t a bad thing and it works very well for a spot like this. Good enough match here as Narita and Uemura continue to showcase themselves well and grow in front of your eyes.

Bunkhouse Battle Royal

Sinn Bodhi, James Storm, Bully Ray, Mance Warner, 1 Called Manders, Gringo Loco, Kommander, Joey Janela, Kal Herro, Big Damo, Blake Christian, Crimson, Jordan Oliver, Rickey Shane Page, Wolfie D, Effy, Matthew Justice, Crowbar

It’s a brawl to start (of course) but after about a minute, here is Nick Gage to lead a GCW invasion, as he promised last night at a GCW show. Storm hits Herro with the Eye of the Storm and tosses him out and there goes Damo as well. Some double teaming takes Crimson out and Loco moonsaults out onto Damo to eliminate himself. Kommander runs the top rope and eliminates himself as well and Janela tosses Wolfie D.

Bodhi whips out a spare ring rope for some choking but gets kicked out. Effy crotches Crowbar on top and plays D-Von in an old What’s Up. The Ray tosses him, as well as Justice, Manders and Oliver in a roll. We’re down to Warner, Ray, Storm and Janela, with the latter two being knocked out. Ray drops Warner and loads up a table, with Warner being powerbombed through. Then Warner tosses him to win at 11:23.

Rating: D+. You’re only going to be able to get so much out of this as it was a pretty fast battle royal with an invasion angle going on in the middle. Warner winning is fine, and it was nice to see them go that route instead of the expected way with Storm or Ray. Not much to see here, but you know what you’re getting with a battle royal.

Warner wins a cowboy boot and belt buckle because of course he does.

Bob Caudle (92 years old on Tuesday) welcomes us to the show and sends us to ringside.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. American Wolves

Scott D’Amore is on commentary and Chris Sabin works on Davey Richards’ wrist to start. Richards spins out and kicks the arm for the break, only to get armdragged into the corner. Edwards comes in but Shelley tags himself in and slaps on a sleeper. The Guns start taking over in the corner with the alternating kicks but Richards comes back in for a cheap shot. Some alternating kicks put Shelley down and commentary starts making Rock N Roll Express vs. Midnight Express comparisons.

Richards puts Shelley down and gets a running start to kick Sabin off the apron. The Wolves grab stereo submissions but Sabin Edwards away and into the other two for the double break. Richards dragon screw legwhips Shelley’s knee onto the ropes but misses a top rope double stomp. Shelley takes both Wolves down at once and the hot tag brings in Sabin to clean house.

The missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination drops Richards for two but Edwards is back in with a superkick. Edwards’ backpack Stunner sets up the top rope double stomp with Sabin having to make a save. Sabin cutters Edwards and it’s the Dream Sequence for Richards. Skull and Crossbones finishes Edwards at 10:49.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of hot opening match you want to have and it worked well. These teams are going to have a solid match against each other through talent alone and that was on display here. The Guns are one of the best teams of their generation and the Wolves were good if you can handle Richards, making this a fast paced opener, as it was designed to be.

Video on some great moments of Jim Crockett Promotions.

Various wrestlers are here, including Vickie Guerrero, Santino Marella, Al Snow and Mick Foley.

Killer Kross vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

This is an MLW showcase. Scarlett Bordeaux is here with Kross, who has hair for a weird look. Smith drives him into the corner for a clean break to start so Kross takes it to the mat. The headscissors is escaped with a nip up and Smith cranks on the arm. The hammerlock goes on and we go to a wide shot for no apparent reason. They trade belly to back suplexes before a slugout goes to Smith. Back up and Kross pulls him into the Krossjacket but Smith flips back to escape. A t-bone suplex drops Bulldog again and it’s the Quickening (running forearm to the back of the head) to finish for Kross at 5:25.

Rating: C. They kept this one quick but the only thing that mattered was the belly to back suplexes. Smith is someone who should have all of the tools to be a top star but the lack of charisma hurts him a good bit. Then you have Kross, who feels like a killer (appropriately enough) and just isn’t that great in the ring. Mix those two together and you have something, but for now it’s two people missing something important.

More legends (Booker T., Shawn Michaels), plus Will Sasso, talk about what Ric Flair means.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Alan Angels vs. Nick Wayne

The winner gets a future Progress World Title shot and I’ve never actually seen Wayne. He gets A LOT of praise though but I’ve never seen a match. Ian Riccaboni joins commentary to spruce things up a bit. Gresham seems a bit more enthusiastic here than he did at Death Before Dishonor. Angels and Gresham start things off but Gresham is sent outside and since lucha rules (because of course it is), Wayne comes in and sends Angels outside. Takeshita comes in with a running clothesline to put Wayne on the floor but it’s too early for the dive.

Gresham is back in to kick Takeshita down but Angels takes Takeshita’s place. Back in and Takeshita forearms Angels down before blasting him with a clothesline. Wayne grabs a Code Red for two on Angels but has to flip out of Takeshita’s German suplex. The Blue Thunder Bomb drops Wayne for two and everything breaks down. Angels and Wayne moonsault off the top and out to the floor for the big crash. Back in and Gresham drops Takeshita and Wayne, setting up the suicide dive to Angels. Gresham takes Angels back in and, after shrugging off the cradle attempt, tied Angels up for the rollup pin at 5:38.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced match with so much crammed in that it felt like it could have been twice that long. Gresham is the most successful star here and him going on to the title match makes sense, though Wayne was looking smooth while he was in there. Takeshita was good as usual, with Angels continuing to be fast but small, which leaves him as just kind of a person.

Cody Rhodes sends in a video talking about how great he and his dad both think Flair is.

Rock N Roll Express vs. Brian Pillman Jr./Brock Anderson

That would be Ricky and Kerry Morton with Robert Gibson in their corner to counter Arn Anderson. Pillman and Brock have the 1990s Horsemen shirts to make things extra awesome. Nick Aldis joins commentary as the revolving door continues. I’m not sure if the bell rang but Pillman and Kerry start things off with Pillman taking him down without much trouble. They trade wristlock reversals until Kerry kicks him in the face to take over.

Pillman gets caught between the Mortons and pingponged back and forth with right hands. Brock comes in and wants Ricky, who kicks him into the corner and hammers away. It’s back to Kerry for the double dropkick but Brock takes Kerry into the corner for the tag off to Pillman. Kerry manages to send Brock into Pillman in the corner for a breather and the hot tag brings in Ricky. Everything breaks down and a Pillman cheap shot sends Ricky into a gordbuster to give Brock the pin at 7:39.

Rating: C. I get what they were going for here and the Express vs. Horsemen theme was a good idea, but Ricky and Kerry doesn’t have the same ring as Ricky and Robert. Pillman is someone else who seems to have a bunch of the tools but it hasn’t quite clicked yet. The match was another case where it wasn’t bad, but nothing I’ll remember in about five minutes.

JJ Dillon is here.

Bandido vs. Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rey Fenix

It’s a brawl to start with Taurus clearing the ring early on. Fenix and Kid are left alone with Kid shrugging off a chop and hitting a tornado DDT. A tiger driver plants Fenix but Kid misses a dive. Taurus comes back in and gets kicked in the face in the corner. Bandido is back in as well and gets caught with a rolling cutter from Fenix. Bandido sends Fenix outside and hits the one armed gorilla press on Kid.

There’s the running headscissors on Taurus but Kid knocks Bandido outside. Taurus dives onto everyone at ringside and then beats them up back inside as well. Bandido catches Taurus up top but he’s fine enough to super gorilla press Kid back down. Everyone is staggered and Taurus is sent outside, where Bandido nearly breaks his neck on a dive but manages to turn it into a Destroyer on the floor.

Bandido takes Kid up top for a super backflip fall away slam down onto Taurus and Fenix and everyone is down on the floor again. Back in and Taurus plants Bandido but Fenix makes the save with a top rope double stomp. Fenix’s Samoan driver finishes Taurus at 11:50.

Rating: B. When you put these four on the card, you do it so they can have a match like this. They had a very entertaining match with all kinds of high spots and fast paced action, which is all you would have needed here. It’s not about making sense or having any logic behind it, but rather about popping the crowd every chance they can. As usual, it worked.

Jim Ross wishes Flair well and thanks him for everything.

We recap Impact Wrestling World Champion Josh Alexander defending against Jacob Fatu. This is the match that got my attention more than anything else so this should be a heck of a fight.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Josh Alexander vs. Jacob Fatu

Alexander is defending and Fatu is part of the Anoa’i family with the nickname of the Samoan Werewolf. Tom Hannifan joins commentary this time around. Fatu charges at him to start and Alexander hammers away in the corner. Back up and Fatu uppercuts his way out of trouble, only to get elbowed in the face. Alexander starts cranking on the ankle but Fatu, who is built like Umaga, is back up with a running hurricanrana.

