We’ll switch from Canada to Puerto Rico today with Carlito.

Carlito is of course the son of legendary Puerto Rican wrestler Carlos Colon and got his start in his dad’s promotion, the World Wrestling Council. To be clear, I don’t know a ton about Puerto Rican wrestling so I’ll keep it simpler with them. From what I can tell, one of Carlito’s (Carly Colon in the WWC) biggest rivals is Ray Gonzales, so here’s their first meeting from January 6, 2000.

Carly Colon vs. Ray Gonzalez

Carlito has almost no hair here and is in a white undershirt and black pants. It’s actually a FAR better look than he had in the WWE. Gonzalez shoves him down to start and slams him for good measure as we’re still in first gear. Carlito comes back with a hiptoss and slam of his own, sending Ray out to the floor. A backdrop puts Gonzalez down and the stalling continues. Since when is Puerto Rico in south Memphis? Carlito hammers away in the corner before jumping over Gonzalez and trying what looked to be a Stunner, sending Ray running to the floor.

The fans are firmly behind Carlito here and he takes Gonzalez down with a headlock. Gonzalez fights up and is sent outside as the very slow pace continues. I think we take a break and come back with Carlito getting two off a rollup. Carlito hammers away in the corner and goes for the legs but Gonzales rolls outside AGAIN. Back in and Carlito counters a backbreaker attempt with a headscissors but Gonzalez slams him down to take over.

Ray pounds away at Carlito’s head but Carlito comes back with left hands of his own. A nice TKO puts Carlito down again but Gonzalez puts on a chinlock instead of covering. This goes on for a LONG while as the announcers freak out about something. Back up and Carlito gets a delayed sunset flip for two but Ray takes his head off with a clothesline and it’s back to the chinlock. Gonzalez elbows him down and goes up but Carlito slams him down with ease.

A rollup gets two for Carlito as things speed WAY up. Ray loads up a foreign object but Carlito kicks it away and avoids a charge. The referee goes down as Carlito puts on a figure four, drawing in a second referee. Ray makes the ropes and kicks Carlito low before going outside to get a shovel. Carlito throws powder in his face though and blasts Gonzalez in the face with the shovel for the pin. A bunch of fans swarm Carlito after the match to celebrate.

Rating: C-. I have a feeling there’s a big story here that I didn’t get at all. I liked Carlito here as his look was FAR easier to take seriously, but at the same time it was clear he didn’t know how to get through a long match. Gonzalez would get the Universal Title a few days after this and drop it to Carlito before the end of the month. Not bad but the story would help a lot.

Carlito stuck around for a few more years before heading to OVW in 2003. After about a year there, he debuted on Smackdown on October 7, 2004. He would actually get a US Title match that night after talking his way onto champion John Cena’s bad side.

US Title: John Cena vs. Carlito Caribbean Cool

They would shorten the name later. Carlito bails to the floor from a ticked off Cena and we’re off fast. A clothesline puts the challeger down on the floor and Cena blasts him in the face with an inflatable hand. Back in and Cena takes him up for a suplex and does squats while holding Carlito in the air. A big backdrop takes Carlito down again and a legdrop gets two. There’s a side slam to send Carlito outside and John whips him into the steps for good measure.

Back in and Cena gets low bridged to the floor and Carlito rams him into the announce table. Carlito rakes the eyes and loads up a piledriver, only to be catapulted into the crowd. We take a break and come back with Cena ramming Carlito into the buckle but missing a middle rope cross body. A suplex gets two on the champion and a slingshot elbow drop gets the same.

We hit the chinlock on John but he fights back with a backdrop. Cena makes his comeback and gets two off the Shuffle but Carlito counters the AA. He bails to the floor and brings in the title belt but it’s only a distraction. The referee takes it away so Carlito gets Cena’s chain and knocks him out cold for the pin and the title.

Rating: C-. That’s quite the debut but it doesn’t make him look like anything impressive. I remember watching this live and not getting the appeal of Carlito at all. He looked different but he didn’t do anything to impress me at all. This feud never worked for me either and I’m afraid that’s mainly on Carlito.

Carlito would hold the title for a few months before dropping it to a ticked off Cena in about 30 seconds. He would then pick up a bodyguard in Matt Morgan and face Big Show at Judgment Day 2005.

Big Show vs. Carlito

After a quick Carlito promo running down Minnesota we’re ready to go. Carlito runs a lot until Show finally gets his hands on him. Show chops away as Cole says that’s like hitting yourself in the chest with a frying pan. One, why would you know what that feels like? Two, why would you hit yourself with a frying pan? Three, wouldn’t it be like someone hitting you with a frying pan? Four, why am I paying attention to Michael Cole?

Anyway, Show dominates because Carlito has nothing to fight him with. Morgan interferes and gets in some offense on the floor but Show kicks out of the covers from Carlito with ease. Cole says Show’s head is like a typewriter. How in the world does his head remind you of a typewriter? Show keeps hammering away but accidently elbows the referee. Low blow puts Show down and Morgan pops in for a big boot and an F5 (bad execution, awesome setup) for Carlito to get the pin.

Rating: D. This probably should have been on Smackdown to set up Morgan vs. Show which is a more interesting match. No one was really interested in Show vs. Carlito as Carlito had no real threat to Show at all as you saw here. Pretty boring match but Morgan looked very impressive.

Soon after this Carlito would be sent to Raw and receive an Intercontinental Title shot in his first match on Mondays, facing Shelton Benjamin on June 20, 2005.

Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito

Carlito hammers away to start but runs to the floor when Shelton looks up at him. Shelton tries a dive over the ropes but doesn’t get a running start and hooks his toe on the ropes, leaving him short of Carlito and crashing down onto the floor. That wasn’t on Carlito as he was in place but Shelton didn’t get far enough. We take a break and come back with Carlito getting two off some kicks to the back.

Shelton fights out of a front facelock and a double clothesline puts both guys down. Benjamin goes up top for a top rope clothesline and a two count. He looks very shaky out there after crashing on the floor. A northern lights suplex gets two for the champion but he walks into a DDT for two. Shelton comes out of the corner with a sunset flip for two and a Samoan drop for the same off a very sloppy looking cover. Even JR points out how bad it looked. Carlito grabs a rollup out of nowhere for the pin with a grab of the ropes.

Rating: D+. The match was pretty bad but a lot of that was due to the botch and subsequent injuries. Shelton just did not look right at all after that and it was really messing things up out there. Carlito was getting more into a groove at this point but it still didn’t work all that well.

That win means Carlito won titles in his debut matches as a member of the Raw and Smackdown rosters. After losing the title he would eventually hook up with the newcomer Chris Masters, eventually receiving a Tag Team Title shot at Wrestlemania 22.

Raw Tag Titles: Carlito/Chris Masters vs. Big Show/Kane

The monsters are defending here. Kane and Masters start stuff out and the 6’5 Masters looks tiny by comparison. Show headbutts him from the apron before coming in legally for some chops. A poke to Big Show’s eye slows him down and here’s Carlito who is immediately chopped down. Masters is slammed down as well with Show throwing Carlito over the top and out onto Chris.

Kane goes up top and dives onto both guys as the challengers are in trouble. Somewhere in between there the turnbuckle pad has been removed and Show misses a charge, going head first into said buckle. It doesn’t seem to have much effect though as Show suplexes both guys down with ease. Off to Kane as everything breaks down. Kane pounds away on Carlito in the corner and hits the side slam for no cover.

The top rope clothesline misses Masters though and there’s the Masterlock to Kane. Show breaks it up seconds later but there’s the Backstabber to Kane. The chokeslam is broken up by Masters and Show is sent to the floor. Kane’s double chokeslam attempt is broken up but after causing some heel miscommunication, a solo version to Carlito retains the titles.

Rating: C. Not bad here but this is one of the matches that probably could have been cut for the sake of trimming the show a bit. The match was a squash and not a very interesting one either. That’s the problem with a pair of giants like Big Show and Kane: there’s no one that can stop them and the resulting matches are dull at times. Not bad but it felt like a Raw match.

Carlito would turn face over the summer by hooking up with Trish Stratus. Evil Randy Orton would go after Trish, setting up a quick feud with a match at Unforgiven 2006.

Randy Orton vs. Carlito

I still like Burn in My Light better than Voices. This is more or less the apex of Carlito’s WWE push. Standard stuff to start which is fine. Randy takes over and we get an RKO chant. I love Canadian crowds. So much for that Randy takes over aspect as Carlito hits some nice springboard splashes. Both guys have nice dropkicks also. Orton’s mouth is busted, which today would bring a match to a screeching halt.