Fatu goes up but gets superplexed right back down. That doesn’t slow Fatu down, as he runs the corner and hits the Whisper In The Wind into a handspring moonsault, because he can do that. The running hip attack misses in the corner though and Alexander is back to the ankle. A powerbomb onto the knee gets two on Fatu, who is sent out to the apron.

Fatu’s slingshot is broken up and the running crossbody to the back puts him on the floor. Fatu is fine enough to run Alexander over and the top rope moonsault gets two back inside. Alexander manages to roll some German suplexes, only to walk into a pop up Samoan drop. Then Mark Sterling and the Major Players run in to jump them both for the DQ at 10:30.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked and the ending was about all they could have done. You don’t want one of the top stars of either promotion losing so doing the run-in is as logical as it gets. I could still go for Fatu to get a spot on a major roster at some point in the future because he is one of those freak athletes you do not find very often. Alexander continues to be one of the best stars going today and having him as the centerpiece of Impact is a great idea. Good match here and I expected nothing less.

Post match the beatdown is on but Diamond Dallas Page of all people runs in and Diamond Cutters Matt Cardona for the save.

An attempt at an interview with Jeff Jarrett finds his father Jerry Jarrett….and Jerry Lawler too. Lawler helped train Jeff so he’s ready to see Flair lose in his last match. Flair stole the strut from Jackie Fargo and ran out of Memphis the first time he faced Lawler, so it’s time to get rid of him for good. Lawler can still cut a fine enough heel promo.

Briscoes vs. Von Erichs

That would be Marshall and Ross Von Erich, Kevin’s sons. Ian Riccaboni is back on commentary as Mark takes Ross down to start. Marshall comes in to slam Mark but it’s off to Jay for a running clothesline. The Briscoes take over on Ross in the corner and the Von Erichs are sent outside for a big dive from Jay.

Back in and Jay hammers on Ross but a shot from Marshall puts the Briscoes in trouble for a change. That doesn’t last long as Jay gets over for the tag off to Mark and house is cleaned in a hurry. A shotgun dropkick sends Marshall into the corner as everything breaks down. Redneck Boogie is broken up and Marshall’s claw slam only gets two. Jay’s neckbreaker sets up the Froggy Bow to finish Marshall at 7:48.

Rating: C+. I haven’t seen the Von Erichs in a bit and they have gotten a bit better since then. It’s nice to see them looking more polished in the ring, which comes with experience. That being said, the Briscoes are one of the best teams of this generation and there is no shame in losing to a team that good. Nice enough match here, but the Von Erichs were overmatched.

Sting is grateful for Ric Flair.

We recap Jordynne Grace defending the Impact Knockouts Title against Rachael Ellering and Deonna Purrazzo. Not much of a story here but we need a women’s match on the show.

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rachael Ellering

Grace is defending. They trade the rapid fire rollups to start with no one being able to get anywhere. Purrazzo is sent outside so Grace and Ellering shake hands before starting up as well. Grace sends her into the corner and hits the running knees to the back, with Ellering seems to have hurt her ankle. Purrazzo is back up and sent right back to the floor, leaving Ellering to hit an STO into a middle rope spinning legdrop for two on Grace.

Back in and Purrazzo can’t get the Queen’s Gambit on Grace so Ellering comes in to beat on both of them. Grace spinebusters Ellering, who gets caught in a Fujiwara armbar from Purrazzo. With that being a problem, Grace grabs a choke on Purrazzo for the break. Back up and the Grace Driver plants Purrazzo and a rear naked choke makes Ellering tap to retain Grace’s title at 9:11.

Rating: C+. Another match that was fairly fast paced but without a ton of drama for the main event. Grace is a heck of a powerhouse and a good champion while Purrazzo has been the star of the division for a good chunk of the year. That left Ellering there to take the fall and it came at the end of a perfectly decent match.

We recap the main event, which is Ric Flair having his last match because he wanted to do it one more time. Then Jay Lethal no showed a podcast so Flair ripped into him, despite the two of them being friends. Jeff Jarrett wasn’t pleased so he and Lethal beat Flair down, drawing blood, because of course they did. Flair got Andrade El Idolo, his son-in-law, and the tag match is set. If this sounds not so great, it’s because it isn’t.

Undertaker and Michelle McCool are sitting next to Mick Foley.

Ric Flair/Andrade El Idolo vs. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett

Karen Jarrett is here with Jeff and Jay. Jeff even shoves Conrad Thompson during his entrance so you know it’s serious. Flair, wearing the Big Gold Belt (looks to be the original too), uses the WWE version of his theme with the WOO to start. Kid Rock is at ringside (because of course he is) and Flair is wrestling in a sleeveless shirt, which is probably best for everyone at the moment. Flair and Jarrett start things off but it’s off to Lethal before anything big happens.

Lethal takes him down without much trouble and we’re at an early standoff. A headlock takeover takes Lethal over but he’s back up for an exchange of slaps in the corner. Lethal wants Andrade, who springboards in, making this a pretty run of the mill match instead of what we’re here to see. Some elbows to the face put Andrade in trouble but he’s fine enough to hiptoss Jarrett.

Flair comes in so Jarrett bails before hitting that strut. An Irish whip is blocked and Flair does his own strut, plus a crotch chop for fun. Flair chops away and kicks an interfering Lethal low, which is enough to send Jarrett up the aisle for a breather. Back in and Andrade gets in some kicks to Lethal’s ribs, allowing Flair to choke away in the corner. Some chops put Lethal down and Andrade comes back in, only to get taken down as well.

Now Jarrett can come in to stomp away, setting up another strut. Lethal’s Black Machismo (a name that has Crockett VERY confused) ax handle gets two on Andrade and the basement dropkick gets the same. Andrade counters a belly to back suplex from Jarrett but they bump heads for a double knockdown. The tag brings in Flair, who gets a Figure Four on Lethal but Jeff makes the save.

Karen slips in a high heel to bust Flair open, meaning Megan Flair (Ric’s daughter/Conrad’s wife) goes after her for the catfight over the barricade. Flair pokes Lethal in the eye to escape but gets taken back inside, where you can see him being VERY blown up. Lethal hits a suplex with Andrade having to make a save, leaving Lethal to hammer away even more. Hail To The King misses though and the tag brings in Andrade to clean house. A middle rope DDT gets two on Jarrett and Lethal superkicks Jarrett by mistake.

Andrade poisonranas Lethal and the ref is bumped, which is all this match needed. Flair tags in, despite laying on the apron at the time. Flair literally crawls over to Lethal for a cover but there’s no referee, so Jarrett brings in the guitar. That hits Lethal by mistake (duh) so Conrad throws Andrade some brass knuckles. Flair uses them on Jarrett and the Figure Four goes on. Cue another referee so Flair can pin the unconscious Jarrett (in the Figure Four) at 26:48.

Rating: D+. That’s about as generous as I can go as this was one of the hardest things I’ve sat through in a good while. Flair looked every bit of 73 years old out there and that was one of the worst possible outcomes. Seeing him laying on the apron and barely able to move was sad and the match was overbooked beyond belief in ways it didn’t need to be. If this is a ten minute match and they keep things as quick as they can go, it could have worked, but trying for some epic deal was a horrible idea.

The other problem is who was in there with him. I know there is a history/connection with most of them, but you would have go to pretty far down the list of Flair’s history to find Lethal and Jarrett. It comes off more like “here’s the best we can get to say yes” rather than someone special. The other problem is that needing them to be in the ring so long so Flair can recover left us with an only so interesting handicap match.

All in all, this is about what you had to expect: Flair talking up the match rather well and not being able to deliver in the ring. It was a passable match with the other guys in there, but this was all about Flair and at the end of the day, he wasn’t able to make it work. Cut this down to about 10-15 minutes and it could have worked, but it felt like Flair was dragged through this rather than going out on a happy note.

Post match Flair goes to ringside to thank some legends (Undertaker, Foley and Bret Hart, who are sitting together) before talking to Tony Schiavone. Flair talks about how he can’t believe how great this was and he’s in one of the best wrestling towns in the world. Then Kid Rock told him he was here to be entertained, just in case Flair didn’t have enough pressure on him. They’re hitting the town tonight, which isn’t quite how I was expecting such a speech to go.

Andrade hands Flair the Big Gold Belt and Flair hugs Lethal to end the show.

We get some credits, including a montage of Flair photos and Bob Caudle giving us the signoff (as he did back in the day).

Overall Rating: B-. This is a weird one as the main event is awful but that’s the only thing on the show that matters. I’ve heard this compared to a big boxing pay per view where no one watches anything but the last fight and that makes a lot of sense. The rest of the show was quite good and works as a heck of an indy show, but the main event didn’t work and dragged everything else down.

The other problem is the feeling of the show, as it might have been nice to have one more match, but it felt forced in a way. It’s like Flair decided it was time to praise him again and everyone had to line up with their nice things to say. The problem is they did that fourteen years ago on a bigger stage and after a better match. It didn’t feel fun or special, but rather “ok, he got what he wanted so let’s try to have a good time”. The Flair stuff was sad, and as good as the rest was, that’s all that mattered.

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

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

AND

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

Summerslam 2022
Date: July 30, 2022
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s time for one of the biggest shows of the year and that means we are in another stadium. The show is going to be interesting for a few reasons, including the fact that it is the first Summerslam ever not under Vince McMahon’s watch. That means we might be seeing something new this time around so let’s get to it.

The opening video features a country song about Nashville and how it’s a crazy town. The rest of the video looks at the major matches, with Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar not getting that much of a focus above the rest.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Belair running her over, only to have Lynch snap the arm to take over. Back up and Belair backflips away, setting up a release Glam Slam. A standing moonsault gives Belair two but Belair’s arm is banged up. They head outside where a KOD drops Lynch onto the barricade but she holds the arm and slams Belair into the barricade as well.

A legdrop to the back of the neck makes it worse and they head inside with Belair in trouble. Belair gets sent into the corner for a kick to the back before getting taken down into a weird armbar. With that broken up, Lynch dropkicks her to the apron but another middle rope legdrop is countered into a powerbomb (that’s a new one). Belair knocks her outside for another Glam Slam onto the apron and a suplex on the floor drops Lynch again.

Back in and Belair’s arm gives out on a slam attempt, allowing Lynch to bust out Diamond Dust for two. Lynch goes to the hair but Belair pulls her up into an old Big Show Alley Oop of all things. The KOD is countered into a failed Disarm-Her attempt so they roll outside with the KOD connecting on the floor. Back in and another KOD is blocked so Belair hits a spinebuster. Lynch is back up to pull her off the top though and it’s the Manhandle Slam for two. This time it’s Lynch going up but a Spanish Fly brings her back down. The KOD retains the title at 15:03.

Rating: B. The problem here is that it’s a rematch from one of the better things WWE has done in a very long time. There was nowhere near the same level of urgency or anything close to it and that is because the feud ran out of steam. It’s still a good match and these two feel like some of the bigger stars in the division, but you’re only going to get so far with a match we saw done bigger and better less than four months ago.

Post match respect is shown….and then Bayley is back. Bayley walks down the aisle….and then Dakota Kai does as well. And so does Io Shirai. The trio gets in the ring and stares down Belair, but Lynch gets back up and a staredown sends Bayley and company leaving, with Bayley putting her arms around them. Well there’s your big start.

We recap Logan Paul vs. The Miz. They teamed together at Wrestlemania and won, but then Miz attacked him. Paul has since signed and now he wants revenge.

Logan Paul vs. Miz

Ciampa and Maryse are here with Miz, who gets a chant about the size of his anatomy. Miz has has a Polaroid around his neck of him attacking Paul in a nice touch. Paul gets taken down but is ready for the basement boot to the face. Instead, Miz kicks him down a bit more slowly and mocks Paul, who doesn’t look pleased. Paul takes him down and teases a YES Kick before shifting to the boxing.

Back up and Miz pulls him off the middle rope and hits a Codebreaker. After a cheap shot from Ciampa and a chinlock that doesn’t last long, Miz misses the running clothesline in the corner and Paul has an opening. A Blockbuster and powerslam give Paul two each and he fires off some YES Kicks. The Figure Four rubs it in to Miz a bit more but he makes the rope. Ciampa gets in another cheap shot and is ejected, only to have him sit down in a chair.

Cue AJ Styles to jump Ciampa, leaving Paul to hit a not so Phenomenal Forearm for two. With nothing else working, Paul takes him outside and loads up the announcers’ table for a heck of a frog splash (that got some serious distance). Maryse offers a distraction so there’s no count, Miz loads up the Polaroid but has to pause before hitting Maryse. Paul grabs a Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 14:13.

Rating: C+. All things considered, this was pretty good, with that frog splash being a major highlight that is going to be shown for a long time to come. Paul has a good look and the athleticism to back it up, meaning he could have a future in this business. Miz was put there because he was going to guarantee a safe match that he could keep together and he pulled that off well here. Not a great match, but for a celebrity in his second match, Paul looked rather good.

The Maximum Male Models shill Pure Life Water.

US Title: Theory vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is defending after taking the title from Theory at Money In The Bank. Theory jumps him from behind with the Money In The Bank briefcase before the bell but Lashley says ring the bell. Some forearms to the back keep Lashley in trouble but he’s right back with a big spinebuster. That’s enough for Theory and he tries to leave, only to have Lashley cut him off. Lashley swats away a toss of the briefcase and takes things back inside, where the spear hits the post by mistake. He’s fine enough to load up a gorilla press and then drops Theory into the Hurt Lock to retain at 4:38.

Rating: C-. This was near dominance for Lashley, who shrugged off everything Theory threw at him and then won in the end. The briefcase shots can only get you so far and the rest of the match was pretty much downhill for Theory. I’m still not sure why they needed to do this match again, but Theory continues to fall apart after being thrown into a ladder match for his lone big win in a rather long time.

Judgment Day vs. Mysterios

No DQ and Rhea Ripley is here with Judgment Day. They start fast with Dominik hitting a big suicide dive on Balor, leaving Rey to Lionsault Priest. An armdrag out of the corner rocks Balor again but he’s back with some choking on the ropes to slow Dominik down. Priest and Balor start taking turns on Dominik until he gets in a shot of his own, allowing Rey to come in and pick up the pace.

Balor throws in a chair but Rey takes it away and starts swinging, at least until Priest drops him with a superkick. Rey fights back and tries the 619 but Balor makes the save, only to get caught on top. The double 619 is loaded up but Rhea Ripley pulls Dominik outside and drops him on the apron. Priest gives Rey the South of Heaven chokeslam but here is the returning Edge to spear Balor. Edge helps set up a 619 into the springboard splash to give Rey the pin on Balor at 11:05.

Rating: C. I wasn’t interested in the match before it was announced and I wasn’t interested in how it went. These teams have fought each other time after time now and there is little reason to get interested in them again. The Edge return was a nice moment, but it would have been better to have him appear on Raw rather than here to avoid doing the tag match again. Oh and thank goodness Balor took another fall, just in case you hadn’t gotten the point yet.

We recap Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin. McAfee is happy to be on commentary and laughed at Corbin for losing. Corbin jumped him and wants revenge, so it’s time to have a match on the big stage. There is a personal connection here too, as they were roommates when they played in the NFL.

Happy Corbin vs. Pat McAfee

McAfee has a choir interrupt Corbin’s entrance by singing BUM A** CORBIN for an interesting way to go. Corbin talks trash to start and gets superkicked, setting up a hurricanrana out of the corner. A clothesline puts Corbin on the floor so McAfee puts him on top but gets shoved into his moonsault. That’s fine with Corbin who dropkicks him into the corner so the beating can begin.

Some forearms and right hands send McAfee outside where Corbin whips him into the barricade. Back in and Deep Six gives Corbin two so he tries the slide under the bottom rope (Cole: “Shades of the Boss Man at Summerslam 1991.”) but gets kicked in the face. McAfee hits a dive but gets sent onto the announcers’ table, with Corbin talking trash to Michael Cole.

Back in and Corbin goes up, with McAfee charging the corner and superplexing him back down for two. A missed charge sends Corbin into the post and outside, leaving McAfee to go up top. After almost falling, McAfee flip dives onto Corbin (Cole: “The Swan-Tone Bambini!” Graves: “THE WHAT?????”) and they head back inside. The referee gets bumped so McAfee kicks him low (with Cole pointing out that it was payback for last night when Corbin did the same), setting up a middle rope Code Red (and not a great one, as it might have been a botched Canadian Destroyer) for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: C. Yeah they missed a bit here, as McAfee wasn’t quite on par with his previous performances. They had some very near botches (that slip before the flip dive could have been terrible) but they pulled it together well enough. Much like Miz, Corbin is the kind of guy who is there to walk McAfee through the match, even if Corbin in control isn’t the most fun. McAfee was off tonight, but remember that this is his fourth or so career match. It’s going to happen at some point.