It’s chinlock time, which was more prevalent back in the day if you can believe that. Carlito hits a Downward Spiral which is a required move in this company I think. RKO is countered into the Backcracker and is told they have two minutes left. To end it, Carlito does a double springboard into a spinning clothesline. It doesn’t hit though as Orton pulls him into the RKO in a SWEET counter. Awesome ending to a bad match.

Rating: D+. This was rather boring. It’s nothing great at all as the whole thing was about the ending. Carlito was a rather odd worker as he had such a different style but it just never clicked for more than like one match in a row. This was rather short and didn’t really ever get off the ground, but after the long celebration with Trish they’re likely short on time.

Carlitp wouldn’t do much at all for the next year though he would get back into the title scene at Summerslam 2007 in a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Title with champion Umaga and Mr. Kennedy.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Kennedy vs. Carlito vs. Umaga

No real story here other than Umaga is defending and these two are at the Intercontinental level. Kennedy tries to negotiate and gets punched in the face by Umaga. Carlito loads up the apple but gets punched as well, giving the champion complete control so far. The challengers fall out to the floor and finally start going after Umaga at the same time, though it has the same result. Carlito gets in a cheap shot from behind to send Umaga to the floor and Kennedy rams the champion into the steps.

Back in and Carlito gets two off a rollup but gets caught using the ropes. Everyone in this is either a heel or close enough to call them one. Carlito hits a springboard back elbow to the jaw for two on Kennedy but gets caught in a Stroke for no cover. Instead Kennedy goes after Umaga but gets pulled to the floor instead of getting in a cheap shot. Umaga hits a middle rope headbutt on Carlito but Kennedy saves Carlito from a charging Samoan.

Carlito knocks Kennedy to the floor and gets two on the champion before asking for an alliance with Kennedy. The champion won’t be double suplexed but easily hits one on the other guys. Umaga is back up first to clean house and a spinning Rock Bottom gets two on Kennedy. A superkick puts Carlito in the corner and a running hip attack crushes him again. Kennedy sends Umaga to the floor and hits a rolling senton on Carlito, only to have Umaga come back in with the Samoan Spike on Kennedy for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t bad but this could have been on any given episode of Raw. Umaga was fine for a monster and would soon be slain by Jeff Hardy. Kennedy was supposed to be in a huge story coming up but a Wellness violation derailed those plans. As for Carlito…..there’s just nothing interesting to say about him. He exists and that’s about it.

It would be another year before Carlito would do anything else of note when he hooked up with his cousin Primo. The two received a Smackdown Tag Title shot on September 26, 2008.

Smackdown Tag Titles: Primo/Epico vs. Edgeheads

That would be Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins defending the titles. Hawkins and Primo get things going with Primo grabbing a quick flying headscissors for two. Off to Carlito for a slam before he drops Primo on top of Hawkins for two. Ryder offers a distraction and Hawkins sends Carlito shoulder first into the post.

Off to Zack who works on the injured arm with a hammerlock before it’s back to Hawkins for some kicks to the back. Armbars a go-go continue as Carlito keeps trying to get over for a tag. We take a quick break and come back with Primo coming in and cleaning house as everything breaks down. Carlito gets a quick tag and a Backstabber to Ryder is enough for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t much to see either as they didn’t have time to go anywhere and the arm work was completely forgotten after the break. Hawkins and Ryder weren’t much of a tag team and the division was pretty clearly not going to last much longer. Thankfully that would change soon.

The two Tag Titles would be unified at Wrestlemania 25 with the Colons winning the belts. Here’s a title defense in a triple threat from The Bash.

Unified Tag Titles: Edge/Chris Jericho vs. Colons vs. Legacy

The original two teams won’t let Jericho and Edge in to start which is a nice bit of thinking. Carlito and Ted start and Carlito does a gorgeous moonsault off the top. The team that speaks Spanish has the belts here. They’re trying to keep Edge and Jericho out of the ring, I’m assuming betting they’ll win if they get in, which is kind of odd for faces to be all scared like that. I think the fans are chanting for Christian of all people.

This is similar to the Horsemen/Dungeon of Doom match from Bash at the Beach 96 where Benoit and Anderson knew the Giant would destroy them if he came in so they wouldn’t let him in. It made sense and this does as well. Primo gets a nice rollup on Rhodes for two. It’s so strange hearing Orton talked about as being so hated a mere year ago and 9 months before he was the hottest thing in the world. Cody hooks an inverted Gory Special that looks awesome.

The fans love Edge here which is rather odd indeed. Jericho takes Primo out with a Codebreaker and we have Edge vs. fired guy. Carlito misses it though and Rhodes gets a backstabber. A spear gives the Canadians the belts after being in the match all of 20 seconds combined. As I type that, Lawler says it. At least I wasn’t imagining it.

Rating: B. While the wrestling wasn’t anything spectacular, the thought process here was perfect. They planned this one out very well and it made perfect sense which is a great thing in my eyes. They knew they couldn’t stop Edge or Jericho so they kept them out as long as they could. That’s smart booking and it worked just fine.

Carlito would be gone by early 2011 and it was back to Puerto Rico. We’ll wrap this up with a match against Savio Vega at Summer Madness 2013.

Carlito vs. Savio Vega

Again I’m not sure what’s going on here but I think it’s some kind of a power struggle. Vega jumps him to start and the brawl starts on the floor. Carlito gets choked up against the steps and they head inside for the first time. Carlito avoids a charge into the post and DEAR GOODNESS SOMEONE KILL THE FAN WITH THE HORN!!! Vega comes back in but gets stomped down as Carlito walks around a lot.

Back up and Vega scores with some right hands, only to get dropped by a big one from Carlito. Vega still has his vest on and we’re nearly seven minutes into this. Carlito slowly sends him into the corner before scoring with a suplex. Vega tries to get up but gets pummeled with punches and slaps. That guy is still honking his horn. Is that a thing in Puerto Rico or something? Savio misses a splash in the corner and Carlito stands around even more. You could cut out ten minutes of standing there and the match would have the same amount of action.

An elbow to the jaw puts Savio down again for a very delayed two count and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Carlito charges into a boot to the jaw followed by some right hands. Carlito tries a springboard but lands on his feet and gets kicked in the jaw as Savio mistimed the landing. Vega misses a spinwheel kick but kicks out at two as both guys are spent.

Carlito heads outside and pulls out a chair, only to have the referee try to take it away. Savio scores with a nice superkick for two and picks up the chair, only to get into a pulling match with the referee (who seems to be a special guest). Savio lets go and Carlito gets blasted in the head but kicks out at two. A superkick by Carlito gets two for him as well so he loads up the apple. Savio ducks and fires off green mist which misses as well, but Vega grabs a rollup for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. I liked this far better than the Gonzalez match as they were telling a story in the ring rather than something you needed a backstory to understand. Vega seemed to be the face here and made the classic comeback before countering Carlito spit for spit and winning with a rollup. Nice touch.

Overall….I just don’t get Carlito. I didn’t care for him when he was in WWE and I haven’t cared for anything else he’s done before or since. The hair was a big problem for him as he looks more like Sideshow Bob than a tough guy and the purple trunks made it even worse. Give him the skills he had with the look he was using back in 2000 and he’s WAY easier to buy. Not my favorite guy to put it mildly.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HY4NV7Y

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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

This was one of those special shows that sticks with you for awhile after it’s over and that’s exactly what WWE needed right now.

To begin with, Hulk Hogan returned to announce that he will be hosting Wrestlemania XXX. I know a lot of people haven’t been pleased with Hogan due to all of the nonsense in TNA, but at the end of the day he has to be at a major Wrestlemania. Yes he’s old, not in ring shape and can’t remember a basic line like WWE Network, but HE’S HULK HOGAN. He was the hero to a lot of children over a generation including myself. He’ll be around in the coming weeks and will probably use his powers before then so things will be fine. It’s a great moment and just felt right.

Next up we had the first of the How To guides for the Network. There were several of them last night but they were far less obnoxious than the WWE Apps ones. Also you have to expect these as it’s actually a big deal for a change instead of the stupid App. This was fine and they’ll be fine over the upcoming months.

Batista and Del Rio had a rematch from Sunday and surprisingly enough, Batista got pinned. Yeah it was off a distraction, but it was his second singles match back in the company. The crowd still didn’t want to see Batista, but at least the promo after the match gave signs of hope. Batista isn’t going to work as a face and at least the company seems to have caught on to that idea. They’re not going to do a heel vs. heel title match though, leaving a few distinct possibilities for Wrestlemania.

They could turn Orton, but he’s come off as such a spineless coward when dealing with the Authority that I don’t think it’s going to work. The other big option is to add someone else to the match to make it a triple threat. The only two serious options are Punk and Bryan, but Daniel seems to be locked into a HHH match and Punk might not even be on the show. For the life of me I can’t imagine Batista and Orton getting a one on one match, but stranger things have happened. I can’t think of any at the moment but I’m sure they have.