We look at Drew McIntyre beating Sheamus to become the new #1 contender.

Here is McIntyre to talk about being ready to challenge Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar at Clash At The Castle. McIntyre: “Let’s talk about Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! Uh…..in Nashville! In a last man standing match! In front of…..what’s your name?” Fan: “Colt!” McIntyre: “IN FRONT OF COLT, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!” Anyway, he’s ready to win and gets some fireworks.

We recap the Usos vs. the Street Profits. The Usos won at Money In The Bank but Montez Ford’s shoulder was up. That and some other screwy decisions meant that a guest referee was needed so….Jeff Jarrett was brought in. Sure.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Street Profits

The Profits are challenging and come to the ring with the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders. Dawkins and Jimmy start things off with Jey coming in rather quickly. The top rope Demolition Decapitator gets two and Jey grabs a chinlock to keep him down. The Umaga attack in the corner connects and the Usos get to do the NUMBER ONE thing. Another Umaga attack misses though and Dawkins’ enziguri allows the tag to Ford so house can be cleaned.

A running Blockbuster gets two on Jey with Jimmy making the save. Jey is back with a pop up neckbreaker on Ford but he’s back up to send the Usos outside. Dawkins hits the big running flip dive onto both of them, setting up the lifting swinging neckbreaker for two on Jimmy. Everything breaks down and some superkicks set up the Superfly Plash to Dawkins for two.

Ford comes in but gets dropped again, allowing the Usos hit hit the stereo Superfly Splashes on Dawkins. That’s broken up as well and everyone is down for a breather. Dawkins is back up with a spinebuster into Ford’s frog splash for two, meaning Ford stops to yell at Jarrett. Ford hands it back to Dawkins but loads up a dive to the Usos, who kick him in the knee to cut him off. Double superkicks on the floor and in the ring drop Dawkins, setting up the 1D to retain the titles at 13:21. Jarrett was barely a factor here.

Rating: C+. What in the world was the point of that? They built up the Profits as the kingslayers and then they just lose like they have before, with the guest referee meaning nothing? I’m not sure where this is supposed to go, as the Profits have nothing left to do and the only team worth going after the Usos is the Viking Raiders. The Usos are beyond stale as champions and much like Reigns, they’re out of challengers, so what are we supposed to do now?

Riddle runs through the crowd and wants Seth Rollins out here for a fight right now. Security tries to get rid of Riddle but here is Rollins anyway. Cue Rollins so the fight is on, with Rollins hitting another Stomp to leave Riddle laying.

We recap the Smackdown Women’s Title match with Liv Morgan defending against Ronda Rousey. Morgan won Money in the Bank and cashed in on the same night on a banged up Rousey. Tonight, Morgan needs to prove she can do this.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey

Morgan is defending and gets kicked down to start. The ankle lock is broken up and Morgan is back with a Codebreaker. Oblivion is broken up and Rousey goes for the armbar, which is reversed into the Rings of Saturn. A crucifix bomb gives Morgan two but Rousey gets another armbar in the ropes.

Back in and the armbar goes on again but this time Morgan makes the rope. Another armbar sends Morgan rolling to the ropes again and we pause for the doctor to look at Morgan’s arm. Morgan insists that she can go but Rousey pulls her into a cross armbreaker. That’s stacked up for a pin on Rousey at 4:35….with Morgan tapping at the same time. Morgan retains, even though the tap came first as shown on replay.

Rating: C-. I had a bad feeling they would pull something like this, as Morgan won but only after getting wrecked by Rousey for a few minutes. As usual, WWE is hesitant to add someone to the main event scene and it makes for some lousy moments like this one. Either let Liv get the big win or give it back to Rousey, but enough of this “well we’ll see” stuff. Rousey looked good and will probably get a rematch, but my goodness the halfhearted push is annoying.

Post match Rousey goes after the arm again and beats up the referee for a bonus as we seem to have a heel turn.

Kane is here to announce the attendance of 48,449. I understand he has some questions about that count.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. They’ve fought a lot before and now they’re doing it again, this time in a Last Man Standing match, which is billed as their final match. Theory is also lurking around with the Money In The Bank briefcase.

WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Reigns is defending in a Last Man Standing match…..and Lesnar rides to the ring in a tractor. Lesnar cuts off Paul Heyman’s entrance and does his own, while standing in the….whatever you call the part of a tractor that holds stuff. Lesnar dives out of the tractor to start and Reigns is knocked outside, setting up a big overhead belly to belly. They fight over to the lighting structure and knock each other into it, with Lesnar getting the better of things again.

A German suplex sends Reigns flying again so it’s table time. Heyman begs enough for a distraction, allowing Reigns to Samoan drop Lesnar through the table. Reigns puts him through another table and takes it back inside for a pair of Superman Punches. The spear keeps Lesnar down for a bit but a second attempt is countered into a failed F5 attempt. Reigns gets sent outside in a heap so Lesnar goes to the tractor.

With that going nowhere, he hits Reigns in the head with a piece of the table for about six. Lesnar throws Reigns into the bucket of the tractor, raises him up, and then drops him down into the ring. With that not working, Lesnar rolls some German suplexes and hits an F5 for nine. Another F5 is countered into a guillotine, which Lesnar reverses into one of his own. Reigns is mostly out but dives back to the ropes to break the count at nine.

Lesnar gets back in the tractor….and starts ramming the ring. Then he lifts the ring up to send Reigns sprawling out onto the floor but here are the Usos for the save. Lesnar dispatches them so Heyman tries to call it off, only to get F5’ed through the announcers’ table (they’ve been teasing that for a LONG time). Reigns is back up with a spear and they’re both down…so here is Theory to cash in.

A briefcase shot drops Reigns but Lesnar F5’s Theory onto the briefcase. The Usos are back up with a double superkick for nine, followed by a spear for nine more. Reigns unloads with the briefcase for nine more, followed by a belt shot, but Lesnar gets up again. A shot with the other belt knocks Lesnar down and the Bloodline piles a bunch of stuff onto him before standing on top of it to retain at 22:44.

Rating: B-. This is going to be the really divisive match of the night and that isn’t a surprise. They did a lot of stuff and the match was a total spectacle, but they lost me at the end with Reigns knocking him down for nine over and over. It’s a good example of a match that needed to be trimmed down by a few minutes to hammer the point home better. At the same time, I’m sure the fans on the other side of the ring loved looking up at the video screen, because those front row tickets are pretty worthless when the ring is halfway on its side for the last seven minutes of the match.

The other problem here is simple: who in the world is supposed to be able to stop Reigns? Drew McIntyre is the next big challenger, but is that their solution? McIntyre has already had his time and while you can’t really gauge things from the pandemic, I don’t know how much of a success it was. Reigns has cleared out the company by this point, and they are going to need something special to get the title off of him, whenever they finally do it.

Reigns and the Bloodline celebrate for a long time to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was kind of all over the place, with a good first half, a pretty lame second half, and a main event that will probably have a lot of people mad. The best part was the overall feeling though, as it did feel more loose, with commentary sounding like humans instead of buzzword machines. The show didn’t go too long and was over in less than four hours, but it didn’t have anything great and not much really happened. Not an awful show, but if this was supposed to be the big relaunch, they’re only a little bit of the way there (and that was mainly after the first match).

Results
Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch – KOD
Logan Paul b. Miz – Skull Crushing Finale
Bobby Lashley b. Theory – Hurt Lock
Mysterios b. Judgment Day – Springboard splash to Balor
Pat McAfee b. Happy Corbin – Code Red
Usos b. Street Profits – 1D to Dawkins
Liv Morgan b. Ronda Rousey – Rollup

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

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It’s one of the biggest shows of the year and that means it is time for a bunch of rematches, because that’s what Summerslam has become this year. Now that being said, we very well may be in for one of the biggest changes in WWE in a VERY long time as this will be the first major show under the new regime. That means we could be in for some surprises and I’m much more interested in what we are getting now that things have changed. Let’s get to it.

United States Title: Bobby Lashley(c) vs. Theory

It’s a Money In The Bank rematch and the match has barely gotten any attention because Theory has Mr. Money In The Bank stuff to focus on instead. That hasn’t left much time for these two to do much, but at the same time, what kind of a story is there to tell with them? Theory seems destined to move up to the top level and Lashley is just one of the biggest stars on Monday Night Raw. It could be an interesting match, but that isn’t what WWE is doing here instead.