Big E. survived against Cesaro but it was a good example of a match where both guys looked good. It also looked to set up the Real Americans split due to Swagger costing Cesaro a potential win (emphasis on the word potential, as Cesaro was going to set up the Neutralizer but hadn’t knocked Big E. out yet). Cesaro needs to beat Swagger at Wrestlemania and split from Colter, but it would only destroy Swagger even more. He needs to do something but that’s been the case for years.

Cena and the Wyatts were up next in a match that we’ve known was coming for at least a month now. The storyline coming in seems to be a (fake) knee injury for Cena which is a basic idea that has been done before but still works wonders if done right. Cena vs. the Wyatts is going to depend on how serious John takes it. If he treats them like the monsters they are and acts cautious but serious he’ll be fine. On the other hand, if he treats them as goofy guys who wear weird close and have insane hair, the feud is going to come off as a joke, even if Wyatt wins. Thankfully it was Serious Cena on Monday so I’m cautiously optimistic.

The interesting thing here though is how the WWE has kind of booked themselves into a corner. After Sunday, the logical match would seem to be Shield vs. Wyatts II in a gimmick match (elimination tag maybe?) but instead we’re getting Cena vs. Wyatt. Now that being said, the singles match will be fine but it’s not the match that the people seem to be clamoring for. Wyatt beating Cena on the biggest stage of them all will be great for his career but it’s not great for short term booking.

Christian vs. Sheamus was fine, but it’s clear that Christian is not going to be anything more than he is right now and that his time is winding down. The match wasn’t bad but Sheamus was carrying him for the most part. I’m not sure where these two go at Wrestlemania, but there’s a chance the two of them will have a match that no one wants to see.

Ambrose and Reigns having an argument would seem to foreshadow a match at Wrestlemania, but I’m hoping Reigns doesn’t get the title. He’s too good for that kind of a burial.

I’m glad we got Bryan vs. Kane out of the way. Those two have been in a story for over a year and a half now and they needed to have a blowoff match. I didn’t buy the idea that it was happening at Wrestlemania and having it here on Raw was the right call. Bryan got the pin with the running knee and then challenged HHH to a match at Wrestlemania. No it isn’t the title match, but it makes the most sense with the story they’ve been telling. Believe it or not the best move would actually be Bryan beating HHH for the title, but that’s opening up a can of worms that isn’t worth the payoff.

One more note: get the undershirt off Kane. He looks like Marlon Brando from Streetcar Named Desire.

Emma and Summer Rae….happened. That’s really the only way to describe it. Emma is getting better but Santino continues to take the focus off of her. Why is she stuck in this dancers feud when AJ is desperate for ANY competition? If nothing else they’ve got Emma in her ring gear, which is always going to get a better pop than being mostly covered up like she’s been since debuting.

As I saw in another review: the Usos and Outlaws need to watch the Hart Foundation vs. the Bolsheviks from Wrestlemania VI. Thankfully the Usos getting the titles seems to still be happening.

Bray and Roman had their singles match and it ended the only way it could have. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it was a match in the last hour of a huge show in Wisconsin. Give them a build with an atmosphere on a bigger stage and the quality goes up. Reigns needs more ring time on his own though.

That brings us to the big ending of the show. Again, Lesnar vs. Undertaker was pretty much set in stone months ago but the match was still awesome. I’d like to remind you of something: HE STABBED HIM WITH THE PEN. For the first time in years Undertaker is the aggressor in a feud and that’s an idea I can get behind. It might have been seventeen years ago, but go back and watch his stuff from the Attitude Era. Undertaker is at his best when he just starts breaking stuff and it’s even better when he breaks them with people’s bodies. I’m not sure if Undertaker can keep up with Lesnar’s physical style, but the build is going to be fun.

Raw this week was supposed to be a big show and it worked like a charm. At the end of the show I was ready for Wrestlemania for the first time this year and that’s exactly what it was supposed to do. There are still five weeks to adjust some things and the main event is still up in the air, but the rest of the card looks solid from here. It looks more like Wrestlemania XIX than Wrestlemania XVII, but that’s not the worst thing in the world.

One of the most interesting things last night was the amount of ring time the matches got. We had four matches break fourteen minutes and another that got ten. There were almost no recaps or stupid backstage segments and the show worked far better. I’m not saying there’s no place for a backstage bit here and there, but we don’t need to see these long drawn out segments to reenforce stuff that’s already been made.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

This is a bit late but it’s been a busy few days.

The pre-show match was nothing special but it was nice to see Cody and Goldust get a win. They’re too talented to be wasted jobbing to guys like Ryback and Axel. Their run at the top of the division is long over but at least they can still do stuff like this.

Swagger vs. Langston was WAY better than I was expecting. Jack needs to change something up though as his character is just so damaged. It’s almost impossible to shake that stigma when you’re the same character with the same moves and look every single night. It also doesn’t help that he’s in there with Cesaro who is getting a huge push at the moment and looking like a star. There’s talent in Swagger but he needs to be repackaged like two years ago.

Langston looked good and there’s always going to be a spot for someone who can just run people over and throw them across the ring.

I’ll look at all the Bad News Barrett bits at once. The idea is good but the execution hasn’t worked for me. Just telling people that they’re fat and that Europeans are better isn’t going to get him anywhere. Have him do actual bad news like “chant all you want, Bryan isn’t getting the match” or “the fans don’t care about you” and the character serves a purpose other than just randomly appearing for ten seconds.

The Outlaws retaining the titles is fine if they actually drop the things at Wrestlemania. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t help that they keep winning the matches clean, thereby looking better than the challengers. The Outlaws got over by using every possible method of cheating known to man and then inventing some of their own back in the 90s. Since then the power of nostalgia has made them into great workers and people are acting like that actually happened. It would work for the Hardy Boys or a team like that, but this is getting more and more bizarre every week.

Titus vs. Darren was exactly what I thought it would be. The crowd didn’t care for most of the match so thankfully the guys went home in a hurry. Titus will be good when he gets a better opponent. I feel sorry for Young as he’s not terrible but there’s just nothing special to him and it’s showing.

I don’t know what I can say about Shield vs. the Wyatts. The match was amazing and everyone looked like a star. The booking was great too with Reigns getting caught 3-1, thereby protecting him from taking a big loss. Yeah he got pinned, but no one is going to look down on him for not being able to fight off all three Wyatts at once.

AJ vs. Cameron was what it was. Cameron looks good in the shorts and tight top but there’s just nothing there in the ring. Thankfully it looks like we’re moving towards AJ vs. Tamina who can go in the ring.

That brings us to one of the more interesting match of the night. Batista had his first singles match since his comeback and looked pretty horrible. The match was basically a squash until the very end, but the more interesting part though was the crowd. They flat out do not care about Batista at all and do not want to see him in the ring. A heel turn will help, but he needs to do something more than that at this point.

Del Rio wasn’t bad out there but he might as well have been anyone on the roster. He looked fine in the ring like he always did, but he was little more than Del Rio being sacrificed to Batista to set up a match that almost no one wants to see. The wrestling was fine but the crowd was the story here and it’s a story that needs to be fixed sooner rather than later.

The Chamber was about what everyone was expecting but it was still very entertaining. Sheamus and Cesaro having a brawl throughout the entire match worked very well and I could see the two of them having a match at Wrestlemania as a result. Sheamus never had a chance to win but that Brogue Kick through the pod was as good looking of a spot as you were going to get. Cesaro didn’t really get to show off that much but the win over Orton and showcase match against Cena were more important than looking good in a match he wasn’t going to win anyway.

The rest of the match was fine as well with Orton taking a beating but surviving long enough to keep the title. Kane and the Wyatts interfering was predictable but it still worked quite well. Bryan getting screwed over sets up HHH vs. Bryan at Wrestlemania (in theory) and Cena vs. Bray is ready to go as well. Good match to end a very good show.

The main story coming out of Elimination Chamber was that WWE being on the road to Wrestlemania. Things have cranked up again this year and the next six weeks are going to be a very fun time. I could even live with the Network stuff as it’s certainly a huge moment that deserves the hypt it received. Great show here with Shield vs. Wyatts being must see stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

Pretty much confirmed at this point.  The refusal to accept further treatment was kind of a giveaway.

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 24, 2014
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

To say tonight is a stacked card is an understatement. First and foremost we have a slew of returning stars, including Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels and potentially Undertaker. It’s also the night after Elimination Chamber which saw a masterpiece between Shield and the Wyatt Family and Randy Orton retaining the WWE Title inside the Chamber. The interesting thing is what happens with Daniel Bryan, who was screwed out of the title again, leading to a tirade from Michael Cole about how it has to stop. Let’s get to it.

We open with the return of Hulk Hogan to a very nice reaction. He soaks it in….and almost immediately screws up his lines, saying the WWE Universe has officially launched. Hogan almost saves it by saying the Universe launched the Network. He talks about his career making a turn as he’s coming home to be the official host of Wrestlemania XXX. So whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you brother?

The announcers show us how to use the Network on various platforms.

Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio

The reaction is somehow even worse than last night. Batista points out one of the Boo-Tista signs in the crowd with a little smirk. Dave pounds him into the corner with right hands to start and a clothesline sends Del Rio outside. Alberto goes back first into the apron before being sent back inside for a suplex. Batista clotheslines him back to the floor but Del Rio trips him up and drops him on the apron. Del Rio sends him into the steps as Lawler talks about the reaction at the Rumble, coming to the logical conclusion of the fans just wanted to see Bryan.

Back from a break with Del Rio stomping on Batista in the ring. Batista comes back with some shots of his own and takes Del Rio down with some clotheslines. A Codebreaker on the arm puts Batista on the mat but he ducks the low superkick and avoids the charge in the corner. There’s the spinebuster but here’s Randy Orton as well, allowing Del Rio to roll Batista up for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: D+. This felt more like an angle than a match and at this point that’s the best thing that can happen to Batista. Del Rio hasn’t been bad lately but the fans are going to cheer anyone that’s against Batista right now. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere with most of it being in a commercial.

Randy calls that one of the funniest things he’s ever seen before talking about the fans rejecting Batista ever since he came back. He thinks Batista must regret returning but Batista says Orton couldn’t be more wrong. Batista loves this business and the fans have their own voice. However, he has his own voice too and will boo them right back. He’ll be going to Wrestlemania to fight one of his former friends and taking the title, so deal with it.

Cesaro vs. Big E.

Non-title. Big E. quickly runs him over with a shoulder but Cesaro comes back with a series of knees to the ribs. A very nice overhead belly to belly sends Cesaro flying and some running shoulders in the corner are good for two. Back up and they collide before Cesaro kicks Big E. in the face to take over. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a series of backbreakers put Cesaro down. Cesaro puts him down with a headlock as JBL and Cole have an unfunny conversation about what the E. stands for. Cesaro catches a charging Big E. in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as we take a break.

Back with Cesaro holding a chinlock but Big E. fights up for a gorilla press. He misses a charge into the post though and Cesaro pounds away in the corner before putting on a chinlock. A big powerslam gets two on E. and Cesaro tells Colter he’s got it. We hit the chinlock again but Big E. fights up, only to get caught in a sleeper. He rolls free and slams Cesaro down before taking off the straps.

Cesaro escapes the Big Ending and somehow hits Swiss Death for a VERY close two. The Swing is countered and Big E. hits something like a Rock Bottom out of the corner. Big E. is sent to the floor but he has to run over Swagger, allowing Cesaro to Swing the champion. Cesaro looks to set up the Neutralizer but Swagger comes in for the DQ at 15:50.

Rating: C+. This was a match with two big guys beating the tar out of each other for fifteen minutes and you can’t screw something like that up. Cesaro is an absolute freak but Big E. was more than holding his own out there. The Real Americans need to split already as Cesaro is ready to make a big jump but Swagger is holding him down.

Post match Big E. goes after Jack but Cesaro jumps him from behind and hits the Neutralizer.

Stills of the Chamber and the Wyatts costing Cena the match.

Here’s Cena to finally address the Wyatts. First off though, he says how great it is to see Hulk Hogan back where he belongs. Over the last few weeks Cena has been saying that anyone who wants to get to the top of the WWE has to go through him. The fans are of course split and Cena is of course cool with that idea. This brings him to Bray Wyatt, who has caused quite a stir since he showed up around here.

Last night Cena came face to face with Bray Wyatt and Bray cost him a championship match. That was a bold move and John Cena is right here if Bray wants to make another bold move. Here’s the whole Family to respond but Bray sits in his chair in the aisle. He says this world has an infection and a virus known as the human race. Through all of these times it makes sense that Cena would put himself right in the middle of all of them. What would the world be without its hero or its knight in shining hero?

John Cena is full of empty promises because he can’t save these people from this terrible world. Cena says the future has to come through him and Bray couldn’t agree more. Wyatt introduces himself to Cena and they are the reapers who bring death to this era of lies. Cena introduces himself as well and says if one of them comes into this ring, they’re starting something they might not be able to finish.

The monsters storm the ring and the numbers are too much for Cena. Bray pulls the Family back as Cena is favoring his left leg. Cena charges at them anyway but they’re just too bit. He’s holding that knee almost the entire time. John gets up again and the Family walks away but Cena can barely walk. He has to chase off Rowan, allowing Bray to run Cena over again. Follow the buzzards.

Cena was stretchered out during the break.

Christian vs. Sheamus

This was set up on the pre-show by Brad Maddox due to the two of them having issues since Smackdown on Friday. Christian is quickly sent to the floor but he comes back in with some right hands. Sheamus is fine with that and takes Christian into the corner for some clubbing forearms. A clothesline gets two on the Canadian and we hit a chinlock. Christian tries to wrap Sheamus’ leg around the post but Sheamus pull him face first into the steel instead. Christian counters the ten forearms to the chest and scores with a missile dropkick for two. Sheamus backdrops him to the floor and hits a shoulder off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Christian shoving Sheamus off the top and to the floor before ramming him into the steps. Christian stomps away in the corner before putting on a body vice to work over Sheamus’ bad ribs. Cole tells us that Cena’s injury is to his knee and it’s swollen pretty badly. Christian puts on an abdominal stretch but Sheamus elbows his way out and avoids a cross body.

Sheamus is sent to the floor but he catches a charging Christian with a knee lift and hits the ten forearms to the chest. A slingshot shoulder gets two and Sheamus busts out the Cloverleaf but Christian is quickly in the ropes. White Noise is countered into a sunset flip for two but the Brogue Kick misses. Christian goes up top but jumps into the Brogue Kick for the pin at 15:50.

Rating: B-. Another nice long match tonight with Christian getting to do what he does best: look good in a losing effort. Sheamus is still in a weird place as the fans like him and always pop for the Brogue (hard not to) but he really needs something to do. Good match here and that’s all you can ask for at times.

Earlier tonight the Authority called today the biggest night since the first Wrestlemania when Bryan cams up screaming, saying that he’ll fight HHH right now or at Wrestlemania but HHH laughed it off.

Black History Month video on the Soul Patrol of Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson.

Dean Ambrose is tired of explaining himself to Rollins and Reigns. They don’t trust him so he’s out of here. Rollins and Reigns are left alone when the Wyatts come in. Reigns challenges them to a fight right now, but says he’d love to fight Bray one on one tonight, with the Family and the dogs staying in the back. Bray accepts and laughs.

Ric Flair and Booker T were on the Raw pre-show panel to talk about the show. Flair starts a YES chant to take us to the next match.

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

Kane slugs away to start but Bryan comes back with kicks to the leg. A running dropkick to the knee has Kane in trouble and some chop blocks put him down. Kane fights out of a half crab and stomps away but Bryan fights back like the plucky hero he is. A shot to the shoulder puts him back down though and we hit the armbar, only to have Bryan send Kane to the floor. The FLYING GOAT is blocked by an uppercut and we take a break.

Back with Kane stomping away and putting on an armbar, only to have Bryan quickly punch his way out. Bryan hits the moonsault out of the corner and takes Kane down with the running clothesline. There are the YES Kicks but the big one is countered and a side slam gets two. Bryan fights back again and gets two of his own off a top rope hurricanrana before hitting the running corner dropkicks.

Kane charges over the top to the floor and there’s the FLYING GOAT! Another running dropkick knocks Kane against the barricade and a missile dropkick connects back inside. A big kick to the head gets two but Kane counters the top rope headbutt with a chokeslam for a close two. Bryan can’t get the YES Lock the first or second time so he hits a quick running knee for the pin at 15:40.

Rating: C+. This was the match that the two needed to have and it gets rid of the idea of Bryan vs. Kane at Wrestlemania. It’s pretty clear that we’re heading towards HHH vs. Bryan in the showdown and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Not a great match or anything but it was a good performance by both guys. Kane needs to lose the shirt though.

Bryan calls HHH a coward for running from a challenge and hiding behind Stephaine’s skirt. Ever since HHH put on the suit, he’s ignored the people’s wishes, even when they make their voices heard. The YES chant starts up and Bryan asks HHH if he’s listening. There’s an entire arena of people here in Green Bay, Wisconsin chanting YES so give them what they want: HHH vs. Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania XXX.

Emma vs. Summer Rae

Emma gets her full entrance with the bubbles and dancing but the people still don’t care. Emma grabs a small package for an early two but Summer kicks her head off to take over. Summer puts on a chinlock as the match slows quite a bit. The fans actually cheer for Emma to fight up and she counters another spinwheel kick into the Emma Lock (bridging Indian deathlock) for the win at 3:24.