There is no reason to have either of them lose, but I’ll go with Lashley retaining here, even if Theory shouldn’t be taking another loss. The problem is I don’t see a need for him to be US Champion again, though that might be a hope spot for the sake of getting rid of the briefcase. Theory is a good smarmy heel, but he isn’t winning here without a lot of cheating so we’ll go with Lashley to retain, perhaps by DQ.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan(c) vs. Ronda Rousey

Now this is an interesting one, as it depends on what WWE wants to do with Morgan. She used the Money In The Bank cheat code to become champion in the first place so it isn’t like she has proven she can hang with the top stars in the division. If WWE wants her to be a thing then they need to have her win here, but I’m not sure if that is what they are going to do.

I’ll go with the false hope and say Morgan retains, but even if she does, there is the shadow of Charlotte’s return hanging over everything. Morgan is not going to go anywhere until she can get away from the top stars and I don’t think that is happening anytime soon. I can go with Morgan retaining here, but I can’t bring myself to believe that WWE is going to actually let someone into the main event club.

Mysterios vs. Judgment Day

This is another rematch that we have seen a few times already, but this time it’s No DQ so it makes things all the better. For some reason WWE thinks that teasing a Dominik Mysterio heel turn and split is interesting, to the point where this is the second Summerslam in a row where the Mysterios have been having issues coming in. If they’re going to do the turn then do it already so we can continue to not be interested in whatever Dominik is doing.

Since they need it a lot more, I’ll go with Judgment Day winning here. The team is in far better need of a win than the Mysterios so go with what makes sense. Normally that wouldn’t make a ton of sense, but maybe we get something new under the new regime. This is one of the least interesting matches on the card and I don’t see them overcoming that problem between the bells.

Logan Paul vs. The Miz

This is the celebrity match on the show but at least Paul is someone who has shown some abilities when he gets in the ring. I’m still not sure how much crossover there is going to be between Paul’s fans and WWE, but it does make sense to try to cash in on his audience. Putting him in there with the Miz means things should be safe, which means this has potential to be something.

I don’t see any reason for Paul to lose here, as you don’t want the celebrity to come back in and lose, especially in a match built on his revenge for Wrestlemania. Paul is going to be a semi regular and it makes sense to have him come in for special events. That interest involves him winning here, as beating Miz will give him just enough credibility. The match should be ok, but I’m not getting my hopes up here.

Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. Street Profits

For the sake of star power, Jeff Jarrett is guest referee, as the New Generation is the best option that we have these days. There have been multiple singles matches between the teams and a lot of them have turned into brawls, so it’s time for something a bit more physical. The question now is if it is time to take the titles off of the Usos, and that might be where they are going.

I’ll go with the Profits winning here, as otherwise, I have no idea what they are supposed to do. The Usos have dominated for so long and someone has to take the titles from them eventually. It makes enough sense to have the Profits win here, if nothing else for the sake of only the Viking Raiders being around as challengers after. I could use a break for the Usos, and hopefully that is the case for WWE as well.

Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin

It’s a battle of former roommates, because there is an actual backstory to this thing. McAfee is someone who has done incredibly well every time he has been given the chance and Corbin is someone who can carry anyone in the ring if necessary. They have put in some effort to build this up and now we get one of McAfee’s special appearances, which should go well.

Of course I’m taking McAfee here as you don’t put Corbin in a match like this to have him win. McAfee is a star and having him brag about the win on his podcast can get WWE some extra attention. That is one of the reasons you put him on a show like this one and it helps that he is pretty awesome at everything he does. Now just go and have the match without doing anything too wrong.

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

This match isn’t doing much for me and that is because it feels like something that has been hammered into the ground. WWE has done very little to make me care about the Raw women’s division because it tends to be the same group of people over and over. Belair is great as the champion, but I’m over seeing her face off with Lynch. I’m sure the match will be good, but they both need to move on after this.

Give me Belair to win here, though I have no idea why she is supposed to face next. Raw has a great top half of the division, but it has been used so often now that there is almost no reason to get interested in this stuff again. These two had an epic showdown at Wrestlemania earlier this year, but I’m not sure if they are going to be able to do it again. Belair should win though, and stay from Lynch for good after.

WWE Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Brock Lesnar

It’s Last Man Standing, because WWE had to give us a little something over having the same match that we have seen far too many times. It’s their second Summerslam main event (third if you count their four way in 2017). Lesnar continues to be one of the only people who can give Reigns a run for his money, but, again, forgive me for not getting excited over watching these two fight one more time.

I don’t see any reason for Lesnar to take the title so I’ll go with Reigns to retain, probably with some kind of interference. They’ll beat each other up, but if Lesnar isn’t interested, this could be a bit of a slog. Hopefully Theory cashes in to get rid of the briefcase already, but something tells me they find a way out of what they have been teasing for the last several weeks. Reigns retains here, and gets out to face Drew McIntyre at Clash At The Castle.

Overall Thoughts

It’s kind of interesting and appropriate that this is the first major show under the new regime, because you can feel how old and tired this show is looking. There are parts of the show that could go well but the question now is what kind of changes you could make. I don’t have the highest expectations for the show, partially because I’ve seen a lot of the matches before, but maybe they can mix enough good action with some fresh ideas to make it a nice evening.

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

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Smackdown
Date: July 29, 2022
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

This is going to be a weird one as it’s the go home show for Summerslam so there won’t be much in the way of moving forward to the show, but there is a #1 contenders match for the next major show. At the same time, this is the first television show with no influence from Vince McMahon following his departure from the company. Let’s get to it.

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

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre

Donnybrook match, meaning street fight, and the winner gets a World Title shot at Clash At The Castle. Sheamus jumps McIntyre during his entrance and they start fast with McIntyre being thrown inside for the opening bell. A Michinoku Driver gets McIntyre out of trouble and it’s time for the Shillelagh. That doesn’t work yet so McIntyre grabs a table, only to be sent into the steps (near the makeshift bar).

They get back inside with Sheamus whipping out the cut Shillelagh from last week to beat on McIntyre even more. Twenty forearms to the chest rock McIntyre even more and they go back to the floor. This time Sheamus’ suplex through a table is countered into a suplex from McIntyre, who whips him into various objects to make it worse. Sheamus gets whipped through some barrels and we take a break.

Back with Sheamus hitting a powerslam but McIntyre sends him into the corner. Some belly to belly suplexes and a neckbreaker before piling up some chairs. White Noise is countered into Futureshock onto the chairs for a near fall. That’s enough for Ridge Holland to come in for a cheap shot on McIntyre, who beats the fire out of Holland.

A belly to belly suplex sends Holland through a table at ringside and we take another break. Back again with McIntyre in the Tree of Woe but sitting up for something like a belly to belly superplex. McIntyre gets back down, earning himself an Alabama Slam to give Sheamus two. They head back outside with Sheamus being sent into the bar, knocking down photos of Sheamus’ grandparents.

Butch dives off some barrels to take McIntyre down (because of course he does) and Sheamus breaks a bar stool over McIntyre for a big crash. White Noise gets two, so Butch brings out a REALLY BIG Shillelagh. McIntyre gets in a Glasgow Kiss to knock it out of Sheamus’ hands though and house is cleaned, including a Claymore to Butch. The distraction lets Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick for a rather close two and frustration sets further in. Another Brogue Kick is countered into a powerbomb through a table, setting up a Claymore for the pin at 26:35.

Rating: B+. You can tell if Sheamus gets into a match by how badly his hair gets covered in sweat. This was like a pay per view match the night before a pay per view as these guys beat the fire out of each other. Even if McIntyre was all but guaranteed to win here, it was a very good fight on the way there, which is pretty obvious when these two are in the ring together. Awesome fight and the extra time helped it a lot.

Post match McIntyre thanks the fans and promises to win the title from a part time champion…and then gets jumped by Theory with a briefcase shot.

We look at Happy Corbin jumping Pat McAfee last week and their ensuing brawl.

Corbin has a ticket and sits in the front row, complete with a bag of popcorn and a sign with McAfee’s face and the word LOSER. McAfee has to hold himself back.

We look at Seth Rollins attacking Riddle, resulting in Riddle being pulled from Summerslam due to injury.

We run down the Summerslam card, with McAfee complaining about Corbin throwing popcorn at him the entire time.

McAfee gets in Corbin’s face but officials come out to hold them back. Corbin throws the bag of popcorn at him and jumps the barricade, where he kicks McAfee low when McAfee’s back is turned.

Theory knows a lot of people are after him, but he doesn’t care because he’s winning the US Title and cashing in Money In The Bank at Summerslam. Paul Heyman comes up and the two go off for a chat.