Rating: D+. Emma still isn’t working due to the Santino factor but that’s WWE for you. Just let her be goofy and adorable and the fans will get into her. The lack of the long pants and shirt helped her here but she still needs to be herself instead of Santino’s latest chick. Seriously he’s had like four Divas now.

We look back at Hogan’s return earlier.

Usos vs. New Age Outlaws

Non-title. Dogg gets on the mic and says we know how this ends so the young kids need to get out of the ring. The Usos actually do it so the Outlaws can do their schtick but the twins come in and clean house with Jimmy superkicking and splashing Road Dogg for the pin at 1:13.

Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns

They trade right hands to start and Bray rolls to the floor. Back in and Reigns shoves Bray around before a finger to the eye sends Wyatt outside again. Bray comes back in again and takes over with a boot to the head followed by a hard clothesline for two. Roman will have none of this selling stuff and takes Bray outside for an even harder clothesline as we take a break.

Back with Bray hitting a running backsplash and drawing what sounds like a SCARY chant. We hit the headlock on the mat as the fans are already bored because this hasn’t been going a thousand miles an hour. Bray hits his running cross body and a splash in the corner but Reigns avoids another charge. The dropkick from the floor to the apron sets up a belly to back slam (similar to Cena’s ProtoBomb) for two….and here are the other Wyatts.

They’re just on the floor but Rollins sprints in from the crowd and DIVES on both of them, giving Bray a rollup for two. Reigns misses a charge into the post as Rollins is beaten down. Ambrose finally charges in from the back to join the fight but Reigns scores with the Superman Punch. He has to go after Harper though and Ambrose comes in for the DQ at 14:00 though.

Rating: C+. This was the only way to go here and the ending was about as good as it could have been. They clearly couldn’t job either guy and it advances Dean’s split. It helped that Ambrose was caught up in the moment rather than doing something stupid so Reigns has a reason to believe him when he says it wasn’t intentional.

Here are Heyman and Lesnar to close the show with a table in the ring. Paul calls Brock the undisputed #1 contender but apparently HHH won’t let him in the title match. He’s offered Brock an open contract at Wrestlemania but that’s just not good enough. What Brock wants is to conquer history, just like he’s done with every single thing he’s done in his life. The only reason Brock Lesnar can’t conquer the WWE Championship is the Authority won’t give him the chance.

That’s how they get you in WWE, so Paul has advised Brock to turn down the open contract and demand the title match. If not, there’s no Lesnar at Wrestlemania…..and there’s the gong. Brock isn’t sure what to think because apparently the lightning, thunder, smoke, organ music and UNDERTAKER BEING ON THE SCREEN AREN’T CLEAR ENOUGH. Undertaker comes through the curtain (with black Ministry beard of course) and Brock still isn’t sure what to do.

Taker turns to Brock and stares him down as a LOUD Undertaker chant starts up. He looks over Brock at the sign and we get the big staredown. Paul gets the idea and open the contract for Brock. Lesnar immediately signs and hands Taker the pen. Heyman offers Taker the match so Taker STABS BROCK’s HAND WITH THE PEN and chokeslams him through the table. The hood comes off and he’s got a little mohawk going to make him look even more evil. Brock is left laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. I had a blast with tonight’s show as it feels like we’re getting to Wrestlemania season. We’ve got three major matches practically penciled in and a lot of stuff got nice build as well. Couple that with four matches going 14+ minutes and you can’t go wrong here. The ending was the high point of course but I can’t shake that feeling I got from Hogan. It just felt right seeing him back on Raw and I can’t help but smile.

Results

Alberto Del Rio b. Baitsta – Rollup

Big E. b. Cesaro via DQ when Jack Swagger interfered

Sheamus b. Christian – Brogue Kick

Daniel Bryan b. Kane – Running Knee

Emma b. Summer Rae – Emma Lock

Bray Wyatt b. Roman Reigns via DQ when Dean Ambrose interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

May or may not be a story.The Wyatts attacked Cena on Raw and John came up favoring his left leg.  Early word is it’s legit but there’s no word on the severity.  The match at Wrestlemania is pretty much already set so they could let Cena heal for the next month and a half.  Or the knee could be fine tomorrow.

More updates when they’re available of course.

Elimination Chamber 2014
Date: February 23, 2014
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole

Tonight is the final big stop on the Road to Wrestlemania with six men possibly leaving with the WWE Championship. It’s actually a wide open field tonight with at least three people having a realistic shot at walking out with the belt. However there might be an even more interesting match on the card with the Wyatt Family vs. the Shield in a very well built story. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Axel comes out with his grandfather Larry the Ax Hennig. Goldust and Curtis get things going with the painted one taking over with some armdrags. Off to Cody vs. Ryback with the big guy throwing him around like it’s nothing. Axel comes in again and but gets sent to the floor. Ryback is tossed out as well and the brothers dive on both guys as we take a break.

Back with Ryback stomping away on Goldust and there’s a tag off to Curtis as his grandfather looks very pleased. A delayed vertical suplex gets two for Ryback and Goldust rolls Axel up for the same. Goldust and Axel clothesline each other but Ryback breaks up a tag.

Ryback charges at Goldust but gets backdropped to the floor, finally allowing for the hot tag to Cody. Rhodes takes Axel down with a knee to the face and the moonsault press gets two. Cody’s springboard dropkick is countered into a powerbomb for two as Goldust and Ryback fight to the floor. Curtis tries his neckbreaker but gets countered into Cross Rhodes for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C-. This could have been any match on any given Smackdown. As has been the issue for the division since it was resurrected: it doesn’t matter how many teams you have if they’re all just trading wins back and forth with no one getting anywhere as a result. It’s nice to see Goldust and Cody get a win though.

The opening video talks about being willing to fight anyone in order to achieve your dream.

Intercontinental Title: Big E. vs. Jack Swagger

Swagger is challenging and Colter does his usual schtick before the match. Big E. shoves him into the corner to start and runs him over with a hard shoulder block, sending Swagger to the outside. Back in and some overhead belly to belly suplexes put Jack down but he bails to the floor again to avoid a charging champion. This time Big E. follows him outside and sends him into the steps but the champion goes after Colter.

The distraction doesn’t work though as he spears Jack into the steps in a painful looking spot. Back inside and Jack low bridges Big E. out to the floor and takes over with some running knees in the corner. After a WE THE PEOPLE it’s off to a front facelock for a few moments. Big E. fights up and a double clothesline puts both guys down again. Swagger avoids a charge and Big E. goes shoulder first into the post, drawing a WE THE PEOPLE chant from the crowd.

Back up and Big E. runs Swagger over with clotheslines and a belly to belly suplex but the champion charges into a powerslam for two. The running Vader Bomb is caught in the Big Ending but Jack makes it to the apron. That’s fine with Big E. as he spears him through the ropes in a big crash. Back in and the Warrior Splash gets two so Big E…..goes up top? Jack catches him with a right hand and runs the ropes for a belly to belly superplex and a VERY close two.

Swagger takes out the leg and puts on the Patriot Lock but Big E. kicks his way out. The gutwrench is countered but Big E. runs him over and takes down the straps. Jack grabs another Patriot Lock but Big E. fights up and hits an enziguri of all things, setting up the Big Ending to retain the title at 11:50.

Rating: B. I liked this far better than I was expecting with Swagger putting up a great fight and making it much closer than he had any right to. It’s nice to see Big E. get a win on PPV and a successful title defense over a former World Champion never hurt anyone. It should be interesting to see where the Real Americans go from here.

Bad News Barrett pops up and talks about Russia winning more medals at the Olympics, further proving European dominance. Is this character ever going anywhere?

We look back at Daniel Bryan’s shoulder injury from Raw at the hands of Kane.

Daniel Bryan asks some questions about the Chamber, such as will his opponents go after his shoulder and will he give this everything he has to become WWE Champion. Take a guess as to what the answer is.

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Usos

The Usos are challenging. Jimmy shoves Billy around to start and some armdrags and hiptosses send Gunn outside. The Usos load up their double dive but the Outlaws move before the jump. Back in for Dogg vs. Jey with the champion’s headbutt hurting him instead of Jey. A hiptoss sends Jey into the corner and he looked to injure his knee or leg. The shaky kneedrop gets two and it’s back to Gunn for a two count.

The CM Punk chants start up as Dogg shrugs off some right hands and knees Jey down again. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Jey fights up and superkicks Jey back down. Hot tag brings in Jimmy to speed things up leaving Jimmy vs. Gunn in the ring. Road Dogg pulls his partner away from the running Umaga attack but Jimmy dives onto Roadie. Back in and a superkick gets two on Gunn but Jimmy has to go after Road Dogg, allowing Billy to grab a rollup for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: D+. This is more about frustrating booking than a bad match but the wrestling was nothing great either. I’m not sure if the Outlaws are holding the belts because they’re friends of HHH or because this company thinks there’s more to nostalgia than anyone else, but I don’t get the appeal of the Outlaws getting clean pins on top tag teams.

Bad News Barrett pops up again without the raised podium to say Daniel Bryan’s shoulder will keep him from winning the title.

Time to hype the Network. Apparently there will be over 50 documentaries in addition to the PPVs. Nice addition.

Darren Young vs. Titus O’Neil

Basic story here of a team losing and splitting due to a heel turn by Titus. Darren gets in Titus’ face to start but is knocked down by a hard forearm. The fans want Lesnar as Titus works on a headlock. Titus bails to the floor and Darren is right on his heels as the fans chant Fruity Pebbles. Darren charges into the corner but gets backdropped out to the floor followed by having his back rammed into the post.

Back in and it’s time for a bearhug, backbreakers and an abdominal stretch. Titus slaps Darren in the ribs before charging into a boot as the announcers talk about JBL being cheap. Darren comes back with some basic offense for two as the fans boo the kickout. Thankfully they get the hint and a quick Clash of the Titus ends Darren at 6:17.

Rating: D. This was about what I was expecting and it showed the problem with Young. He’s basically the modern day Scotty Riggs, meaning a guy who was in a tag team with a much more charismatic guy and then had nothing interesting once he was on his own. Titus looked good here though and won clean in the right ending. Thankfully they went home quickly like they did.

MORE Bad News Barrett who talks about being more talented than Hulk Hogan.

We look at the pre-show match and the rest of the show with the expert panel.

Recap of Shield vs. Wyatt Family. The Family cost Shield a spot in the Elimination Chamber and the feud has spiraled into a battle over who is the greatest faction in WWE today. Ambrose and Reigns have been having issues lately as well.

Wyatt Family vs. Shield

The Wyatts take their sweet time as is their custom and we get a long staredown as the fans think this is awesome before busting out the dueling chants. This is what you get when you actually build up a feud to the point where you can’t imagine either team going down clean. Ambrose jumps the Family and the Shield clears out the ring before the opening bell.

Rowan vs. Rollins gets things going with Erick being drokicked into the Shield corner before it’s off to Reigns for a pop. He’s out just as quickly as it’s back to Rollins who gets his head taken off with a clothesline. Harper comes in for some hard right hands before it’s off to the boss for some knees in the corner. Rollins is thrown into the corner and the tag brings in Reigns. You can feel the fans get excited for this showdown.

They trade right hands with Bray getting the worst of it so a tag brings in Harper. Luke can’t suplex Reigns so Roman counters into one of his own and brings in Dean. Ambrose pounds away in the corner before it’s back to Reigns for two off a HARD right hand. Dean gets two off the dropkick against the ropes and it’s back to Seth for a headbutt to Luke’s back. The Shield starts their fast tagging with Dean coming in to rake his forearm over Luke’s face. A middle rope elbow to the jaw puts Luke down but Rowan offers a distraction, allowing Harper to hit a dropkick of all things.

Bray gets the tag to pound away on Dean as the Family takes over again. A running splash in the corner crushes Dean and it’s back to Rowan for the head vice with two fists. Rowan gets two off a side slam and brings Harper back in, only to have Dean grab a swinging neckbreaker to get a breather.

Rollins comes back in with a nice running dropkick but he gets caught on the top rope. Luke loads up a reverse superplex but Seth lands on his feet and sends Harper to the floor for a suicide dive. Back inside and the top rope knee to the side of the head puts Harper down again and Seth has a fired up look in his eyes. Harper kicks his head off for a very close two and it’s back to Bray after the best sequence Rollins has ever had in WWE.

Bray sends Rollins outside and hits the running backsplash on the floor before it’s back to Rowan. The dueling chants begin again before the fans say they want tables. Back to Harper who hammers away in the corner and scores with a running clothesline. Wyatt demands to be tagged in but runs into a boot in the corner. Rollins goes to the middle rope, only to dive into a chokeslam of all things for two. Ambrose tries to make the save but Harper kicks his head off, sending him to the floor.

Rollins finally gets in a shot to Harper’s head and the hot tag brings in Reigns to clean house. A Samoan drop puts Rowan down but Harper saves his partner. There’s the dropkick from the floor for two on Erick as everything breaks down. Dean takes Bray down and hammers away before dropkicking him out to the floor. Harper dives through the floor to take out Ambrose but Rollins hits a swanton dive over the top to take Luke out. Reigns rolls up Erick for a VERY close two but they clothesline each other down.

Seth loads up the Spanish announce table but Bray decks him from behind. Ambrose saves Rollins from being sent through the table and takes Bray into the crowd with another charge. AWESOME stuff here. Rowan and Reigns slug it out and Roman goes shoulder first into the post, only to come back with a running clothesline for two. Rollins hits Harper with a monitor to the ribs but Bray comes back and loads up the other announce table. Rowan takes Reigns down in the ring and sends him to the floor with a fallaway slam.

The Family has Rollins surrounded and the monsters double chokeslam him through the announce table. Ambrose is still gone so it’s pretty much Reigns vs. all three Family members. They slowly get back in the ring and Roman sees what he’s up against. He goes right for Bray but the numbers are too much for him.

Harper kicks Reigns’ head off and drops to his knees for the tag off to Wyatt. Bray does his upside down thing in the corner but Reigns powers out of Sister Abigail and Bray is terrified. Reigns goes into Beast Mode and Samoan drops Bray before hitting Rowan and Bray with Superman Punches. The spear puts Harper down but Wyatt runs Reigns over, setting up Sister Abigail for the pin at 22:45.

Rating: A+. When you expect a match to be one of the best match you’ve seen in a long time and get blown away, you’ve seen something special. This was outstanding stuff and had me glued to the screen which doesn’t happen every day. Outstanding match where neither team looked bad at all. Find this match if you didn’t catch it tonight.

Network ad with Hogan and Cena schilling its awesomeness. No they’re not on camera together.

Christian says his losses make him dangerous and dares us to underestimate him.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Cameron

This is a bonus match due to fill in some time and let the crowd catch their breath. AJ is defending of course and says this was supposed to be Naomi’s match but she broke her face. Cameron gets in a quick shot to the face but gets taken down by a neckbreaker for two.

AJ puts on a modified dragon sleeper but spends too much time skipping around and gets rolled up for two. Cameron is quickly sent outside and AJ steals her pompoms for a little dance. Tamina screws up by kicking AJ in the face but still breaks up the pin attempt at two. That’s not enough for Tamina as she pulls Cameron outside and takes her head off for the DQ at 4:00.

Rating: D. This was a necessary step down after the masterpiece we saw a few minutes ago. Cameron was the logical choice for the replacement here but at the end of the day, no one cares about her at all. She’s a whiny little pest on Total Divas and there’s no reason to care about her.

Bad News Barrett says everyone is going to lose their jobs, children will be expelled from schools, rats will move into homes and the government will condemn the houses. Why? BECAUSE EVERYONE WILL BE MESMERIZED BY THE WWE NETWORK!

Santino, Emma, Khali and Los Matadores play with the new toys.

Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio

Batista is back to black trunks instead of the shorts from the Rumble. He gets a decent reaction here and nowhere near what it was last month. It seems more like indifference than anything else. Del Rio comes to the ring in workout clothes, wearing a neck brace and using a crutch. Sign in the crowd: “Batista = ZZZ”. Del Rio says he can’t compete and of course jumps Batista with the crutch. Fans: “SI! SI! SI!”

Del Rio of course has his trunks underneath and goes after Batista’s knee. He says ring the bell and Batista comes back with right hands as the booing begins. We might as well be in Mexico City right now. Fans: “Boo-Tista! Boo-Tista!” Even Lawler has to acknowledge the chants. Batista is sent shoulder first into the post and Del Rio puts on the armbreaker in the ropes. We hit the hammerlock as the fans chant for Bryan and Punk.

The Codebreaker to the arm puts Batista down again and it’s a Y2J chant. Del Rio misses a charge into the post and the BORING chants begin. Del Rio gets in another shot to the arm to take over and the corner enziguri gets two. Batista is knocked to the floor as the chants go from RVD to Lesnar. The announcers are acknowledging most of them at this point.

Del Rio throws him back inside and gets speared down for two (face pop). A powerslam is countered into the Backstabber for two but Alberto misses a top rope backsplash. Del Rio escapes the powerbomb and takes out the knee before the low superkick gets two. The armbreaker is countered and Del Rio is sent into an exposed buckle (when did that happen?) and the Batista Bomb is good the pin at 7:13.