Aliyah vs. Shotzi

Shotzi jumps her to start and pounds away, setting up a Boston crab. That’s broken up with a grab of the rope and Aliyah starts striking away. Aliyah knocks her outside and hits a Meteora off the apron but Shotzi knocks her down again. Back in and Never Wake Up finishes Aliyah at 3:27.

Rating: D+. This felt like filler but I’ll take Shotzi getting some TV time. It’s better than having Lacey Evans do the same thing over and over again and if Shotzi gets a chance, good for her. Nothing match of course, but were you expecting anything more from Aliyah? I get why she’s there, but at some point she needs to be able to do something other than smile.

We look at Sonya Deville complaining during a commercial last week and getting beaten up by Ronda Rousey.

Rousey and Liv Morgan are glaring at each other in the back when Natalya comes in to mock her. Deville comes in and cuts them both off….and Rousey just leaves so the other three can keep arguing. Morgan starts talking and we cut to the ring where Shotzi is running her mouth. Rousey comes out and beats her up before taking the mic. Rousey to a fan: “YOU SHUT UP AND YOUR MOM FAILED YOU!” After that great line, she calls out Morgan to show these people why they’re fighting tomorrow night.

Liv Morgan/Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya/Sonya Deville

The audio sounds very different for some reason. Natalya takes over on Rousey to start but gets knocked into the corner for the tag off to Morgan. Deville comes in as well, with Morgan taking her down rather quickly. Rousey is back in and yells at Morgan, who has to duck Deville’s clothesline. The ankle lock is broken up though and it’s back to Morgan, who gets tossed to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Deville hitting a running knee for two on Morgan and the villains taking turns with the beatdown. An enziguri gets Morgan out of trouble as she and Deville are both down. Morgan won’t tag out though and gets discus clotheslined to give Natalya two. Natalya gets sent into the corner for a breather but Morgan still won’t tag. That’s fine with Rousey, who tags herself in and cleans house as everything breaks down. Oblivion to Natalya sets up the ankle lock to make Deville tap at 11:40.

Rating: C+. They had a story here as Morgan is still trying to prove herself despite being the champion. That is the kind of thing that has been lacking from a lot of WWE matches in recent years, as there was enough of a spin on this to get what they were going for while keeping things fresh. Now just don’t screw things up and have Rousey get the title back or have Charlotte take it from Morgan in a month and we might be somewhere.

The staredown is on post match.

Here are the Street Profits and the Usos for the official instructions from special referee Jeff Jarrett. Jeff cuts off the near brawl and says he wants to lay down the law. The Usos ask if it’s a DQ to punch Montez Ford in the face or hit them with the belts. The Profits ask if it’s a DQ if they hit Jey so hard that he comes back with his face paint back on, or if the Usos’ bodies are left laying on the mat with the Profits are the new champs.

Jarrett thinks they’re creative but says he’s not there to contain them tomorrow so get it out of your system now. The brawl is on with Jarrett failing to stay out of the way. Jimmy fires a superkick and hits Jarrett by mistake, which has him realizing he screwed up. Jarrett shoves the Usos away and the Profits clear the ring, setting up Ford’s big flip dive. It’s interesting to put Jarrett on one side, but I don’t know if I can see the Profits taking the titles.

Maxxine Dupri introduces the Maximum Male Models Summerslam Beachwear Collection, which is a bunch of beach gear with Summerslam logos. Max Dupri pops in to say they’re still looking for clients to titillate the juices. He sounded a bit more like his old self here so that might be a good sign.

New Day vs. Viking Raiders

Erik shrugs off Woods to start so Kingston springboards in with a high crossbody for one. Kingston gets driven into the corner and sent outside, where Ivar crushes him against the barricade. We take a break and come back with Kingston hitting a quick SOS, allowing the tag to Woods. A tornado DDT gets two on Ivar and there’s the dive to Erik. Everything breaks down and Ivar kicks Woods in the face for two. A double powerbomb finishes Kingston at 9:43.

Rating: C. The Raiders needed to dominate here and that is what they did for the most part. New Day has been beaten up time after time in the feud and there was no reason to mess with that this time. Just let the Raiders be built up as the next big deal, possible for the Street Profits if that is the way they go, because we could use a long break from New Day and the Usos.

Post match the Raiders beat up New Day again and Pillmanize Woods’ ankle. That might be part of the New Day break.

Here is Paul Heyman for the big push towards Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. After waiting for the crowd to do his entrance, Heyman talks about how Reigns is approaching 700 days as heavyweight champion, which has not been done in 35 years. Now Lesnar wants to play spoiler and that isn’t happening over Heyman’s dead body. Lesnar will be put down for a ten count and that will be it for him in WWE.

Cue Lesnar and Heyman knows this isn’t good. Lesnar takes his time circling Heyman but here’s Theory with a briefcase shot. That’s shrugged off and Theory is sent outside, where Drew McIntyre pops up with a Claymore to end the show. That alone is more intrigue than they’ve had to end a show in a good while and it’s not even anything great.

Overall Rating: B-. They haven’t completely shaken things up since Vince left, but you can tell that things have changed enough. There is more of a focus lately and the show was missing any of the really goofy stuff that often drags a show down. It’s the theory of “what you’re seeing now is what’s important” and that has been lacking for a long time. This was an enjoyable show and I’m wanting to see Summerslam, so nice job on doing what needed to be done this week. The big changes can come later, but this show worked out rather well.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Sheamus – Claymore
Shotzi b. Aliyah – Never Wake Up
Liv Morgan/Ronda Rousey b. Natalya/Sonya Deville – Ankle lock to Deville
Viking Raiders b. New Day – Double powerbomb to Kingston

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 25, 2022
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

We’re officially in an all new era as Vince McMahon is completely gone and HHH is now in charge of creative. That may sound very interesting on paper but I would give it another week before you see any major changes. There might be some surprises here and there this week though as it’s the go home show for Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Miz and Logan Paul mid-brawl in the ring with referees having to break it up. There’s your fresh way of starting the show.

With that out of the way, here is the Bloodline for a chat. Roman Reigns gets to the point by having the Garden acknowledge him before handing it off to Paul Heyman. After the mic goes out (Heyman: “We have a sound guy that must be from New Jersey or something. We want your name written down. You’re the next one out the door.”), we hear about everything Brock Lesnar has done over the years.

Lesnar has ruined a lot of things over the years, including the Streak, but he won’t do that on Saturday when Roman Reigns nears 700 days as Universal Champion. Reigns is tired of hearing about Lesnar every time you mention his name so it is time to send Lesnar back to Canada to slaughter a bunch of hogs. Heyman explains the concept of Last Man Standing, which is how Reigns is finally going to get rid of Lesnar once and for all.

Now cue Theory with the briefcase, but Reigns says that if you’re going to come out here, get in the ring and acknowledge the Tribal Chief. Theory stares Reigns down, but Reigns says that Theory’s daddy isn’t here to protect him anymore. Fans: “WHO’S YOUR DADDY?” Reigns says it’s going to be him if Theory doesn’t mind himself. The Bloodline goes to leave but Jimmy Uso taps Theory on the neck. A briefcase shot to the back…actually doesn’t get any reaction from Jimmy, as the Bloodline leaves in peace.

Post break Theory is still in the ring but Drew McIntyre cuts him off.

Theory vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre starts fast and hammers away with the power but gets caught with a jawbreaker. Theory gets to stomp away in the corner until McIntyre blasts him with a clothesline. Futureshock connects but Theory rolls outside before the Claymore can launch. That’s cool with McIntyre, who drops him chest first across the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Theory sending him outside and then whipping him hard into the steps. Back in and McIntyre reverses a suplex into one of his own before winning the slugout. The Claymore is loaded up again but here are the Brawling Brutes to jump McIntyre for the DQ at 9:37.

Rating: C. I liked this one well enough as you had Theory in there with a fresh opponent but he also didn’t use the briefcase for the DQ. It was nice to not go with the obvious ending that Theory has been using as they actually mixed it up a bit. Now just let Theory win a match and we might be getting somewhere.

Post match the beatdown is on until Bobby Lashley makes the save. Theory has to bail before he gets wrecked as well.

Bobby Lashley/Drew McIntyre vs. Theory/Sheamus

Joined in progress with Lashley beating on theory before handing it off to McIntyre. A cheap shot from behind puts McIntyre down though and it’s Sheamus coming in to choke away in the corner. The Irish Curse plants McIntyre and Sheamus hammers away but he won’t tag Theory back in.