Rating: D. I’m at a loss for words here as the fans are clearly not accepting Batista, but it’s not just because he’s a face. He literally had less than ten offensive moves here and was getting squashed until the very end. They expect him to be able to work a 20+ minute match in just six weeks? I can’t imagine that at all.

Network ad.

Expert panel predictions. Miz can’t make up his mind, Henry picks Sheamus and Mysterio picks Cesaro.

The Chamber is lowered.

Video on the Chamber.

WWE Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Christian vs. Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

Orton is defending and of course it’s two people for five minutes to start and a new one is added out of a pod every five minutes. Last man surviving wins. Sheamus and Cesaro will be starting which is quite a way to get things going. Cesaro quickly dropkicks Sheamus out to the steel but can’t ram him into the wall. Back inside but it’s a quick backdrop to send Sheamus onto the steel again. Cesaro loads up a charge but Sheamus slingshots in with a shoulder for two.

Now it’s Cesaro being sent onto the steel and they fight over a suplex but Sheamus lands on his feet. Cesaro quickly puts him down and a middle rope double stomp crushes Sheamus’ ribs as Orton casually watches from the pod. They brawl into the corner and Sheamus tells him to bring it on. That’s fine with Cesaro as he uppercuts Sheamus down, but Sheamus pulls himself to the top rope. Another uppercut staggers the Irishman but he comes back with the flying shoulder.

Daniel Bryan is in third and the fans are fired up. Bryan has a bad shoulder coming in but starts fast with his usual stuff, including the running clothesline and YES kicks to Sheamus. Cesaro gets some kicks as well and the roundhouse kick sends him to the steel. Daniel puts Sheamus in an Indian deathlock and manages to suplex Cesaro for two without breaking the hold. Cesaro catches a diving Bryan in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two and things slow down a bit.

Sheamus is sent over the ropes again and Cesaro just rakes Sheamus’ head against the steel with a knee. Bryan is sent shoulder first through the pod and looks to be more in shock than pin. Cesaro and Sheamus slug it out until Sheamus hits the rolling fireman’s carry on the steel. Bryan is back in the ring as the dueling Cena chants begin. The clock speeds up a bit so Christian can come in fourth.

Christian goes right after Bryan’s shoulder by sending it into the cage wall over and over. He rips the tape off and slams the pod door on the shoulder for two. Sheamus is back up now and slams Christian’s back into the post a few times, only to be countered into the reverse DDT on the steel. Cesaro loads up Swiss Death on the outside but Christian grabs the cage to avoid massive amounts of pain. Instead Cesaro pulls him down and powerbombs him against the pod glass for two.

Cesaro sends Sheamus into the broken pod and it’s Cena in fifth. He immediately cleans house but gets taken down by a top rope hurricanrana from Bryan. There are the YES Kicks but Christian breaks up the big one with the Killswitch for a very close two. Cesaro loads up the Swing on Christian but Cena breaks it up with a cross body, sending Christian into the buckle off a slingshot. White Noise gets two on John and it’s back to Cesaro vs. Sheamus. Christian catches Sheamus with a kick to the face but Sheamus backdrops out of the Neutralizer.

A tornado DDT gets two on Cesaro but Cena sends Christian into the steel. Cena goes after Cesaro but gets caught in Swiss Death for two. Bryan, Cena and Cesaro have a three way fight until Cena loads Cesaro up in the AA. Daniel kicks John down before kicking Cesaro in the corner which the announcers call a mistake. Sheamus sends Bryan into the cage wall but Cesaro does his awesome superplex from the cage floor. Orton comes in to give us all six at once, which might be a first.

The fans chant BORING so Orton stops to pose and point at the sign like a good heel should. Bryan avoids the Punt and Orton is suddenly cornered by all five guys. Orton wisely hides in the pod, drawing a certain feline insult from the crowd. Sheamus yells through the glass before Brogue Kicking through the pod and sending Orton into the cage wall over and over. Cesaro sends Sheamus in as well and Cena initiates his finishing sequence on the champion. Cesaro breaks it up and Swings Orton THIRTY TIMES. Bryan grabs a Rolling Chaos Theory suplex on Cesaro but there’s no cover.

Sheamus powerslams Christian down and loads up the Brogue Kick on Christian but hits Cena square in the jaw. Christian rolls up both guys for two and Sheamus is TICKED. He loads up the High Cross (running Razor’s Edge) into the pod but Christian escapes to the top of a pod. Orton catches Sheamus in a superplex and Chrisitan adds a top rope splash to eliminate the Irishman. Orton tries the Elevated DDT on Christian but the Canadian escapes, only to get caught by the running knee for the pin and the elimination.

We get a fourway standoff until Orton and Cesaro are knocked down. Cena and Bryan have their long awaited rematch with Bryan trying a quick YES Lock but Cena easily powers out. The AA is loaded up but Cesaro Germans Cena as he’s STILL HOLDING BRYAN but can only get two. Cena can’t get the STF on Cesaro but he counters the gutwrench into what was supposed to be a hurricanrana. An AA onto the steel sets up the STF and Cesaro taps in an awkward looking moment. There might have been an injury there.

Cena catches Orton in the STF and we’ve got Wyatts. The lights go out and Orton is out of the hold somehow as the Wyatts are in the Chamber. Harper kicks Bryan in the face but all three go after Cena. John is laid out (Fans: “THANK YOU WYATTS!”) and the Wyatts leave, giving Orton an easy pin. We’re down to Orton vs. Bryan and Randy wisely crawls out of the ring.

Kane comes out to eject the Wyatts but the Chamber door is still open. He comes in to check on Cena but Bryan comes off the top with a knee to Kane’s head. Orton sends Bryan into the broken pod but Daniel escapes a superplex and ties Orton in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the chest. A baseball slide to the face has Orton in trouble a belly to back superplex gets two.

Randy grabs him by the beard (why has that not been done more often) and hits the Elevated DDT out of the corner. The RKO is countered and there’s the running knee but Kane grabs the referee. Kane gets kicked in the head but the RKO is enough….for TWO on Bryan. I totally bought that as the finish. Bryan gets another close two on a small package and a big kick to the head puts Orton down. Kane gets in another shot from behind though and the RKO retains the title at 36:50.

Rating: A. Another awesome match to wrap up the show here with all six guys looking good. Orton winning was kind of expected after he lost almost every match in the last few weeks because that’s how WWE booking works. I’m really hoping we don’t get Kane vs. Bryan at Wrestlemania as it would come off as a huge letdown for him, but it would work as a big Raw match.

Cole goes on a rant about how unfair this is to Bryan. This was the focal point of the end of the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a two match show and both matches hit it out of the park. WWE is on a roll right now with their PPVs but none of them matter with Wrestlemania just a few weeks away. The ending wasn’t a huge surprise but there are still a lot shows to go before we get to the big one. Hopefully a few things change but if Wrestlemania is this good, it’s going to be a success.

Results

Big E. b. Jack Swagger – Big Ending

New Age Outlaws b. Usos – Rollup to Jimmy

Titus O’Neil b. Darren Young – Clash of the Titus

Wyatt Family b. Shield – Sister Abigail to Reigns

Cameron b. AJ Lee via DQ when Tamina interfered

Batista b. Alberto Del Rio – Batista Bomb

Randy Orton b. Christian, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, John Cena and Cesaro – RKO to Bryan

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

Wrestlemania is six weeks away and tomorrow will determine a lot of what we’ll be seeing at the biggest show of them all.The kickoff match is a meaningless tag between Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel.  It’s kind of amazing that the Brothers have fallen as far as they have in just a month.  They were the hottest act the tag division has seen in months and then it’s been thrown away for the sake of the New Age Outlaws.  In 2014.  Anyway there is zero reason for Ryback and Axel to win, which is why I think they will so we can get closer to Goldust vs. Cody which is allegedly a match everyone needs to see.

We’ll start the main card with the most obvious win ever: Batista beats Del Rio and you really shouldn’t need an explanation why.  One thing though: We’re supposed to cheer a guy who put Del Rio in a neck brace and then attacked him while he was still injured after Del Rio was angry that Batista hadn’t earned any of his recent success.  Why is WWE surprised people aren’t interested in Batista?

I’m going with the Outlaws to keep the titles.  I have a bad feeling they’ll keep them on the old guys until Wrestlemania where they’ll be in some multi team match where the Usos will get them, because a team like the Outlaws just couldn’t lose a clean one on one match.  Perish the thought.  Sidebar on the Outlaws: I have no idea where the team is supposed to be going.  The idea was supposed to be HHH pushing his friends, but the Outlaws won the match and rematch clean and have acted like faces the entire time.  How does this benefit anyone but Gunn and Road Dogg?