That’s enough for McIntyre to get in the Glasgow Kiss and bring Lashley back in. Sheamus gets suplexed and knocked outside, where Lashley’s spear to Theory is cut off by Sheamus’ knee. Butch gets in the ring for a distraction so Ridge Holland can go after McIntyre. That’s fine with McIntyre, who suplexes Butch onto Holland, earning the Brutes an ejection and we take a break.

Back with Lashley fighting out of a chinlock but getting knocked down again so Sheamus can come back in. Lashley spinebusters his way to freedom and the hot tag brings in McIntyre to clean house. A Sky High gets two on Theory but McIntyre gets low bridged to the floor, leaving Lashley to hit the big spinebuster on Theory. Sheamus breaks up the cover with a top rope knee so McIntyre takes him outside. The fight is on until Sheamus hits the White Noise on the floor. Theory is back up but cue Dolph Ziggler for a distraction so Lashley can grab the Hurt Lock for the tap at 12:20.

Rating: B-. This got some more time and advanced Lashley vs. Theory a bit more. Sheamus vs. McIntyre is already set for Friday so they got a little extra time of their own here. It might not have been the best match but it was an effective bit of storytelling and there is always room for that.

Post match Theory goes up the ramp but gets superkicked by the Usos. Roman Reigns comes back out to hand Theory his briefcase.

We look back at 20 years of Rey Mysterio in WWE.

Rey arrived with his wife and kids earlier tonight.

Dolph Ziggler says he wants Theory to back up his potential. AJ Styles comes in to say he likes that idea but here is the Alpha Academy to interrupt. A tag match is set up.

Here is Rey Mysterio, with Dominik, for the 20th anniversary celebration. Rey talks about having his first match in Mexico at 14 years old and now here he is. Rey can’t believe he made it here after making all kinds of legendary rivalries. As a smaller guy and a proud Latino, he became World Champion at Wrestlemania XXII and made a lot of friends along the way.

Rey thanks Dean Malenko, Konnan, Batista, Kurt Angle and Edge, but then there is Eddie Guerrero. He thanks Eddie for always watching over him and feels truly humble for all of the support he has received for the last twenty years. Rey also thanks his family (watching backstage along with some friends) and Dominik in particular but finally he needs to thank the fans. We get some thank you’s in Spanish but here is Judgment Day through the crowd for their scheduled match.

Mysterios vs. Judgment Day

Joined in progress (a theme tonight) with Dominik taking over on Balor before sending him into the corner for right hands from Rey. We get the Eddie dance in the corner as Rey hammers away, only to get sent face first into the buckle. Priest comes in for the hard whip into the corner and the toss suplex gets one.

It’s back to Balor for the chinlock but Rey pops u for a quick escape. Dominik comes back in to clean house, including a dropkick to put Balor on the floor. Priest cuts off Dominik’s dove and sends him into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Dominik hitting a reverse Sling Blade and bringing Rey back in for a kick to Priest’s head.

A top rope seated sent on gets two on Priest, who boots Rey down for two of his own. It’s back to Balor, who has to avoid the 619 and hit the Coup de Grace for two as Dominik saves. With nothing else working, Balor tries the Eddie Guerrero chair trick but Rey does the same thing right back. A double 619 sets up the frog splash to finish Balor at 11:29.

Rating: C+. This feud really needs to wrap up already because it has already run out of steam. Granted that might be due to Judgment Day being treated as a bunch of losers for so long now but I’m sure they’ll stretch it out again. It was nice to see Rey get a win on his big night, though the evening is young and ripe for something happening later.

We look at Cody Rhodes winning the ESPY Award for WWE Moment of the Year.

The Mysterios join their family and friends backstage with drinks being poured. Rey also gets what looks like his gear from Halloween Havoc 1997. Rhea Ripley comes in and pie faces Rey’s daughter, meaning it’s Judgment Day coming in to beat Rey down (Balor: “It’s not your anniversary. It’s my birthday!”), including Priest powerbombing him onto a table.

Here is Bianca Belair for a chat, but first we see how her match with Becky Lynch at Summerslam. Cue Becky but Belair cuts her off with the EST names. Becky decks her and the brawl is on with referees having to break it up. Short and to the point here.

Alexa Bliss is ready for Doudrop tonight and then is coming for the title.

Rey Mysterio is pretty banged up but Dominik has to chase off Judgment Day. The distraction lets Rhea kick Rey in his bad arm.

Doudrop vs. Alexa Bliss

Nikki Ash is here with Doudrop and her distraction lets Doudrop hit a running crossbody for an early two. The chinlock goes on to keep Bliss in trouble but she fights up and kicks away. A running basement dropkick gives Bliss two but she has to avoid a charge in the corner. Doudrop is favoring her shoulder so the referee checks on her, allowing Ash to shove Bliss off the top. Not that it matters as Bliss grabs a tornado DDT for the pin at 4:19.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as Bliss’ offense was a bit hard to buy against a monster like Doudrop. That being said, Doudrop hasn’t meant anything in a long time so the result wasn’t a surprise. At least Bliss seems to have something in mind now and her getting back into the title picture wouldn’t be the biggest stretch.

Post match Bliss signs a fan’s sign for a nice moment.

AJ Styles tells Logan Paul that he doesn’t know much about him, but if Paul doesn’t like Miz, AJ must like him.

It’s time for the debut of Logan Paul’s Impaulsive TV and he gets straight to the point by calling Miz out. An insult to the size of Miz’s testicular fortitude, here is Maryse to answer instead. Maryse can’t pronounce genitalia but she does have some statistics about average size. Paul: “Who measures their testicles?” Cue Miz to say he does, as does every single man in this arena. Miz yells about how he gave Paul everything and now Paul is ruining it. Paul says Maryse has a bigger set than Miz and the brawl is on, with Ciampa running in to help beat Paul down. The Skull Crushing Finale drops Paul.

The Street Profits and the Usos have a staredown with Jeff Jarrett in the middle. Trash is talked but Jarrett says he wants peace kept tonight, because he’ll remember it on Saturday.

AJ Styles/Dolph Ziggler vs. Alpha Academy

Before the match, Chad Gable praises himself and mocks Styles and Ziggler as a thrown together team. Like the New York Knicks! AJ starts fast with the drop down into the dropkick to send Gable outside. There’s the big slingshot dive and we take a break. Back with Otis running over AJ, who manages to slip over for the tag to Ziggler. That’s fine with Otis, who drops Ziggler with a hard elbow to the face. Gable comes in and misses the moonsault, allowing Ziggler to hit the superkick. Everything breaks down and AJ knocks Gable into a Zig Zag for the pin at 7:26.

Rating: C. Pretty much just a “there” match with Styles and Ziggler having nothing in common and now getting a tag match for whatever reason. They did need to get Ziggler something to do until Theory is freed up so maybe this is the best that they have. Then again, the Alpha Academy doesn’t mean anything anymore after so many losses so this was some decent filler and little more.

Summerslam rundown.

Bloodline vs. Riddle/Street Profits

Dawkins takes Jimmy down to start and hands it off to Ford. Jimmy pulls Ford into the corner for some choking from Jey and Reigns but Ford is fine enough to grab the arm. Riddle comes in for the rapid fire kicks and the Usos are sent outside, with Ford hitting the big flip dive.

We take a break and come back with Riddle getting stomped in the wrong corner, including some from Reigns himself. Reigns cranks on the arm and hands it back to Jimmy, who misses a splash in the corner. That’s enough for the tag to Ford, who starts the house cleaning with some kicks to the head. Reigns comes in off a blind tag though and a release Rock Bottom plants Ford hard for two. Ford got busted open somewhere in there and the Usos make it worse with something like a top rope Demolition Decapitator.

We take another break and come back with Ford managing to knock Reigns down. Riddle gets the tag to clean house and everything breaks down in a hurry. That includes a bunch of moves with the word Bro, including the springboard Floating Bro to the floor. Reigns tags himself back in and drops Riddle for two, with Ford making the save. Jimmy hits a big dive onto Ford on the floor but Dawkins takes him out. Riddle hits the hanging DDT on Reigns but the RKO is shoved off, allowing Reigns to hit the spear for the pin at 19:25.

Rating: B. This was the hard hitting and long main event tag match that is going to work more often than not. Riddle taking the fall is a bit sad to see, but it is a fall against Reigns and the Profits have a title match at Summerslam so it could have been a worse pick. Good, long match here though and sometimes that’s what you need.