Langston should beat Swagger, but I have a feeling he won’t.  The Real Americans should be splitting, but there has to be a way to get Colter on Swagger’s side and away from Cesaro.  Having Jack win a title while Cesaro comes up short would be a decent enough way, but I don’t want Cesaro being wasted on Swagger at Wrestlemania.  We’ll go with Langston retaining to keep things from getting too messy.

Titus over Darren.  Young is a decent enough wrestler, but there’s just nothing interesting about him.  It’s refreshing to get a basic heel turn and blowoff match as a result though.

The big match of the evening is inside the CHamber and the most anticipated could be as well if there was ever a rematch.  The Wyatts vs. Shield has the potential to steal the first half of the year and the build has been excellent.  Bray vs. Reigns could be an outstanding collision which goes to show you what happens when you take two guys and build them up to the point where neither could conceivably lose.  I’ll go with the Wyatts here in what should be more obvious that it is.  One more note that I’ve been saying for the previous week: Bray vs. Reigns at Wrestlemania.  Any takers?

That brings us to the big one.  I think we can safely write off Sheamus, Cesaro and Christian (more on this later).  Cena isn’t a likely winner due to the Wyatts as Bray vs. Cena seems to be set in stone.  That leaves us with Orton vs. Bryan and Daniel is coming in with a bad shoulder courtesy of the Authority.  Couple that with Orton losing most of his matches leading up to it and Orton is almost a layup to win.

However there’s one thing to remember: the Network launching on Monday.  That leaves the door open for the very rare one night title reign or a surprise title change on Raw.  I don’t think it’s going to happen, but if it does I’ll go with Cesaro on a very long shot.

Overall Elimination Chamber has the chance to be a solid show with the six man tag looking to be as easy of a great match as you’ll find.  That being said, the show also has me worried about where things are going.  For the life of me I cannot imagine Batista getting a one on one title shot against Orton at Wrestlemania.  There’s a chance we might see that match on Monday instead, but something has to stop that match from happening.  Bryan doesn’t have to be in the title match and facing HHH would be fine, but man alive Orton vs. Batista is just not going to do it for the main event of Wrestlemania.  We’ll find out a lot tomorrow, but we’ll find out even more on Monday.

Thoughts/predictions?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

Not one of my more exact ideas but it’s pretty accurate.Orton tends to work better against guys smaller than he is.  Think about it.

Good Matches With Orton

Cena

Christian

Ziggler

Shawn Michaels

Not So Good Matches With Orton

HHH

Sheamus

Big Show

Edge

Orton is about 6’4, or the same height as Edge and HHH.  Like I said, not an exact science but most things in wrestling aren’t.

Last night’s show was a major step up for a variety of reasons.

The six way opening argument was the same segment we always get before the Chamber and it still works well. Christian turning heel for Sunday is fine as well since you want it to be balanced and Christian can easily turn from face to heel. However the heel turn was kind of wasted by having him get pinned so quickly. Have him walk out to save his body for Sunday.

Bryan’s shoulder injury gives them an out to have him lose while also setting up something for Wrestlemania. The question is what are they setting up. All of the signs seem to point to Bryan vs. Kane, which is a match that should happen……at any other PPV. After the year that Bryan has had and all the torture that HHH has put him through, the only other match that would work besides fighting for the title or facing Undertaker (and that’s a stretch at this point) is Bryan vs. HHH.

Everything is set up for it and the story writes itself (“You said I’m not good enough to beat the best, so how about I beat you at Wrestlemania?”). Bryan kicking out of the Pedigree, kicking the tar out of HHH and making him tap to the YES Lock in the middle of the ring would be more than an acceptable match for Bryan at the biggest show of the year. However, it doesn’t seem like that’s where we’re headed and I don’t get why. My guess is they might be saving that for Extreme Rules, which would be decent but totally miss what could be a much bigger reaction.

What is with all the dancing wrestlers? Brodus, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, Fandango, Summer Rae, Emma, the Funkadactyls and I’m probably missing some. When did dancing become this big of a gimmick?

Henry vs. Reigns was exactly what everyone knew it would be, though there was one major highlight. During Shield’s entrance, there was a fan holding up a Batista sign that read “Boo This Man.” I’m not sure why but I cracked up.

That brings us to Shield vs. Wyatts and I have nothing but praise for it. This is what you get when you build up two anythings as monsters that can’t conceivably lose a match. It helps that they’ve kept these guys apart most of the time and made the fans actually want to see a match. I’m more excited for this than anything in the last several months and there’s no way the match isn’t awesome.

That being said, it’s also one of the most frustrating stories in recent memory. Look at Reigns and Wyatt. Those two are proof that WWE can EASILY make someone into a star that can sell tickets and get the fans excited but they just don’t do it most of the time. Bray Wyatt has been around about eight months (let that one sink into your head for a minute) and is rumored to be facing John Cena at Wrestlemania. Reigns broke Kane’s Royal Rumble record. These pushes started in the last few months and they have the fans drooling. So why do we have to sit through so many horrible start and stop pushes the rest of the year?

One last note: how many of you would fork over your money right now for Reigns vs. Wyatt at Wrestlemania?

The Swagger/Big E. stuff was done quite well. I don’t think Swagger is anything more than a challenger of the month unless they’re setting up Swagger vs. Cesaro at Wrestlemania, though I don’t think that’s where they’re going. Big E. needs the Langston back though. “Here is your winner, Big E!” just doesn’t sound right.

Now we get to the highlight of last night’s show. I’ve been wanting to see a big time Cena vs. Cesaro match for a long time and last night showed why. That was a textbook definition of how to give someone a rub and Cena is rapidly becoming a master of the art. Cena was stopped at every turn until he finally gave up on finesse or technique and just knocked Cesaro down with raw power and hit a quick AA before Cesaro had time to counter. That’s telling a story and making someone look like a killer at the same time.

The other thing to notice about that match was the crowd. They were INTO that match, just like they were with the Sandow cash-in a few months ago. One of the hardest things to do in wrestling is make you question something you know is true and that’s what Cena is getting better and better at doing. I think deep down everyone knew Cesaro wasn’t pinning Cena clean, just like people knew Sandow wasn’t winning the title. However, Cena was able to make us believe that it COULD happen, even for just a few minutes. That’s some powerful ability and something that only a handful of people ever could do.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: people aren’t going to truly appreciate Cena and his abilities until he’s gone. Lawler summed it up very well last night: Cena ALWAYS gets a reaction. Yeah it’s a mixed reaction, but that’s far better than fans being silent during an entrance. It means there’s something that people care about and that’s the most important thing.

HHH and Orton have had the exact same conversation for about four straight months now and they’re not adding anything to it.

That brings us to the tanned elephant in the ring. Batista hasn’t even been allowed to cut a regular promo since winning one of the biggest matches of the year and now he’s heading into Elimination Chamber for the least interesting match on the card. For the life of me I can’t imagine that he gets a one on one match with Orton for the title at Wrestlemania, Disney movie or no Disney movie. At this point his return is a disaster, but I still feel sorry for Batista in the whole thing.

At the end of the day, Batista just came back at the wrong time. People want to see Daniel Bryan and Daniel Bryan alone getting the title shot at Wrestlemania and would boo ANYBODY other than goat face. If Batista was getting this shot at say Money in the Bank, people wouldn’t mind for the most part and the reactions would be fine. The problem for Batista is that he has to step into the arena at some point and talk about going to Wrestlemania and the reaction isn’t going to work. A heel turn (even though he pretty much is one by default at this point) isn’t going to be enough. The problem is I’m not sure what IS enough.

Onto a more pleasant note, Titus O’Neil is NAILING this character. Word on the street is that he blew Vince and HHH away with his promo last night and I can’t say I disagree. The guy is perfect for the “I’m just better than you” character and has the charisma and mic skills to pull it off. No he’s not the best worker, but he’s good enough to hide it and that’s all you need to be at this level.

The Tag Title stuff was fine, just like the Intercontinental stuff.

I feel so sorry for Orton and Sheamus. They had to have their previous match at the post Wrestlemania Raw and last night they get to follow Cena vs. Cesaro. It’s even worse because their matches haven’t been bad at all but they’re overshadowed by circumstances beyond their control.

The brawl at the end was exactly what it needed to be.

That’s how I would sum up last night’s show: exactly what it needed to be. Every match on Sunday got some focus and I want to see the show way more than I did coming into last night. The fact that we got a classic match made things even better.

The most interesting thing though is that Wrestlemania is totally up in the air now. Look at the following people:

Sheamus

Shield

Bray Wyatt

John Cena

Daniel Bryan

Undertaker

Brock Lesnar

All of those names are in play for Wrestlemania and there are a lot of matches that could tear the house down. I’m getting excited and the Network launching in six days makes it even better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HY4NV7Y

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

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