Post match here is Seth Rollings to give Riddle a Stomp onto the steps to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show wasn’t a masterpiece by any means, but it was WAY better than the last few terrible weeks. There was a bit more energy to the show and while we didn’t get anything significantly different, I’ll take some slight changes over what we were getting and hope for more after Summerslam. Other than that, the sad part of this show is how Madison Square Garden feels like any other arena. There was little here that made the Garden feel special and that is sad for the World’s Most Famous Arena. Overall though, this was a breath of fresh air and I’ll take that any week.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Theory via DQ when the Brawling Brutes interfered
Bobby Lashley/Drew McIntyre b. Theory/Sheamus – Hurt Lock to Theory
Mysterios b. Judgment Day – Frog splash to Balor
Alexa Bliss b. Doudrop – Tornado DDT
AJ Styles/Dolph Ziggler b. Alpha Academy – Zig Zag to Gable
Bloodline b. Riddle/Street Profits – Spear to Riddle

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

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Smackdown
Date: July 22, 2022
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

And then Vince McMahon retired from WWE and everything changed. This is one of those moments that you knew would happen in some way at some point but you can’t actually fathom it going down. On top of that, Brock Lesnar has reportedly walked out on the show and won’t be here, though maybe something can be salvaged. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Stephanie McMahon to get things going. She announces Vince’s retirement and the fans immediately go into a THANK YOU VINCE chant. Stephanie asks the fans to not get ahead of them her and says thank you Vince for everything. This was Stephanie the person rather than Stephanie the character and that is completely acceptable given the once in a lifetime circumstances.

Here are the Street Profits to be all hyped up for their Tag Team Title shot at Summerslam. Cue Theory to remind us that he will be cashing in on Roman Reigns. That brings out the Usos, who don’t like Theory threatening Roman Reigns. The Usos says Montez Ford and his wife are leaving Summerslam with no titles and the fight is on. Madcap Moss runs in and the good guys clear the ring.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Kaiser knocks him into the corner to start as commentary wonders if Gunther’s aggressive mentorship is a good thing. Nakamura strikes back and gets Kaiser into the corner for Good Vibrations. The leg is lifted up though and Kaiser hits a suplex for two. That’s shrugged off though and Nakamura hits the running knee in the corner. The apron kick to the chest is blocked though and we take a break with Nakamura down on the floor.

Back with Nakamura fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the sliding German suplex for two. Nakamura stops to yell at Gunther though, allowing Kaiser to grab a small package for two. A kick to the head drops Kaiser again and Nakamura rolls him up, but the kickout sends him into a right hand from Gunther. Kaiser grabs a DDT for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C. Kaiser is someone who has done well in the limited time that he gets to appear in the ring as he is fine for a person who gets to clear some of the way for Gunther’s opponents. The cheating keeps Nakamura strong on the way to the likely Summerslam title match so it’s a story you’ve seen before. Not a bad match here, and I’m sure we’ll get a rubber match in the future.

Post match Kaiser looks pleased but Gunther tells him to assume the position anyway. Gunther pats him on the back….and then chops him anyway. He’s a tricky monster.

We recap Liv Morgan cashing in the Money In The Bank briefcase on Ronda Rousey.

We get a face to face with Rousey and Morgan, with Rousey telling the interviewer to scram. Rousey is ready to win the title back and expects Morgan to shake her hand. Morgan talks about how she wants and needs the title more than Rousey. She’ll shake Rousey’s hand, after she beats her again. This was taking two bad talkers and having them talk to each other.

Happy Corbin jumps Pat McAfee, who gives chase to the back this time. The brawl is on backstage with Adam Pearce and company breaking it up.

Post break McAfee is back and gets tossed a microphone. McAfee talks about how in eight days, it is man vs. big bald baby and this right leg of his is putting the baby out for a nap. As usual: McAfee can talk as well as almost anyone in the company.

We look at the Viking Raiders being vicious and breathing all heavy.

Viking Raiders vs. Shanky/Jinder Mahal

New Day is on commentary. Ivar elbows Mahal in the corner to start but he comes back with a superkick. The beating takes Mahal outside again and it’s a countout win for “the new Vicious Viking Raiders (yes that is what they are officially called)” at 1:39. Mahal and Shanky can’t take a pin?

Sonya Deville mocks Adam Pearce for his job as the boss, which wouldn’t have happened if she was in charge. Pearce gives her a match with Raquel Rodriguez as punishment.

Here are the Brawling Brutes with a green covering over something. Sheamus recaps his recent issues with Drew McIntyre, but his main problem is with McIntyre’s sword. There is not going to be a match between them until that sword is gone. Cue McIntyre, with Sheamus having Ridge Holland and Butch wait outside in exchange for getting rid of the sword. McIntyre: “What happened to you Sheamus? When did you become such a b****?” He wants to know what happened to the Sheamus he fought in front of 100 people when they have a chance to be in a UK stadium show in front of 70,000 people.

McIntyre wants to fight right now and Sheamus is in….but just not tonight. Instead, they can do this next week in a good old fashioned Donnybrook, but the sword is barred from ringside. They can have weapons though, which brings Sheamus to what is under the covering: a bunch of shillelaghs! Adam Pearce comes out to make the match and McIntyre cuts Sheamus’ cane in half. That sword should be the one challenging Reigns as it is getting more of the focus.

Paul Heyman talks strategy with the Usos, saying they need to use Theory’s skills to help get rid of Moss and the Profits. THEN it is time to go off the air with Theory taken out. The Usos are in.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sonya Deville

Deville takes her into the corner to start and shoves her in the face, only to realize that a waistlock is a waste of time. With that broken up, Deville goes with a running knee for two before we hit the chinlock. Deville’s guillotine is powered off but Rodriguez misses a charge into the corner. A DDT gives Deville two as she seems to be favoring her arm. Rodriguez comes right back up with the Tejana Bomb for the pin at 3:35.

Rating: C. Rodriguez continues to be treated as someone who can be the next big star in the division and it isn’t like there is enough depth for her to overcome. I’m still not sure why having Deville in there getting beaten up is supposed to make her feel like a villain, but she lost a clean match here so it’s even more confusing. This feels like a story where they have forgotten the point and just keep moving forward without a goal.

Lacey Evans vs. Aliyah

Remember how over the last few weeks, Evans has insulted the crowd, put herself over because she’s a military veteran and then laid out Aliyah before the match can start? Same thing here.

Jeff Jarrett is very excited to be the guest referee because he’s going to call it right down the line. It’s the biggest tag match in Summerslam history (no) and it needs a special referee. Spelling ensues.

We meet Max Dupri’s sister Maxxine (better known as Sofia Cromwell from NXT) to say that what Maximum Male Models had scheduled this week will take place next week.

Theory/Usos vs. Street Profits/Madcap Moss

Dawkins dropkicks Jimmy down to start and we’re in an early armbar. The Profits take out the Usos and knock Theory off the top for a bonus, allowing Ford to grab the Money in the Bank briefcase for some drumming. We take a break and come back with Moss getting pounded down in the corner.

That’s broken up and Moss gets over for the tag to Ford so house can be cleaned. The villains are knocked outside again and we take another break. Back again with Ford getting out of trouble and bringing Moss back in to wreck the Usos. A kind of lifting powerbomb gets two on Jimmy but the Punchline is broken up.

Jimmy drops Moss with a superkick for two but Theory would rather walk out than get tagged in. Jey superkicks Theory and go after him but Dawkins goes after them for whatever reason. Ford hits the big flip dive, allowing Theory to take Moss back inside. The brainbuster onto the knee gives Theory two but Moss runs him over with a shoulder. Then Theory hits him with the briefcase for the DQ at 16:52.

Rating: C+. This was the long form main event tag match and it went well enough, save for the lame ending. That’s one of the biggest problems with the Money In The Bank briefcase being around: it lets the holder have an out, which WWE certainly loves to use. It would be nice to see them doing something else, but this is what you get around here and there isn’t much of a way around the idea.

Post match Theory unloads on Moss…..and here’s Brock Lesnar (McAfee: “I THOUGHT….” Cole: “I DID TOO!”). F5’s and briefcase shots leave Theory laying to end the show. At least they figured out whatever was going on with Lesnar.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show here, though there was nothing here that felt completely out of place after the big McMahon news. Granted there is a very strong chance that it will not change until after Summerslam, if ever for that matter, but at least they is a hope. Overall, slightly better than average here, and I’ll take that after the drek that Raw has been as of late.

Results
Ludwig Kaiser b. Shinsuke Nakamura – DDT
Viking Raiders b. Jinder Mahal/Shanky via countout
Raquel Rodriguez b. Sonya Deville – Tejana Bomb
Madcap Moss/Street Profits b. Usos/Theory via DQ when Theory used the briefcase

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

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AND

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